Dominating Distance

How one of Northeastern’s best distance runners has etched her name into the program record books, and what she wants to do next.

Written by Josh Chaskes. Photo courtesy of Northeastern Athletics.

Four minutes and forty-three seconds is not a long time. What could a person do in that span? Take a quick shower? Throw their laundry in the washing machine? Maybe they could respond to a few emails. For Northeastern junior and women’s cross country and track (XC/T&F) runner Abby Hassman, the answer is run a mile. With a personal best mile time of 4:43.91 and all-time program bests in multiple other track events, Hassman has already stamped her name in the Northeastern history books, but some might be surprised to learn she had never even run a race until her freshman year of high school.

Hassman grew up in Foxborough, Massachusetts, the home of the New England Patriots and Revolution, less than an hour’s drive from Northeastern. She was always a multi-sport athlete, playing basketball and lacrosse. It was stamina training for those sports that led her to become a runner.

“I was a midfielder in lacrosse, so we’d run a lot,” said Hassman. “I always kind of enjoyed running on the weekends or when I had free time, so it definitely helped me stay in different sorts of shape throughout high school, but I guess I figured out that running was the one thing I really loved to do, and I would turn to that in my free time over the other sports.”

She finally joined the cross country team her freshman year of high school, and it quickly turned out to be an inspired decision, as she became a four-time all-star, two-time league MVP, and captained the team her senior year. But when she started looking for colleges, Northeastern was not high on her list, partially due to its lack of a lacrosse program.

“I started looking for lacrosse at the start,” she recalled, “and I considered, maybe I could do both at a D3 school, and run cross country and play lacrosse, but I think I ultimately figured out I would enjoy being on a track and cross country team in college a lot more.”

Recruited to Northeastern’s program during the year blighted by COVID, Hassman has nonetheless quickly become an integral part of the women’s cross country and track distance squads, helping to lead them to strong team performances, such as the women’s cross country squad finishing second at CAA Championships two years running. Along the way she’s also racked up some impressive individual performances, holding program records in the 6000m for cross country, and the mile and 5000m for track, as well as holding the fourth-best time in program history in the 1500m, a rare feat to pull off in multiple events at significantly different distances. 

Those times have given her more than just an entry in a record book, they’ve given her a chance to compete with some of the best in the nation. This year, Hassman accomplished her goal of qualifying in the 5K for the NCAA Championship Preliminary Round in Jacksonville, Florida. There she faced stiff competition but held her head high, finishing 37th overall with a time of 16:35.65, which equates to a 5:20 mile pace. Even in a season that didn’t end as the team might have hoped, with the women’s squad finishing 6th in the CAA after coming in 5th in 2022, Hassman’s performances helped lead the team by example, and her leadership doesn’t only come on the track.

“She’s just a people person,” said teammate and fellow junior women’s XC/Track runner Ava Duggan. “Even after a race, whether it’s good or bad, she’ll go up to other people and congratulate them, as well as teammates. … She’s very humble.”

That mentality is huge, possibly even more so in running than in other sports, and can concretely affect the outcome. One of the things both Hassman and XC/Track assistant coach John Murray stressed as important was the mental work both leading up to and during a race. Running is far from a purely physical test, and outsiders may not realize the amount of analysis and strategy that goes into planning and executing a race at a pivotal meet. Coaches and athletes go over data both to see what a realistic pace for their own runners is, as well as to scout the opposition and project where the other runners should be in relation to the team during the event.

“Every athlete’s different as far as their strengths,” said Murray. “Sometimes you have an athlete who can just really grind out a pace, Abby’s someone that can just run a very consistent pace at a high intensity at a long period of time, and then you have some athletes who can have a really high intensity kick finish at the end of their race. … You have different people with different strengths running the same event against a bunch of different competitors, so you’ve got to take a comprehensive look at all of that before you sit down with the athlete and say ‘Hey listen, here’s how we’re going to attack.’”

But once the preparation is done and the starting gun goes off, with all the commotion and the physical strain, it’s easy to get in one’s head. How does Hassman stay centered during a big race? She likes to focus on everything going on around her, to avoid overthinking and second-guessing herself.

“I think just staying calm and getting a feel for, ‘What are the people doing around me?’” she said. “Are they speeding up? Do I have to go with them? Or do I have to pass people? Just kind of reacting to the race helps me the best.”

“I’m always studying her and trying to figure out what she does,” said Duggan. “She’s very within herself, all races, even when she’s hurting, she looks very calm and collected.”

But while mentality is important, the physical strain of running can often be the main obstacle during a race, but in an interesting twist, Hassman doesn’t try to conquer or block out the pain, instead coming to terms with it.

“Obviously you’re going to be sore and it’s going to be hard,” she said. “But that’s a part of it, and reframing it to be like, ‘This is expected, it’s not crazy that I’m in pain right now.’ You’re working hard and it comes along with working hard and doing the best you can … just reframing the mindset of, ‘This hurts, this sucks’ to, ‘No, this will make me better.’”

This mantra seems to be a reality, with Hassman’s performances steadily improving throughout her college career, even among less than ideal COVID conditions during her first season. But with her senior year fast approaching, she and the team still see significant room to develop as they look to leap up the conference standings.

“If you get top two in your region in cross country, you qualify for nationals, so that’s been a goal,” she said. “This past year we came in fifth [in the region], which was our highest finish ever, which was really special and gave us a little bit more confidence going forward that it’s possible.”

With Hassman, Duggan, and multiple other members of the women’s distance squad entering their senior year, you have to back them to do it. But regardless of how the team performs next year, one thing they can count on is Hassman’s consistency, and now that she’s had a taste of a national meet, she’s hungry to get back there again. So when you tune into the NCAA Championship Preliminary Round next year, don’t be surprised to see Abby Hassman at the starting line, cool, calm, and ready to execute.