A Hero Among Us
Berkshire Senior Claire Markwardt Leads Her Team to A Fourth Place Finish At The State Meet At The Cost of a Severe Leg Injury.
By BP Staff Writers, Ethan Teare and Andy Matlock
November 16, 2007
The sport of cross country requires hard work, dedication, physical endurance, and above all, mental strength. The Berkshire Girls Cross Country Team exhibited all of these traits as it rolled over their competition and made its way to the State Meet. On November 3rd, the girls walked into the stadium at Scioto Downs in Columbus to show the entire state of Ohio what they were made of. No one had any idea how this race would end. Berkshire recorded a strong finish with sophomore Alex Bowers being the first Berkshire runner to cross the finish line. She was followed closely by freshman Allie Noble and Berkshire’s hopes of placing high in the State Meet were being realized. About fifteen feet from the finish line, co-captain and senior Claire Markwardt fell due to a serious leg injury. After trying to stand, only to fall again, Markwardt proceeded to finish the race on hands and knees in order to not let her team down. Because of her determination to finish the race, the Berkshire team was able to capture a fourth place finish.
It was later learned that Markwardt had suffered a broken tibia and fibula, both bones in the lower leg. Markwardt’s leg had been hurting her for about two and a half weeks prior to the race, but she attributed the pain to a muscle strain. Markwardt continued to train and race, not knowing that she actually had a stress fracture. “At State, I began to know in the last 200 meters that something was seriously wrong. I heard it crack a couple of times, but I didn’t know it was serious until I fell,” Markwardt said. She was immediately transported to Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, where she underwent surgery. They placed a rod in her leg to help stabilize the breaks. She now faces a second surgery to repair some rotational issues. As of now, the only plan for rehabilitation is rest and more rest. Markwardt is not allowed to ride horses, a favorite hobby of hers, or run for six months. Markwardt believes she is staying so positive because of her support system. “I know I’ll have a lot of help along the way, as I already have through friends and family.” If she had known the outcome beforehand, Markwardt decided she would have done it again. “Yeah, I think I would, although I haven’t had months of recovery yet. Ask me again in about six months.”
Senior Liz Hess was the closest to Markwardt when she fell. When she saw her fall, Hess said that she just thought that she had tripped or blacked out. Hess passed Markwardt after she had fallen and was already crawling to the finish line. Unfortunately, due to meet regulations, it would have been illegal for Hess to wait at the finish line and go back to see if Markwardt was okay. If she had, Hess would have run the risk of disqualifying her whole team. She said “It was hard having no control as I watched my teammate suffer.” Hess described the situation as heart-wrenching, but nothing else could be done.
Coach Green, the injury specialist of the team, said that in the weeks before State no one was really aware that Claire’s injury was anything major. Everybody thought that it was her muscle, but not the bone. Unfortunately though, her injury was a surprise to everybody including her. Despite it being severe, Green thinks Markwardt will make a full recovery, considering her heart and determination. “There is no doubt she will return to running, but it will take a while. Claire is my hero.” Green also warned that because of Markwardt’s unpredicted injury, in the future, runners and coaches alike will be much more cautious with even the littlest pain.
In the days that followed Markwardt’s injury her teammates, friends, and coaches rallied around her, and let her know that she was in all of their thoughts. They were all at her house to welcome her home the day after her injury and have provided continual moral support. The experience of lifting up a fallen teammate was nothing new to the Badgers, after August when a severe car crash injured several Badger runners, including loved and respected alumnus Shawn Bowers. Many parents and members of the team commented that the season began and ended with ambulance lights and sirens. When asked if she thought other teams would rally around a fallen teammate as hers have done with Markwardt, Hess reinforced the strength of the team by saying, “I think that any team would do that, but Claire’s injury didn’t make us any more close, because we were close before that.”
Green, similar to Hess, also was convinced that although the injury was not good for Markwardt, it had some positive effects on the team. She thought that although the accident in August affected the whole team, it had a slightly larger affect on the boys. Green said, “Claire’s injury was able to do the same thing for the girls that the accident did for the boys; it made them stronger as a group of friends and as a team.” When asked her opinion of how the team has joined together and supported Markwardt she said, “Its funny how you don’t realize how important people are to you until something like this happens. Anyone would drop anything right now to do whatever she [Markwardt] needs.”
Markwardt’s injury has been both a difficulty for her and her team, but they plan to continue to support her throughout her recovery. Junior runner Sarah Mayer summarized the whole situation by saying, “Claire’s injury has just made one of the strongest teams even stronger.”
