Madi Shinn, a senior at Cedarcrest High School, is the first runner in her family. She’s also the first runner on her girls cross country team to cross the finish line in a lot of the races she’s competed in this season.

“I’ve been PR’ing (setting a personal record) a lot,” she said after a practice, and without ego. “It’s been a more successful season than I thought I would have.”

As of Oct. 12, her personal record stood at 19:59 for a 5k race at the Bellevue Invitational, but that’s likely to change before too much longer.

Shinn credits her good health this season — a hip injury last year lost about half the season for her — to her coach Bruce McDowell — “He knows I can run really fast if I put my mind to it” — and to her teammates, who push her to succeed.

“You’re running your own race in cross country, but at the same time, you help people to get better, and they help you,” she said.

“It’s really nice to have that support in the back corner, where no one’s cheering for you,” added Ian Fay, a senior on the Cedarcrest boys squad.

Although the boys and girls race separately, for the most part, they practice together, and improve together.

“This is our deepest team, speed-wise, for several years,” Fay, a team leaders, said after the same practice. He’s set a few personal records too, this year, most recently a 16:09 5k, and led his teammates across the finish line — but not by much.

“We always have those other people right behind us!” he said.

Fay is also the first runner in his family. While Shinn started cross country in middle school, though, Fay had already been at it for years.

“I started running in first grade,” he said, on the Cherry Valley Elementary School track every day during recess. He set out to break the school record for miles run in a year, and he did, with 312 miles one year. He knew his total elementary school mileage, too, 1,567, from first through fifth grades.

“I was always really goal oriented,” he explained.

Both runners have set some ambitious goals both for themselves (college competition) and for the team (districts and state) as they head into conference competition, and their only home meet of the season, this Thursday, starting at 4 p.m. at the Blue Heron Golf Course in Carnation.