Catalina Foothills track star running toward one last big season

But not because of the impending weekend.

On Fridays, her school had a program where the students were allowed to run as far as they could in 20 minutes.

That’s where she discovered her love for running at just 8 years old.

“That was my favorite part of school,” she said.

A decade later, McNulty still carries that same passion for running, but now for the Catalina Foothills cross country and track and field teams.

Although it’s still early in the track and field season, she’s already racked up two top-two finishes, including first place in the 800 meters, her favorite event, at the Levi Wallace Foundation Tucson High Invitational on March 7.

And just last Thursday, McNulty finished in fourth place at the Nighthawk Early Bird Invitational, with a season-best time of 2:22:52 in the 800 meters.

Last season, she had 15 first-place finishes in various track and field events. The most notable wins of the bunch were the two state championships, in the 1,600 and 3,200 meters, at last year’s state tournament.

“The 3,200 was a really crazy race,” she says, recalling when she won the state title. “I went out really fast and then fell behind, and then in the last lap, I was pretty far behind, but ended up winning. And I remember going over to (one of the coaches) and he was crying. I had never seen him cry before. But I’ll never forget him and his big hug. It was definitely one of the best days of my life.”

McNulty says she’d like to run it back again this year.

“I think each season I typically start out a little bit slower than the competition,” she said. “And then I get a lot faster during (the season) and peak during state. I'm really excited about state.”

Since she began competing in middle school, McNulty says her favorite thing about the sport has been finding out how hard she can push herself and what her limits are.

Someone who has seen McNulty grow and challenge herself over the last four years is Foothills track and field head coach Blake Hinson.

“I think there's never been any doubt in my mind that Katie's the best distance runner in Arizona,” he said. “I've told her that over the years. I think the numbers finally back it up after her state championships last year.

“But I think she's grown. I think she's more extroverted now. When she was a freshman, she hardly said a word. Couldn't get her to talk very much, very closed in. But now she's become quite the leader.”

McNulty, he says, is like a duck.

Let us elaborate.

On the surface, she’s calm, serene and glides through life. But underneath the surface, she’s quickly paddling and working hard to reach her destination.

“She looks like she's got it all together, but I think that she really works very, very hard on things that you don't really see,” he said.

And even when adversity strikes, McNulty still finds a way to paddle on.

During her sophomore season, she had what she describes as a rough season, where she didn't qualify for the state tournament.

“There wasn't even anything specific to attribute it to. But during track, I just kind of fell behind,” she said. “It was pretty disappointing, but ultimately, I think it motivated me more for the next seasons, and allowed me to have a really incredible last year.”

With her high school running career coming to a close this spring, she wants to have one good, final season with the Falcons, but says that she couldn’t really ask for much more on her journey, both athletically and academically.

McNulty holds a 4.0 GPA and is a finalist for the prestigious National Merit Scholarship, which, on average, has over a million applicants annually.

Outside of school, McNulty loves reading, hanging out with her three dogs and volunteering with the National Charity League.

Balancing running, school and volunteering is all in a day’s work for the 18-year-old.

After she graduates from Catalina Foothills this year, McNulty is set to attend Rice University, a Division I school in Houston. There, she will major in mathematics and compete in cross country, along with indoor and outdoor track and field.

McNulty says running will always be a big part of her life, whether that’s competitively or recreationally. She may not be able to compete at the same level later on in life, but that won’t ever stop her from appreciating the sport she fell in love with as a kid.

“Katie is probably one of the most driven athletes or individuals that I think I've met,” Hinson said. “She already knows the answers to most questions you're going to ask her. It's really easy to coach Katie and it’s because she is so good. It kind of makes everybody a little nervous having to coach her because she's a superstar. We want to make sure that we do everything right by Katie. … 

“As a coach, it's really just been a gift, because at a lot of places you don't get to coach athletes like her. There's tons and tons of high school coaches who will coach for 30 years and they'll never have an athlete of that caliber. So, it really is a gift. And I'm grateful that she is in our program.”

Fast Five with Katie

Where is your favorite place to run in Tucson?

We have some really pretty places to run in Tucson, and I like enjoying that, so Sabino Canyon (is my favorite).

If you could go on a run with any athlete, who would you go with?

Femke Bol. She’s a Dutch hurdler. I watched her run for a long time and it’s a pretty incredible thing. She may not speak a whole lot of English, but in her interviews, she's a very likable person.

What are you snacking on before or after a race?

I eat a lot of Goldfish and saltine crackers.

What is your favorite book of all time?

“All the Light We Cannot See” (by Anthony Doerr). I really like the story and the writing is very beautiful. It's something I just really enjoyed every page of.

What is your current favorite class?

AP physics, because it has a lot of math.