In sports and faith, she stays the course

Vania Jure understood that the most important cross -country meets are on Saturdays.

She was a Brockton High freshman who wanted to join the team but, she told the coach, if a meet were on Saturday she would not compete. On that she would not compromise.

The coach explained that she would miss the larger competitions and the postseason meets. And that weekday meets would be few and far between.

Jure did not budge. As a Seventh-day Adventist, "I can't run on Saturday," said Jure. "It's Sabbath for us."

But she would, she vowed, do her best at every event she could attend. With that, the coach welcomed her to the team.

Four years later, Jure spills over with pride about what is now her favorite sport. She has become the team motivator, and has challenged herself to get better.

In October, Jure completed the last race of her high school career with a personal-best time. When she crossed the finish line, her teammates greeted her with a group hug and shared tears of excitement.

"Even though she couldn't be there on Saturdays, the fact that she stayed with it and didn't give up is something great for the rest of the girls to see," said Kasey Sheehan, Brockton's captain.

Jure's family moved from Haiti to Brockton 10 years ago. In that time, her family became Seventh-day Adventists. She follows the principles of the religion, including observing the Sabbath from sunset Friday to sunset Saturday.

There would be no attending Friday night football games. She does not watch television or listen to the radio. It is 24 hours "to be in a holy state of mind," she said. "It is a time for you to think about what God has done for you all week."

Someone once asked Jure to come out just to see what the Saturday cross-country meets were like, but she did not want to stray from her beliefs.

"Saturday is my day for God, so I'm not going to sacrifice it for something else," she said.

But Jure promised that every other day she would do what she could to improve and be a part of her team. For her, running was important -- something she was encouraged to do from an early age. When she was young, even when she walked, she walked fast, her little legs moving like scissors.

Jure did not consider running seriously until she was a freshman and her mother developed diabetes. The two made a pact to get in better shape. Jure began with running.

In Haiti, running on a team meant running for a track team. When she reached Brockton High, she signed up for cross-country, thinking it was the track team. Only later did she realize that in cross-country an average race would be 3.1 miles and the course would wind through challenging terrain.

"The first few weeks, I wanted to quit. I was in pain every day, but my mom kept pushing me not to quit because it was a new experience," Jure said.

Her perseverance paid off. Cross-country became Jure's way to relax after school.

"You can hear the leaves and tree branches cracking behind you, and you can hear other runners coming," Jure said.

Still, she did not savor the competition -- the cheering crowds made her feel pressured to perform -- but she loved running and the outdoors.

While Jure's teammates participated in an average of 10 meets a year, she participated in four. There weren't many opportunities for her to improve, but she did what she could. She became an example as her sister, Cassandra, joined the team this year.

Brockton coach Cliff Canavan, in his first year as head coach, touted Jure as an example for younger runners. He asked her to lead the younger group because of her attitude.

"When she comes to practice she is always positive and has something nice to say," Canavan said.

Jure continued to run, joining the indoor and outdoor track teams. Teammate Melanie Harris became one of her best friends.

"She's definitely passionate, because she's not really in it to compete," Harris said. "She's in it because she loves to run."

Harris said she misses Jure when she is not around. At 5-foot-4, Jure often jokes about how "itsy bitsy" she is and her teammates get a kick out of her spunky personality.

The bond Jure developed with her cross-country teammates made it even more difficult for Jure to think about what for her would be an early end to the season. That day came on Oct. 24 -- the team's last weekday meet.

"I didn't want to think about it. I knew at the end, it was going to be my last race," Jure said. "When you like something a lot, you don't want it to end. You're dying for it not to end."

Jure set a personal goal to run under 24 minutes in the race. She would need to shave 20 seconds off her time to meet the goal.

Canavan placed injured runners along various points of the course to encourage her.

Jure was excited at the starting line, but began to have second thoughts as she reached the middle of the course. She began to think, "Why am I doing this? I can't even breathe. I'm tired. I want to quit."

Then she saw her teammates. It was the one time she appreciated the cheers. "Oh my goodness, I heard them, and I got excited. It was touching. It was a booster. I thought, 'Keep going, I can do it, ' " Jure said.

She finished the race in 23:27, setting a personal-best time by more than 30 seconds.

"You feel like you win something at the end," Jure said. "You benefit from it more than anyone else. If the team wins, it's an extra bonus. When you do it for yourself, you're a winner already."

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