Landin Jeffrey is a Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Corona del Sol High School.

What more could long-distance runners want more than 26.2 miles through the five boroughs of New York? Head coach Ben Maxfield of Corona del Sol volleyball ran this year's race on Nov. 5, but to do so had to squeeze the trip to the Big Apple into the heart of the season.

“So I was in the New York City Marathon, and it always falls on this weekend,” Maxfield said following a Nov. 6 win over Liberty High School in the state quarterfinals. “Normally, we play on a Tuesday, but we played on a Monday. So I got on the plane in New York at 6 this morning and got back at 10:30, so I’m just a little tired.” 

But for Maxfield, it was all worth it. 

“Typical marathon training is four months. I usually would run five days a week with shorter runs during the week that focused on speed and then long runs on the weekend. The New York City Marathon is awesome. They are rowdy, vocal and super supportive. It’s worth it,” Maxfield said. 

Maxfield played indoor volleyball in high school, club volleyball at Brigham Young University and earned a bachelor's in Spanish language teacher education. Now he teaches Spanish at Corona del Sol High School. Maxfield has been actively fit, but training for a marathon is no small task.

To qualify for the event, Maxfield competed in the nine-plus program in the run-up to the New York City Marathon. It doesn't matter what time you finish the programs as long as you cross the finish line. The nine different events consisted of 5Ks to half marathons.  

However, the training regimen may not be the most challenging aspect, as keeping motivated to push yourself to the finish line is the most difficult aspect of training for a marathon. 

To keep motivated, Maxfield's goal in the run-up to the marathon was to cross the line and then have goals about what times he wanted to hit on each of his miles.

It was challenging for him to stay focused on his regiment, as the record-breaking heat wave that hit Phoenix over the summer kept him from training. However, those objectives helped the Utah native stay focused on the end goal.

Alyssa Aguayo, one of Maxfield's volleyball players, said that her coach running the New York Marathon is a testament to the individual he is. 

“He portrays great qualities such as training hard and mental toughness, and he practices what he preaches to us, which I find to be very respectable,” Aguayo said.    

Maxfield, who qualified for next year's New York City Marathon, is excited to see what it has in store.     

“I’ve already qualified for the marathon in 2024, and I hope that I will keep improving and enjoying the moment,” Maxfield said.