Hesston runner’s religious beliefs keep her from postseason
By any standard, Hesston senior Mikala Heddin is one of the top cross country runners in Class 3A.
She has won three races of her five races this season and her fastest 4-kilometer time of 15 minutes, 2 seconds would force her into the conversation of the state title discussion.
But Heddin won’t chase a championship. While the rest of the state competes in state-qualifying regional races this Saturday, Heddin’s name will be absent.
That’s because Heddin is standing firm in her religious beliefs, which do not permit her to compete on the day of the Sabbath, which is Saturday.
“I was really disappointed when I first found out I wasn’t going to be able to run at state because I really like the big races,” Heddin said. “But as time has gone on, I began to understand and now I get why we do it. The disappointment is not as bad anymore.”
Heddin ran at the state meet in her first two seasons, finishing second in Class 4A as a freshman and third as a sophomore.
After the completion of her sophomore season, Heddin’s family made changes to start keeping the Sabbath. The family does not consider the faith they practice Jewish or Christian, which makes it difficult to explain to others.
“We don’t really have a title for it, I guess,” said Fran Heddin, Mikala’s mother. “Whenever somebody asks, we just tell them that we read the whole Bible and follow it the best we understand it.”
That means strictly following the Ten Commandments, and they interpret the Fourth Commandment to mean they are not allowed to work or make anyone else work on Saturdays, the day of the Sabbath.
“Even if Mikala didn’t consider running work, there are people that have to get up and put on the meet and are paid to run the meet,” Fran Heddin said. “That would be causing people to work. It’s difficult sometimes because I see her ability, but if the Bible says don’t do this, then we follow it.”
Fortunately for Heddin, all of Hesston’s regular-season meets have either been on a Tuesday or a Thursday. But when the postseason rolls around, Heddin’s absence has led to questions from her teammates and competition.
“In the beginning, I was really shy because I couldn’t really explain it easily,” Heddin said. “I would just tell people I had something else going on. But as I got more confident, I started to explain it and now I think people respect it.”
Fran Heddin has asked the Kansas State High School Activities Association if there could be another way for her daughter to compete, but she agrees there is no good alternative for a runner who cannot compete with the rest of the runners on Saturday.
Entering the season knowing beforehand that she cannot chase a dream, Heddin still opts to compete during the regular season because of her love for the sport.
There is no doubt she is talented enough to run at the collegiate level, but the same issues of running on Saturdays have affected her recruitment. That’s left her racing career in question, but Heddin still maintains a positive outlook.
“I just really enjoy cross country,” Heddin said. “I enjoy being in shape and I like the running. There’s not a better feeling after you get done competing or after a workout, you get this feeling of accomplishment.”
And Heddin doesn’t need any state recognition to make her family proud of her decision.
“Nobody wants to be different,” Fran Heddin said. “So to be able to stand out and be able to embrace it like she has, I’m very proud of her. Overall, she’s just a great person and I’m really excited to see what her future holds for her.”
This story was originally published October 23, 2014 at 4:23 PM with the headline "Hesston runner’s religious beliefs keep her from postseason."