Hilton’s life constantly on the run, on and off the track
Ruth Hilton’s schedule: wake up, do homework, go for an hour-and-fifteen-minute run, get ready for class, go to class, class again, hurry home to change, head off to practice, travel home, more homework, eat dinner, back to school, tutor some athletes, back home for more homework and finally off to bed. And at the end of it all Hilton says, “It was a pretty easy day. I didn’t have to work at my other job, Quizno’s.”
The day-to-day life for this particular student-athlete is anything but “easy.” Hilton, a sophomore studying math education, wasn’t even planning on running cross country and track in college. In high school, Hilton challenged herself to do her best in academics; her best earned her a 4.0 grade point average and an academic scholarship to Utah State. Running was just something she did for fun.
“In high school I fell in love with everything that had to do with running. It didn’t really occur to me that I could run in college,” she said.
The St. George native joined her high school track team and didn’t discover her potential until her junior year. After taking sixth at the state cross country meet, Hilton started receiving letters from various colleges and began to consider competing at the collegiate level.
Like other athletes, Hilton was faced with the decision of which school she should attend. As a gifted student, she needed to find a school that could challenge her academically and feed her drive to become a better runner. “I came to Logan and it sucked me in like a black hole. I fell in love with Utah State.”
When Hilton moved to Logan, she took on many responsibilities. Along with cross country, she also competes in both track seasons, indoor and outdoor. Add a full class schedule where she must maintain a 3.5 GPA in order to keep her academic scholarship. On top of that she works two jobs. She tutors other athletes for the athletic department and works at Quizno’s. Toss in family and church responsibilities, plus a social life, and you have one very busy student-athlete.
“You have to plan out your week pretty well,” she said. “I have to make sure I take care of things before they happen.” Most professors are willing to work around test schedules and due dates for homework as long as the student-athletes do their part.
“It’s mostly being proactive and taking the initiative to figure out what you need to be doing,” she said, “otherwise it will just run past you.”
It can be hard to manage a busy schedule and even harder to prioritize everything that’s going on.
“If someone were to look at my life they would probably say that track/cross country comes first. Then probably school, I’m kind of a dweeb since I’m like super nerdy with school stuff,” she said. “Then church and family. After all of that comes my social life. It’s college, you have to have some sort of social life otherwise it’s really lame.”
Among all of that, Hilton still finds time to work on her favorite hobby.
“I am an avid knitter,” she said. “I have lots of yarn and needles at my house because I am kind of a dork like that.” Recently, Hilton started on a pair of socks and will make gloves her next big project. But when could anyone that busy ever find the time to take up a hobby like knitting?
“We travel every couple of weeks. It’s nice to do on the buses or planes once you are tired of doing homework. They do let you take knitting needles on airplanes.”
However, Hilton did acknowledge that traveling is her least favorite part of being a student-athlete.
“My freshman year I thought it was the coolest thing in the world, going to Washington, California and all these other places, but the more you do it, it starts to really wear you out,” she said. “It’s hard to miss class. You want to be there.”
A busy schedule like Hilton’s doesn’t come without setbacks.
“It’s hard doing athletics and academics,” she said, but she sees the benefits of being a student-athlete. “The support I get from my fellow students when they find out I run track/cross country is really cool,” she said. “They are interested in how we represent the school. They know we are trying to do well for Utah State.”
Even with the recognition she receives, someone could look at Hilton’s schedule and wonder whether running is actually worth it. She already has an academic scholarship and another job; does she really need running in her life? Hilton sums it up best: “It’s an abusive relationship. Most days I am sore from running and I am always complaining but I love it too much to quit … I am kind of addicted to it.”
– jordan.allred@aggiemail.usu.edu