On Nov. 12, freshman Jake Forseter lined up with his teammates on the Berman Hebrew Academy track, prepared for a final attempt at a personal record in the 5K for the 2025 cross country season. 17 minutes and four seconds later, Forseter crossed the finish line, and set a 5K PR, breaking the freshman 5K record.
The record had been on Forseter’s radar since the first time trial at the beginning of the season, serving as a baseline of an athlete’s fitness early on. After the first time trial, Forseter talked with varsity cross country head coach Jason Belinkie, who was impressed by his performance and told him about the record as a potential goal for the season.
“I attribute the combination of his passion, his dedication and his talent to his mentality that he’s willing to put in the work,” Belinkie said. “…He is one of the few that actually did the entire summer training program that we gave the team…He raised the bar for what he could achieve by a tremendous amount by putting in that work over the summer.”
Forseter paced with junior Judah Trauben, and attributes part of his success to the motivation that running with Trauben gave him, and his confidence in his own training. Over the summer, Forseter committed to the summer training schedule, running with friends during free time blocks at sleepaway camp. During the season, Forseter made sure to stay consistent in his training even through holiday breaks, and did the optional strength training routines.
“I was basically thinking to myself, this is what I know I need to do, and I know I can do it,” Forseter said. “I’ve run similar times, not for a 5K but I’ve run similar times in my workouts, and I know this, I just need to keep pushing myself.”
The 5K record was previously held by JDS graduate Nathan Szubin, who ran 17:11. He held the record for four years, and was excited that Forseter broke it. After the time trial, Szubin congratulated Forseter on his achievement. Szubin recalls the excitement of previous members of the team reaching out to him when he was running for JDS.
“That’s a really strong part of the JDS culture,” Szubin said. “We always pay it forward. It’s one of our team values, so I was happy to pay it forward to Jake.”
Belinkie emphasizes Forseter’s accomplishment of not only breaking the record, but also coming close to breaking 17 minutes. According to Belinkie, this achievement is not reached by many freshmen, and indicates strong potential and talent.
“I know how hard it is to even come close to that record, knowing that the person who had that record is undoubtedly the best runner that’s ever come to our program,” Belinkie said. “To break a person like that’s record in your first high school season is very special.”
Forseter started running in seventh grade during spring track and field, and joined the cross country team in eighth grade.
“I really like how repetitive [running] is…it’s a nice thing,” Forseter said. “Especially during races, it’s a sport where I really see how much I’ve improved, and that feels good, because I know my progress, and I know what I’m capable of.”
In addition to setting a new record and improving his time by over a minute over the course of the season, Forseter helped his team win state championships, and is now ranked 12th of all time on the team. Looking back on his season, Forester feels grateful for the support his coaches and teammates provided.
“For now, I’m going to take it one season at a time, and keep running as much as I can,” Forseter said. “It’s just about not trying to compare myself to the times of other people too much, and focusing mostly on what I can do to make myself better, how I can PR my next time, and help this team succeed in future years as well.”
