ALTON - Alton High School sophomore Victor Humphrey is an endurance runner who loves running hills and hilly courses. In fact, his favorite cross country courses are the one at Gordon Moore Park and Collinsville.
For his efforts at the close of the season, Humphrey is the Riverbender.com Athlete of the Month for Alton High School.
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I like that every course is different and that so much can change during a race," Humphrey said. "I am an endurance runner so my favorite courses are Gordon Moore and Collinsville. It is very satisfying to endure the hard courses and come out with a PR and it’s even more fun getting to do it next to my teammates."
The Alton sophomore said he wanted to thank his dad for getting him into running and always helping with his training plans.
"I thank my mom for going to every one of our meets the last five years and my little brother, Erick, for inspiring me with his pep talks before each meet and for being a great training partner," Humphrey said. "I give my full effort in practice no matter what and I try to always keep learning from my coaches and teammates. I also run all year, even on vacation. My favorite part of vacation is getting to run somewhere interesting."
Humphrey's boys cross country coaches are Vernon Curvey and Tammy Talbert.
The Alton sophomore said he believes participating in cross country has helped him learn how to manage his time well.
"Coach Curvey talked to us a lot this year about how the recovery runs and rest days are just as important as the hard workouts," Humphrey said. "That helped my running and it helped me in general too. Staying healthy and positive was the key to my success this season, especially right now during the COVID-19 Pandemic."
"I’ve been running cross country since sixth grade," Humphrey said.
Humphrey is an exceptional musician. He has played the piano for 10 years and viola for six years and still takes weekly lessons, even during the cross country season.
"I’m also in the Symphonic Orchestra and Jazz Band at Alton High," he said. "It’s a lot of work but I love doing all of it.
Humphrey is an excellent student and said he likely will focus on a scholarship for music or academics in college, but he said he will continue to run.
"I will probably go to the University of Illinois," he said of his post-high school plans.
"I am interested in music, Spanish and possibly physical therapy," he said about future career interests.
Humphrey is an honors student at Alton High School and has all As.
He is a multi-sport athlete as he swims and plays tennis for Alton High.
"I was a Running Redbird (Read, Right, Run marathon) every year K-5 and so was my brother!" Humphrey explained. Back then I was excited about running an 8-minute mile."
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