Ronak Rami Scores PR in 1500m at College Park

May 5, 2025 - College Park, MD.

 

All season the workouts, training times, effort and consistency have been there for sophomore Ronak Rami, but the racing & results didn't match up. On Friday night under the lights at the Kehoe Twilight Meet hosted by the University of Maryland - College Park; Ronak got it right. It was an excellent effort by a young student-athlete who just needed to believe.

 

Staying positive and in the right mindset is a big part of performance in any sport, but especially in distance running since it's just you against the clock. The longer the race, the more focus you need in order to succeed. That is the lesson Ronak Rami has been learning all season. His training and fitness level indicated he was ready to produce on a certain level but his focus and execution on race day was less than adequate. Head Coach Mark Pryor started to work on the mental aspect of Ronak's racing and focus on building PMA (Positive Mental Attitude).  Coach Pryor knew what his young athlete was capable of but needed Ronak to believe it.

 

Knowing that the 1500m event would be fast pace comprised of NCAA Division-I athletes, Coach Pryor instructed his athlete to "just believe in yourself and follow". And that is exactly what Ronak did. He follow the tightly bunched pack for three and a half laps, kicking in the last 300 meters, never giving up. His reward, an improvement is his 1500m PR (Personal Record) from 4:27.96 to 4:23.39 (:4 secs). His splits for each lap were encouraging as Coach Pryor urged his athlete to just keep pushing.

 

Immediately after the race, Ronak stated "I'm not even tired".  And just like that, the conversation moved to Ronak's next scheduled race at Widener University on May 12th. He is so excited and simply cannot wait to run the 5,000 meters (12.5 laps) event. That is his signature event where he has been working to run 16:00 or better. Ronak now believes that he can do it walking with a newfound confidence.

 

The goal all year has been to run or get as close to the NJCAA Outdoor T&F Nationals qualifying time of 15:03.34. Coach Pryor is confident that his athlete is capable of running much faster than he has all year.  The Widener University Final Qualifier will be Ronak's best opportunity to prove his coach right.