Just Run With It

Tall with kind blue eyes and thin rectangular glasses, sitting in LHS physics teacher and boys cross country coach Mr. Mark Buesing’s presence is kind of like sitting in the presence of a real-life Albus Dumbledore, minus the beard and extra years. His coaching legacy at LHS is incomparable, and 18 years of wise words, unwavering love for the sport, and unconditional support for his team have made him, similarly to JK Rowling’s dynamic character, an inspiring mentor to the students who look up to him.

After nearly two decades of changing the attitudes and building the character of the boys he coached, Mr. Buesing– affectionately known as Mr. Mark to his students and runners– resigned as cross country coach this past January. Despite leaving his position, it’s obvious to anyone who asks him about it that Mr. Mark is more passionate about cross country and being active in general than most people are about anything else.

“Being outdoors is a great thing, and as a cross country runner, you get to literally run to places in town that not a lot of people see…” he said. “It’s about the growth of boys to men… we see that full transition played out for a kid who comes in as a freshman and leaves as a senior and it’s that personal, physical, emotional, spiritual growth that can come from something like cross country.”

But according to Mr. Mark, the passion doesn’t come without pain. Asking LHS students how they feel about running a mile, let alone more, will earn a shudder or disgusted look at best from most. Beyond the sweat and racing pulse comes shin splints and sore muscles and stress fractures that put the intensity and difficulty of the sport into perspective. “If you’re at the top of that game in cross country, it takes 15 minutes of the worst kind of suffering you can imagine, the kind of suffering that literally feels like you’re dying,” he explained. “…the secret to success [is] the more pain you can handle, the better you get.”

The pain and exhaustion of running a race in beating September heat is something LHS senior and two-year cross country runner Tommy Doherty can attest to. According to him, it might have been intolerable if Mr. Mark didn’t empathize. “He ran with us during all the workouts, whereas some other coaches, you’ll see them sitting there on their bikes just waiting for kids to run by… but Coach Mark will actually run the workout, so it’s like he’s going through the pain with us.”

Still, though the physical pain of running mile after mile in scorching temperatures can seem insurmountable, Mr. Mark insists that the real challenge cross country presents to athletes is mental. “It can be a physical struggle… but equally as important are the mental obstacles. Kids who suffer from depression can be helped by physical activity, kids who have trouble at home… cross country kind of becomes their escape.”

Besides conditioning a runner’s physical self, Mr. Mark explains how cross country can become “a vehicle for growth” in many aspects of their life. “Under stress, people either come together or break apart, and to a person, we saw that group of young men come together, and that was really rewarding for us coaches,” he recalls about a special “Goruck” workout designed to improve the team dynamic and promote togetherness in a highly individualistic sport by forcing runners to complete grueling workouts they couldn’t finish without the help of their teammates. “I think the teams of Libertyville have always had a good sense of togetherness, and that’s only fostered by the coaches here… So while cross country is individual, we’ve always found that there’s a neat camaraderie around here.”

Mr. Mark’s influence reaches beyond his runners, too– LHS AP Physics teacher Mr. Michael Cook speaks highly of his colleague and fellow cross country coach.

“He’s a great guy to work for,” Mr. Cook said. “He doesn’t micromanage; he gives us his intent and just lets us run with it.” And in considering plans for the upcoming season, Mr. Cook hopes to continue some of Mr. Mark’s tried and true practices. “He leads by example. That’s how any good leader leads.”

Leading by example is something Mr. Mark excels in– he’s a natural at unifying the team and making sure no one is left behind, prompting underclassmen and upperclassmen alike to bond together as a close-knit team of more than 100.

“He’s nice, and he cares about everyone on the team, but he still gets work done when it needs to be done. He really balances that well, and he cares about the first person to finish and the last person to finish, so you know, he tries making sure that everyone works hard and no one slacks off,” explained LHS sophomore and first year varsity runner Stephen Richardson. “He’s a really fair guy. I know he addressed the problem of underclassmen getting hazed… which wasn’t a problem at all, but he definitely made sure it didn’t happen. He definitely gave equal respect to both underclassmen and upperclassmen.”

With a cross country team as competitive and as accomplished as LHS’, it’s hard not to get caught up in the spirit of competition and “run dirty,” but according to LHS junior and varsity runner Will Johnson, Mr. Mark never let competitive edge turn into an unfair advantage. “Before anything else, before we ran meets, before we started practices, he would remind us to be athletes of good character. That was really important to him,” Johnson said of his coach.

And now as the runners look to the upcoming season with high hopes for their team, speculations are running high– while a new coach hasn’t been appointed just yet, the boys are confident that the program will maintain its standard of excellence.

“The team won’t be as big,” senior Robbie Seneczko predicted. “The parents respect him a lot, and the general opinion of [Coach Mark] is really high… I think he’s going to be missed a lot by everyone.”

Meanwhile, Tommy Doherty is sure that the team will continue to excel.

“I feel like whoever steps in is still going to do a really good job of coaching the team and keeping the team aspect going, but they have really big shoes to fill… [Coach Mark] has such a huge presence when he’s there, and when he’s gone, it’s going to affect some people. But at the same time, I know he’s going to be checking in with the team every week, probably. I’m sure it’ll still be okay.”