ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Rachel Horner-Richardson says that she was "vehemently against" running cross country when she was younger.
A soccer and basketball player growing up in Cornish, N.H., Horner-Richardson had her sights set on playing "team" sports throughout high school. Then, the COVID-19 pandemic hit and Horner-Richardson found herself trying out for the Mid-Vermont Christian School cross country team.
"It is kind of funny because I started running my junior year of high school and it was only because of COVID," Horner-Richardson said. "We didn't have soccer, so I did cross country to stay in shape for basketball."
She did much more than that.
Horner-Richardson, now a sophomore at Roberts Wesleyan University, has become one of the top distance runners for the Redhawks. She captured the women's 5,000-meter run at the East Coast Conference indoor and outdoor meets as a freshman and finished second in the ECC cross country championships Oct. 21 as the Redhawks won their ninth consecutive conference title.
Horner-Richardson, who finished fourth at the NCAA Division II East Regionals on Nov. 4, also carries a 3.7 grade-point average as a Nursing major and was named Roberts Wesleyan Universty's Female Scholar Athlete of the Month for October. Horner-Richardson and the Redhawks will compete in the NCAA Division II Championships on Saturday, Nov. 18, in Joplin, Mo.
The second youngest of nine children, Horner-Richardson came to the United States at age 8 when she and her younger sister, Lily, were adopted. She enjoys fishing and listening to podcasts and hopes to work as a pediatric nurse in the future.
Horner-Richardson took a few moments to discuss being a student-athlete at Roberts. The interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Even though you started relatively late, you are running in college. How did that come about?
"I kind of always knew that I had the talent for running, but it wasn't my favorite sport. Then, my junior and senior year I was doing better than expected for someone that had just started running. I talked to my parents about it and they thought that I should run in college, so then we just started looking into the process of connecting with college coaches and I connected with Coach (Andrew) Dorr at some point."
Do you think that being relatively new to running may be an advantage to you?
"I definitely think so. I think that has helped me to be a little more fresh and it is kind of nice because I don't know when I have reached my peak yet because I have just started."
Is there a certain aspect about cross country that you like the most?
"I don't know if this is what they mean when they talk about the runner's high, but you get the endorphins from running and also being fit is a big deal for me. I also love running with my teammates, that is something that I did not think would be included in running, but it really is a team sport and in practice we all get to run together and talk about our day and that is something you may not get to do if you are across the court from someone in basketball."
What do you like most about Roberts?  
"I definitely like how small it is because of getting to know my professors. I am one of those people who enjoys getting to know my professors and being able to ask them questions, if I have any. I also know a lot of people on campus and it is because I see them several times a day going back and forth between classes and I know them pretty well because it is a small campus. I like my classes a lot, too. I get pretty involved in my classes."
What have you enjoyed about the Nursing curriculum so far?
"It amazes me how detailed all of the systems are and how intricately they work together, I didn't ever realize that before. Just studying the different systems in the body and learning about bacteria and how they work, it's just crazy how God has designed that and I am just so much more interested in the world right now."
Do you have any memories of coming to America?
"Yes, I have a lot. A funny one I remember is when we were in the airport here in the U.S. and it was my first time seeing snow. We were in one of those long airport lines and my sister pointed to a pile of snow and said, 'you know, when we get home we can put sweet stuff like maple syrup on that and eat that.' We kind of went outside of the line to play and I started eating it and it was this brown snow and that was not what she was talking about and she was like, 'Stop eating that!'"
What makes fishing fun for you?
"I love being outdoors and that's when I usually listen to my podcasts. It's just nice to sit out there and enjoy God's creation. Also, the suspense when you are out there and waiting for the fish to grab onto the hook. That is always fun, too."
What is the biggest fish that you have caught?
"I don't know, I don't catch very many big fish. Probably a bass or something small."
Is there anything that I should have asked you but didn't?
"I would just say that I try to make my schooling and my running centered around God, so anything that I do and accomplish is for his glory."