Rebecca Robinson remembers the 400-meter run during her first outdoor track meet as a freshman.

She finished in about 56 seconds, a slow time Robinson knew she was better than.

Just a week later she clocked in at 53.8 — a personal record.

It was this inconsistency that plagued Robinson throughout her freshman year at Syracuse. She missed being home and struggled to adjust to her new college environment. Now a junior, Robinson has finally settled down, attributing her newfound consistency to an increase in maturity.

She’s focused on the subtleties of her daily routine and leaned on her soccer background to help her improve her sprinting and endurance.

“Her progression has been pretty linear,” assistant coach Dave Hegland said. “… Becca’s gotten herself to a pretty high level.”

At Arlington High School in Massachusetts, Robinson’s main sport was soccer, where she played forward on varsity all four years. Robinson didn’t start running track until high school. And despite being a strong runner, she never received any substantial training.

Miles Robinson, Rebecca’s brother who’s signed to play soccer at Syracuse next fall, said that the proper instruction his sister received once she got to college versus what she had in high school greatly helped her.

“It was pretty much just these random adults coaching track but they didn’t really know much about it,” he said. “Then she finally got actual training, so I think that helped her a lot.”

But Robinson’s development isn’t confined to her accomplishment on the track. She has always had the athletic talent and versatility necessary to succeed, but establishing consistency also meant growing as a person.

As a freshman, Robinson missed home and grappled with managing the new stresses and nerves that came with being a Division I athlete in college.

“I remember her freshman year she was having trouble adjusting to the whole track and school thing and being away from home,” said Shaina Harrison, Robinson’s close friend and roommate.

Harrison said Robinson’s transformation is a result of Robinson discovering herself as a runner, being able to validate her times through continued consistency.

Two years later, Miles said he thinks Robinson almost prefers living at Syracuse. He has seen a change in his sister — one that doesn’t pertain solely to her race times.

“I think she’s definitely become more of an actual adult,” he said.

Robinson specializes in the 400-meter run, where she holds the indoor school record, but also runs the third leg of the 4×100.

She attributes this versatility and the endurance and short burst speed needed in these events to soccer — both of which have played vital roles as she has worked to become a smarter runner.

Robinson said endurance is one of her strengths. While she may not have the outright speed to match the other girls in the 400, Robinson counters with her ability to maintain a steady pace the first 200 meters before picking it up in the second 200.

“She’s got a soccer background, so she’s pretty explosive,” Hegland said. “She also got real good endurance from that.”

Since underperforming early in her career, Robinson has become the epitome of reliability.

She’s progressed steadily across the board, from her lifts in the weight room to her 30- and 300-meter sprint times in practice.

“She’s just at a high consistent level,” Hegland said. “She hasn’t really had any bad races all year really.”

Robinson has even eliminated the inconsistencies from her daily routine. She tries to go to bed by 11 p.m., stocks up on protein and better manages her stress than when she was a nervous freshman.

She looks at things more holistically, trying to observe the bigger picture.

“I’ve matured, not only as a runner but as a person in general.” Robinson said. “Freshman year obviously was hard, as it is for most people, but I’ve definitely grown out of that.”

Published on April 20, 2015 at 8:41 pm

Contact Matt: mralex01@syr.edu