Center Grove boys cross-country and assistant track coach Howard Harrell used to be able to focus solely on preparing his athletes for competition.
Those days were gone once his daughters entered high school.
When a race involving Trojan sophomores Marielle and Gabrielle Harrell begins, dad finds himself multitasking. The two are, respectively, the oldest and middle of Howard and Linda Harrell’s triplet daughters.
They are coached in cross-country and track by Wes Dodson — and that’s the way dad prefers it.
“I like being around them, but yet not all the details,” coach Harrell said. “I can bring them to practice, see them on a daily basis, but I’m not the one yelling at them or pointing out things. I can be more of a dad than necessarily a coach.
“As the girls are racing, the guys are kind of warming up, so I’m watching both at the same time.”
It’s easier for Howard Harrell to keep an eye on his daughters in the fall, when cross-country teams start a race as one.
In track, it becomes slightly more difficult. Gabrielle, the more successful runner of the sisters, is expected to take part in at least four different events at some point this season — 800, 1,600, 3,200 and 4×800.
She finished 11th overall at the Franklin cross-country sectional in 21 minutes, 35 seconds.
Marielle, who is two minutes older than Gabrielle and four minutes older than the youngest triplet, Danielle, will compete in the 1,600 and maybe the 3,200.
“In elementary school, our dad would sign us up for the elementary mile,” Marielle said. “I like competing with other people. Now when we run, (Gabrielle) is more in the lead and I’m in the back.”
The coaching relationship between Dodson and Howard Harrell dates back to the 2000 cross-country season. Harrell was in his first year as Center Grove’s boys coach and Dodson his assistant.
In 2001, the Trojans girls cross-country job opened up and Dodson was named the new coach. Both men have been at their respective positions ever since.
“We communicate all the time. Howard has never, ever questioned a single thing I’ve done,” Dodson said. “He’s one of the nicest people I know. Howard studies running constantly and knows more about running than anyone I know.
“We’ve helped each other out for 18 years, so I don’t think it’s a stretch for Howard to trust me with the girls.”
Howard Harrell occasionally runs with his daughters and offers suggestions. Mostly, though, he focuses on boys distance runners at Center Grove.
“I will run with them when we go on spring break or in the summer. But you know what, those are the only times,” Howard Harrell said. “But I have given them pointers along the way.”
As most parents know, though, sometimes those pointers need to be delivered through another source.
Once, Howard thought Gabrielle might have asthma after listening to her labored breathing during one such run, and he let her know. Gabrielle waved off any such possibility, so her father mentioned it to Dodson, who concurred.
Only when Dodson mentioned it to Gabrielle did the light bulb turn on.
“She goes home and tells mom, ‘Coach Dodson thinks I might have asthma,’” Harrell said. “I’m like, ‘I just said that a week ago.’ There have been a couple times like that.”
Marielle and Gabrielle are excellent students interested in math and science (Danielle is a talented artist and writer). All three girls are shy, but Gabrielle the least so, which makes her something of the leader.
And even though she’s not running for her dad, having a sibling to train with is a positive experience unto itself.
“I like it because it’s a little bit of competition, but we can also push each other,” Gabrielle said. “I like the sibling part of it. If I was having a bad race and, say, Marielle passed me, I would be cheering her on. Her success is my success.”
