Richardson, Orf setting cross country records
Junior Hilary Orf and freshman Margo Richardson have a pattern in their performances this year.
Through four meets, the two have alternated finishing first for the Saint Louis University women’s cross country team. This is a rare pattern, particularly for a sport in which teams usually feature a consistent top runner.
Even rarer is how close the two runners have been to each other throughout the whole season.
At the Duquesne Duals, Richardson and Orf finished first and second, respectively, and were separated by six seconds.
Next, at the Notre Dame Invitational, Orf crossed the finish line three seconds ahead of Richardson—they placed 4th and 5th.
Then, at the Richard Clark Invitational, Richardson finished 11th overall, seven hundredths of a second and one place before Orf. Most recently at the Bradley Classic, Orf finished 6th and Richardson finished 7th, and the two were separated by 11 seconds.
In other words, a total of zero out of hundreds of competitors have finished a race between Hilary Orf and Margo Richardson this season.
When one finishes the race, the other immediately follows.
Basic arithmetic reveals another statistical surprise. After four races, the combined times of Orf and Richardson are only about eight seconds apart.
When the SLU women’s cross country team races this Saturday in Pittsburgh for the Atlantic 10 Conference Championships, their goal will be to place higher than any previous team in school history.
If they are to achieve their goal, they will need Richardson and Orf to continue to lead the way, no matter who finishes first. Even though they are constantly besting each other, both Orf and Richardson say that their competition is friendly in nature.
“Cross country is a team sport,” Richardson said. “All that matters is how we finish as a team.
“Of course you want to improve on your times, but if we’re both running great times, it doesn’t matter who finishes first or second.”
Richardson continued, “Just as long as we score points for the team and as long as we’re both improving our times; that’s all that matters.”
Another element of this friendly competition is the fact that records are at stake.
In her first collegiate cross country meet, Richardson broke the SLU women’s 5K record. This record only lasted for two weeks, however, when Orf broke Richardson’s record.
“Between us, we don’t really talk about records or anything like that,” Orf said. “But it’s kind of a motivator. She is my teammate, but it kind of pushes us to want to do better and to keep improving.
We’re definitely not bitter about it though.”
Richardson agreed. Even though records are at stake, Richardson and Orf are not distracted from their team-first mindset.
“I love our relationship,” Richardson said. “At practice we push each other; at meets we push each other—it’s just great to have someone there to help make you better. I don’t have to go through the workout alone.
“We’re always encouraging each other, telling us each other, ‘one more, you can do this’ or ‘come on, we’re almost finished.’ We’re on the same team. You’re looking to beat other teams—you’re not looking to beat each other. Because it doesn’t matter if you’re first or second on the team, you’re still going to get the same amount of points.”
The fact that Orf and Richardson have posted such similar results is not a coincidence. The tactic of running together gives the two a competitive edge.
Typically, Orf and Richardson make an effort to run with each other through about the two-mile mark in a race.
“We kind of have different styles of racing,” Orf said. “At the beginning of the year, she would go out faster and I would hold back later. But I think it works out better when we are working together through about the two-mile mark. From there, it’s just about pushing each other to the finish.
“I would have to say that within those first two miles, if we’re not close by, it’s not a bad thing, but normally we should be within a few seconds of each other.”
Saturday in Pittsburgh, Orf and Richardson have lofty ambitions, both individually and for the team as a whole.
“Personally, I’m shooting for top 10. I think that would be great,” Richardson said.
Orf’s goal should not come as a surprise.
“Individually, I’d really like to place in the top 10.”
