By Tyler Sheedy
I am the biggest fan of New Hampshire Cross Country and Track and Field. At least, that’s what multiple reliable sources have told me – and I’m pretty sure they’re right. For the past eleven years, so much of my life has revolved around a website with videos and articles about high school running, and I’m incredibly thankful for the opportunities I’ve gotten because of it.
One fateful night in 2015, shortly after I’d raced for Dover at the NH Middle School State Championships, I decided to take a break from Minecraft YouTube videos to look up my race to see if anyone had gotten footage of it. To my amazement, there it was: a full video with multiple camera angles of the entire race, where I could relive the action and see my little sixth grade self sprinting to the line in 22nd place in the Large School Championship. Of course, I didn’t think I was all that little at the time.
I was curious what else this YouTube channel had to offer. I scrolled through the page and saw that they had captured not just my race, but every other race at the championships too! There were high school meets, interviews, and I thought it was the coolest thing ever that New Hampshire runners had their very own official coverage. Eventually I found the website too, and got to read all the recap and preview articles for every meet.
For the next three years, I was hooked. I watched every single race, regardless of whether I was in it. I learned the names of all the fastest high school runners in the state, and before long, they became my heroes. I hoped that maybe one day I would be fast enough to be mentioned either in a video or an article, because then I would have truly made it.
A few years later, I got my wish. In 8th grade, I placed 9th in the Middle School Cross Country Championships, and was mentioned in an article recapping the race. It was just my name quickly written in bold font, but it meant the world to me: I was officially famous!
As I entered high school the next fall, I was so excited. Finally, I’d get to race at all the iconic invitational courses, and toe the line against runners I’d only ever seen on screen. And even though I was competing, I was still a fan. In the middle of my races, I would look around and know the names of every single athlete, and know exactly how they’d done at all their prior meets. Then once I’d finished, I would immediately ask “who won?” as if it actually mattered – but to me, it absolutely did! I also made sure to tune into the weekly power rankings livestreams hosted by the top high school runners in the state, and would think to myself, “I would do a great job at this.” Of course, why would they ever want me on the power rankings? There was no way I’d ever be good enough to reach the same level as my heroes.
However, slowly and surely, I climbed up the ranks. The winter of my freshman year, I squeaked into the 3000m at states and Mike Smith read my name live on air. By sophomore year, I was consistently placing high at invitationals and beating runners I’d looked up to a season prior. At divisionals that year (2019), as I charged down towards the door in 13th, Davio DeLuca said “there’s Sheedy of Dover!” He really knew who I was, and shouted me out mid-race! I held my position to the line, and qualified for my dream race: Meet of Champions. Little did I know, that was the race where everything would change forever.
For some reason, Meet of Champs always seemed like a mythical competition to me. Everyone who placed high at Mines Falls became an instant legend, etched in NHXCTF history. When I was striding out ahead of the race, I looked back at the line and stared in awe of all the people around me. I realized that I was about to play my part in writing the history of our state’s cross country competitions, no matter how small my role would be.
Turns out I played a pretty big role, because I ran out of my mind that day and placed 8th in the state. To quote Jim MacKenzie: “Look at this, Tyler Sheedy! There’s a guy you don’t hear all about, making a race for himself.” It was the race of my life – so much so that when I blew by Coe-Brown’s entire varsity team (besides Aidan Cox) along the canal, I began to wonder if I was somehow cheating! But I wasn’t cheating, I was just living up to my potential. From that point forward I started to believe that I belonged among the best runners in the state, and I showed it too. Suddenly, every indoor race preview mentioned me, and I became friends with the runners I once looked up to. By the time we were quarantined for COVID in the spring of 2020, I’d like to think I was a “household name” among NHXCTF athletes.
Even though the virus cancelled the season, I connected with other runners and set up time trials, met up for runs, and stayed involved within the community. A year before, I would have been far too starstruck to talk to other New Hampshire runners, but by now I felt like an equal. And of course, much of my time at home was spent binge watching old race videos too. I had a solid cross country season my junior year, and then started training hard for outdoor track. However, just before the season, disaster struck: I had a stress fracture!
Little did I know, the stress fracture might be the best thing that ever happened to me. I spent my entire spring rehabbing in the trainer’s room and never missed a chance to watch my best friends race without me. Then, a week before states, Coach Piatti walked up to me at practice and said “Well, you’ve made it to the big leagues. They want to know if you’d like to be a commentator at the state meet.”
Of course, I said YES! We did a trial run at a Coe-Brown meet and I got to learn the ropes. I just talked about track for an hour and a half with Jim MacKenzie, a guy whose voice had echoed throughout the Sheedy household for many years with all of his (sometimes unfiltered) commentary on track videos! I also got to officially meet Tim Cox and Greg Hall, the two founders of the site. They graciously showed me the ropes, and I was fascinated by the way Greg was able to set up the livestream, even though I knew nothing about the technology behind it. There were plenty of viewers on the stream and I was so proud.
When I go back and watch those first few livestreams I did, I can only listen for a few seconds before I cringe and turn it off. I talked way too much about myself back then, and didn’t know anything about how to actually commentate a race. Still, everyone starts somewhere, and I had a blast, despite recovering from the most heartbreaking injury of my life. Luckily, by the end of the season I was able to start training again, and I was healthy for the entirety of my senior campaign.
That senior year was special. I set huge PRs on the track, became friends with all my competition, and even won a state championship in the 3200m. I also helped out at a few meets by doing interviews and hopping on the commentary. Most notably, there were multiple times that spring when freshmen would ask me for my autograph, and I couldn’t believe it. Somehow, I’d become the runner that I had formerly looked up to, and there were kids just like that younger version of myself who wanted nothing more than the chance to race against me. Or maybe they were just fans of the viral moment where I crawled across the finish line at the Manchester Invitational. Regardless, I was shocked to realize that I didn’t think any less of them because they were freshmen, even though I’d felt their way when I was their age. Instead, I thought, “these guys are the future!”
By the end of senior year, I was extremely thankful for my time as a New Hampshire athlete, but was excited to begin a new chapter in college competing for the University of Rhode Island. In a way, it felt like I was leveling up, like I was leaving the little leagues behind for the majors. What I didn’t realize was that I was also leaving behind New Hampshire’s small, tight-knit community – something I would personally never find in Division One athletics.
I tried for two years to find my place as a collegiate athlete, but it never felt quite right. Instead of racing my friends, I was racing strangers, and I was a nobody in a conference I barely knew anything about. Adding in the pressure of being on a top track team in New England and the fact that I could never beat my times from high school, by the summer before my junior year I decided to leave the track team for more flexibility and the chance to get into ultra trail running. Even though D1 Track didn’t work out, I’m actually really glad that I took a chance on running in college and got to find out for myself that it wasn’t for me. Plus, I made so many friends that would stay in my life for the rest of my time in school, which alone made the experience worth it.
Luckily, in those first two years of college, while I was home for winter breaks and the summer, I had a few chances to work at some high school meets. The most important contribution I had during that time was probably introducing Tim and Greg to my high school teammate Ryan Moyer, who had experience with broadcasting in college at Plymouth State. Ryan immediately made an impact as an extra person who could set up a livestream, and he is a huge part of our team today. As for myself, I did end up commentating on a few distance races, but for the most part I was just a special guest who some fans might’ve remembered from a couple years ago. Once I left my team though, that role would completely change.
My junior year of college was awesome. Without practices and meets my schedule was totally free! I was running wherever I wanted and coming home whenever I wanted, and I was so happy. I didn’t have a track season to prepare for, so my winter break was five weeks instead of two, and that meant that I spent most of my January weekends working up in Plymouth for NHXCTF. I was finally starting to feel like a regular employee of the website, even though my specific jobs were mostly the same. That wouldn’t last long though, because one day Greg said to me: “Tyler, would you like to learn how to set up and produce a livestream?”
As with any opportunity regarding the website, there was no hesitation on my end. At the end of one of the meets, I got to learn all the intricacies of hooking up the computers, cameras, and microphones to livestream in real time. I got to take the official NHXCTF equipment home and practice setting it up, and I showed my parents how we could put up four cameras around the house and switch between them, just like all the broadcasts I’d been watching for years. I needed this practice because less than a week after I learned the setup procedure, the East Coast Invitational in Providence was happening and I was the only one that could go!
I went down to the invite and had one of the most stressful, but exciting days of my life, as somehow I was the man in charge of the whole show. The livestream definitely wasn’t perfect, but I got it done and I was so proud. Now that I had gotten experience operating a livestream by myself, I was able to take on so much more responsibility at meets and it was awesome. Once I went back to school for the spring semester, I became the go-to-guy for Rhode Island’s state championship meets, and also made trips home for the New Hampshire state championships and New Englands. I was maximizing my time spent livestreaming and contributing to the videos I had loved to watch as a kid. I worked with people like Steve Mazzone, Marty Ogden, and Dennis Sheppard, all of whom played important roles in the track coverage of their respective New England states. I even got my own media pass from our photographer Jay Smith!
After a great spring and summer, it was finally time for cross country (my favorite season). This would be the first time I actually worked consistently for NHXCTF during the fall. I took my job very seriously, and wanted to be the commentator who freshman Tyler would have enjoyed listening to. I tried to learn the names of as many athletes as possible, to give every kid a chance to have their name called out in a video. I would spend my time between classes rewatching races and studying results, and not only did it make me better behind the camera, but it also brought back the magic I’d felt eight years before: I was back to being NHXCTF’s biggest fan – except this time, I had a voice.
I think the finest hours of my commentary career came across a fifteen day stretch from the NH Divisionals to New Englands. I knew every athlete and was so absorbed in the storylines headed into each race, and you could hear it in my voice. It was probably the most fun I’ve ever had on the job, because I was so genuinely excited to see what would happen! I also filmed a course preview video for New Englands at Thetford, and many teams from across the region told me how helpful it was, which meant a lot to me. All in all, it seemed I had really found my groove, and I had the commentary bug.
Unfortunately for NHXCTF though, the day after Cross Country New Englands, I flew out to Colorado for a job interview. While a giant part of my life revolved around high school running media, a less-public side of me was in the thick of earning my degree in civil engineering, and in early November I accepted a job offer to work as a roadway designer in Colorado Springs. For me, it was a no-brainer, because as a guy who wants to chase adventure in ultramarathons and mountaineering, the Rockies are an unmatched paradise. And believe it or not, a full-time engineering career pays slightly more than part-time high school track livestreaming.
Anyways, I knew right away that I was approaching my final two track seasons as a commentator, and I was determined to make them count. I wasn’t going to miss a meet if I could help it, and I carried the momentum from cross country into the oval. My role began to really solidify as a pure commentator, and just like cross country, it felt like I knew every single athlete and every single thing about them. A few people, including Jim MacKenzie (my original NHXCTF commentary hero), began to tell me how much they enjoyed my commentary, and I couldn’t believe it. I was just saying what I saw as a fan, and talking about something that I happened to know a whole lot about. I guess that sort of passion is the perfect recipe for a good broadcaster, because I could finally handle listening to myself talk without the need to turn it off.
These last few weeks of outdoor track have been the culmination of all my years involved with NHXCTF. I’ve gotten to call some amazing championship races, and everyone from current high schoolers to seasoned officials have expressed their appreciation for my time as a commentator, and it means the world to me. I still think of myself as a newcomer, and the sense of wonder I felt watching that cross country video in sixth grade has never left my heart. NHXCTF has taught me that you can find an epic story anywhere, and if you truly want to make a difference, nothing can stop you from becoming a character in that story too. Thank you to everyone who played a role in my own story, because you allowed me to become one of my heroes.
I’ve got two more things to say before this absurdly long article is finished: first off, I will absolutely be planning my visits home around cross country and track meets. I’ve already written off Thanksgiving weekend because that’s between seasons! And secondly, if you are a current or former athlete and want to get involved with the site, please contact us because we are always happy to have you. We could really use someone who is willing to learn how to operate a livestream! Alright, that’s it – thanks for reading! I’m always rooting for you New Hampshire, and you’d better believe I’ll be watching!
