The Jock: Emily Berkin '13

Chelsea BrandweinSports Editor Emily Berkin. The name must ring a bell. This junior can run a 5K in 19 minutes and 36 seconds. She has completed a half Iron Man composed of a 1.2 mile swim, a 56 mile bike race and a half marathon run. She achieved fame as the fastest girl in the fifth grade and can spit out her mile times like a mathlete recites the digits of pi.Berkin grew up watching her mom race which jump-started her passion for cross country and track. While she has gone out of her comfort zone and tackled flag-football, basketball, softball and karate, track is the one sport that she has stood by.She remembers her first triathlon as if it were yesterday. It was Independence Day, the year was 2003 and she received second place in her age group of 7-8.“I remember we started in the parking lot in the library in Pacific Palisades. We rode the 5K course. I still have the mountain bike that I rode for that race,” Berkin said. “Then we had to run a mile up to the pool and right before we got to the pool we had to climb this hill. I remember how much I hated that hill. We finished, then stripped down to our suits and went swimming. When I had completed the triathlon I remember just feeling so accomplished.”Even when she wants to give up, Berkin is able to stay motivated. She has continued her running career thoughout injury and fear, even when a natural disaster forced an abrupt ending to a triathlon.Berkin was at the Camp Pendleton military base competing in the swimming portion of the triathlon when Hurricane Katrina was active.“There were six foot swells and I couldn’t touch the bottom of the ocean,” Berkin said. “As the waves crashed, I was swallowed by fear and panic.”This experience, however, did not dampen her love for running. She is currently focusing on track and cross country at Samo, and hopes to return to triathlons soon.“I know that right now I have cross country and I have track and I only have one chance at these, whereas I can do triathlons for the rest of my life,” Berkin said.Currently, she is working towards lowering her mile time for the upcoming track season, and starting a triathlon team.“[Track] is the one thing that I have been committed to my entire life, and I feel that if I lose that commitment, I will lose the ability to be committed to anything else,” Berkin said. “This is my base ground. This is who I am.”cbrandwein@thesamohi.com