In Focus: Yorks Conquered The Voice And Took A Step Forward
November 12, 2015 | Cross Country, General
By Mason Kelley
GoHuskies.com
Izaic Yorks let the voice win.
In any distance race, when an athlete is testing the limits of their body, there is a moment when the “voice in your head tells you you're not going to be able to do it.”
At the Washington Invitational at Jefferson Park Golf Course in October, Yorks gave in to the doubt.
“I'm a miler,” he said. “I'm an 800 runner. I'm a shorter distance runner. I don't think I can do it.”
So, when his body sent the signal during that cross country race, he slowed down. When it was over – he finished 16th – he realized, “I wasn't that tired.”
At that moment, he decided to quit listening to the voice. He knew he had more to give.
I don't need to be worried about that kind of stuff,” he said.
Even a season earlier, the Washington school record-holder in the mile (3:57.81 set last year) would have been pleased with a top-20 finish. But, after that race, he knew his performance wasn't good enough.
“That's the amazing part,” he said. “I would have been very happy with that last year.”
In Yorks' next race – the Wisconsin adidas Invitational – he finished seventh. Then, at the Pac-12 Championships, he finished third. It was the best finish for a Washington runner on the men's side in the event's 40-year history, which continued a trend for Yorks from Pac-12 Track, where he won the 1,500-meters title, the first for a Husky man since 1987. Now Yorks has the opportunity to take another step forward Friday and better his performance at Jefferson Park during the NCAA West Regional.
“Every race has been a building success,” he said. “I would love to see some building success in the race, whether it's making a mindset that I want to get a PR or I want to run top three, top four, top five or even have our team do something they haven't done yet.
“The mindset is really just seeing building performances on an individual level and on a team level, too.”
The Washington Invitational changed the course of his season.
“After that, I realized what I was capable of,” he said. “My whole mindset changed to realizing that all this work I put in wasn't in vain.”
When the senior arrived at Washington, his dream was centered around success on the track. His focus was the 800 meters and the mile.
“I came here, because I wanted to be a great track athlete,” Yorks said. “It was never off my radar. I always wanted to be good at cross, but after my freshman year, seeing how much harder it was than high school, it wasn't something I was constantly thinking about.”
Initially, cross country was a way for Yorks to build strength and endurance for the track season.
“It's been a process ever since my freshman year, really,” he said. “It takes years to build the fitness. Really, this is the culmination of two, three years of just running consistently.”
Somewhere along the way, Yorks started rethinking his approach to cross country.
“It would be fun to be good at this,” he said.
Then he thought, why not?
He dedicated himself to distance last season. But, despite improving, he still needed to push past the voice that caused him to question his ability.
“It was a huge mental process,” he said.
Now he is at the end of that process. He ignored the voice and found the strength and stamina he needed to place himself among the nation's elite cross country athletes. His success in the fall will help him when he shifts from the trail to the track.
“Being able to have a stronger aerobic base is going to pay massive dividends for the track season,” he said.
Washington coach Greg Metcalf likes to say that “strength is speed.” Yorks has embraced that idea and well, right now, “I'm pretty fast.”
