A breeze swirls past runners on a chilly Tuesday evening while they zoom around the curve of the track in the 200 meter sprint. Down the final stretch, Zain Vakath (’23) pumps his legs as hard as he can, powering through to a solid finish. For Zain, this is just another day of rigorous training — training that he hopes will win him another Central Coast Section (CCS) championship with his relay team.

Zain’s track journey began in sixth grade after experimenting with several sports and settling on track. He decided to persevere track throughout all of middle and high school due to the sense of community that it fosters. Despite the competitive nature of track, the team remains supportive of one another.

“The unique thing about track is that it offers me the opportunity to be competitive while also still having that community, which is an outlet that everyone needs in life,” Zain said. “Everyone wants to win for themselves but no matter what, we’re not going to hold back from helping our teammates with feedback. There’s no selfishness because the entire team is willing to help out and contribute to a community where everyone wants to have a good time, which is our number one priority.”

Zain also cherishes his relationship with the Harker track and field coaches, whose openness to discussion, which often prompts Zain to ask questions about certain exercises or techniques, widely impacted his journey in becoming a faster runner. 

“One of the most unique things I’ve seen in our track program is that we’re really close with the coaches,” Zain said. “I’m listening to their feedback, and they’re really open to listen to our feedback, too. They’ve been so helpful, and they not only make us love the sport more, but they really teach us about the sport. So if I am asking, ‘why are we running like 500 times today, but not tomorrow,’ they’ll explain the science behind the training cycles. The biological aspect is pretty interesting to me.” 

When the pandemic hit, it halted the track season in 2020 and limited Zain’s ability to train. Two years after the onset of the pandemic in 2022, Zain also suffered an injury while training over the summer. Despite the challenges that Zain has faced, he remains committed to improving by following his trainers’ guidance. His coaches’ list of drills, which includes warm-ups and running periods, targets all muscles that the runners utilize in order for them to run faster. The specific time intervals for each exercise are also paramount in preventing unwanted injuries among runners.

“An injury in track especially sets you back and resets your progress, so you have to build back up from that,” Zain said. “So I think that being really cautious with how you train and not overtraining is important.” 

After years of practice and training, Zain succeeded in accomplishing one of his goals when the Harker four by one hundred relay team won CCS champions last year. The team, composed of Armaan Thakker (’23), Andrew Fu (’23),  Rigo Gonzales (’23) and himself, has been competing in the same event together since middle school, leading to a strong connection between the members.

“We won the four-by-one relay for track last year and we’ve been running the same event, this relay, since we were sixth graders,” Rigo said. “Just to see it culminate in that awesome moment of winning CCS was great.”

Close friend Pranav Mullapalli (’23) admires Zain’s persistent attitude. He expresses his high regard for Zain’s dedication and humility and recognizes him as a symbol of inspiration.

“Zain’s one of the most dedicated people I know and I really respect him for that,” Pranav said. “Something else that stands out is his humility and practicality. He doesn’t like to talk about himself a lot, but rather, kindly talks about other people instead.”

Zain’s passion for track has also led him to become more involved with the school community. During school meetings, Zain, alongside BB Ajlouny (’23), leads the Eagle Update, which covers news and results about sports events that took place the previous week. Additionally, in his spare time, he co-hosts a podcast founded in 10th grade with BB that covers school events and features guest speakers, which initially launched as an effort to connect people throughout the COVID-19 outbreak but continued to serve its purpose even after Harker resumed in-person learning. 

“The podcast really brought light to different aspects of communities that were previously hidden,” Zain said. “For example, a few months ago, we interviewed Mr. Barsky which was a great experience because I was able to share a side of him that students may not know.”

Both the track and school community have enabled Zain to branch out through his interactions with others, developing from a timid freshman to a confident leader who inspires others with his dedication and energy. 

“My greatest growth as a person is definitely interacting with others,” Zain said. “When I first joined the upper school, I was definitely on the more timid side, and my experiences at Harker have allowed me to be a part of a bigger community, which is something that I really appreciate.”