He is currently ranked sixth in the county for running, he holds the school record for a 5K run and he was named Montgomery Country Running’s Athlete of the Week Oct. 3; junior Zach Weinstein has made quite a name for himself.

Those who know Weinstein describe him as “serious,” “committed” and “hard-working,” so it comes as no surprise that somebody with a work ethic like his has risen to the top.
“The key to becoming a good runner is consistency, determination and a lot of hard work,” Weinstein said.

Weinstein runs every day of the week, whether he has practice or not, and ran every single day over the summer.

“Sometimes it feels good to go out and run around when you are just jogging with friends having a good time,” Weinstein said.

However when it comes time for a meet, Weinstein does a lot more than just “run around.” He has placed in the top 10 in all but two races this year, and has placed number one amongst other CHS runners in seven meets this season.

“Zach is a role model because he works extremely hard and watches his diet just to perform better,” senior cross-country captain Alex Kim said. “He is one of our best runners.”

Weinstein has cut out desserts and saturated fats and eats mostly vegetables and whole grains.

“I’m a vegan,and he eats much better than I do,” said Zach’s father, Ivan Weinstein.

At the Great American Invitational Oct. 2, Weinstein set a school record by running a 5K race in 15 minutes and 41 seconds, which is also the second fastest time for that distance in the county this year.

“I was proud because he ran a really smart race,” cross country coach Paul Jacobson said. “That race was super competitive, and he just kept moving up.”

According to Jacobson, Weinstein will be shooting to break yet another school record. Within a year-and-half of joining the school’s team, he ran the second fastest two-mile in school history and Jacobson hopes to see Weinstein beat the first place time.

When CHS hosted a 5K race against Northwest and Whitman Sept. 28, Weinstein placed first, finishing the race after just 17 minutes and 22 seconds.

“When I saw Zach running at the front of the pack, I could hardly believe it was my son,” Ivan said.

At the Montgomery County cross-country championship Oct. 23, Weinstein placed third for CHS and 13th out of 168 runners. However, many had expected him to place much higher.

“Counties was the first race where [Weinstein] didn’t meet or exceed his expectations, and he still ran a pretty good race,” Kim said.

At the regional championship Nov. 4, even though Weinstein placed tenth out of 339 runners, he was disappointed with his finish and blames the rainy weather for holding him back.

“We weren’t able to run our hardest because of the conditions,” Weinstein said. “Tenth is not a really good representation of where I stand. I wanted to get top five.”

Weinstein finished seventh overall in the state championship Nov. 13, making him one of the the top two junior runners in the state and helping the school win a second place trophy.
“During the race I tried to think ‘Stay relaxed, it’s only three miles,’” Weinstein said. “I’ve put in a lot of hard work for this moment, so stay confident.” 

Weinstein is also enrolled in several AP courses and manages to maintain a high GPA, which he attributes to running.

“[Running] has helped me stay focused in school,” Weinstein said. “To run, you have to be really determined, focused and dedicated, and I apply that to life.”

As a junior, Weinstein has plenty of time to get even better, leaving the cross country team with a lot of excitement and expectation.

“I’m just happy I get to coach the kid and have another year with him to watch him progress,” Jacobson said.