Halfway through the indoor Atlantic Coast Conference Championship distance medley relay race last February, Noah Affolder prepared to kick into high gear. Suddenly, the then-freshman’s body “locked up.” He slowed down, and it felt like he was moving backward. Affolder almost got lapped. Syracuse finished last, two minutes behind the top team.  

Affolder called the performance “embarrassing,” leading to the coaching staff to scratch him from the rest of the weekend to prevent further humiliation, he said. After the meet, his coaches challenged him, giving the distance runner three weeks to “fix your crap.” 

He couldn’t figure out what was wrong with him. He still doesn’t exactly know. When Affolder returned to campus, he had trouble getting out of bed. “They tested me for everything,” Affolder said, “and everything came back negative.” 

Affolder used the three weeks to make lifestyle changes while committing almost exclusively to running. After the allotted time, Affolder embarked on a self-described redemption tour. His disappointing first indoor season triggered it. He had a medical hiccup during cross-country in 2018, and now, the distance runner is focused on returning to the All-American form he earned last spring. 

“I have the opportunity to write my own legacy here at Syracuse, and I’m not going to have my legacy be my freshman year,” Affolder said.  

After 2018’s Indoor ACC Championships, Affolder wrote a list of everything important in his life. If it didn’t help his running, he’d cross it off. Soon after that, he ended his long-distance relationship, of three years, after late night calls and fights over FaceTime before meets. 

At times, the coaching staff questioned Affolder’s focus, wondering if he’d rather be at his girlfriend’s school than running at Syracuse, his mother, Brandyn said. Affolder’s ex-girlfriend wished not to be named. 

Coaches didn’t sway his personal decisions either way, he said. They tried to help clear his mental space to achieve optimal performance. He came to understand no running performance defines him. During this time, he also consulted with a sport psychologist, who helped clear his mind. 

Affolder said he made more significant changes to his dieting, social life and sleep schedule. He now meticulously tracks his sleep and food consumption. Before the three-week reflection period, he would often stay up late doing homework. Now, he makes sure he finishes any work he has before practice and falls asleep at 10:30 p.m. on the dot every night. 

He’ll often stay home and watch Syracuse sporting events on TV instead of wasting energy standing in the student section or risk getting sick. “Everything’s down to a science,” Affolder said. In every decision he makes, big or small, he asks himself: Will it affect his running? 

“He’s very regimented,” head coach Brien Bell said. “I just think he’s really, really emotionally in it.” 

Now, Affolder only eats food where he can pronounce all the ingredients — once, Bell caught him eating Little Bites muffins on a cross-country trip. Now, he opts for overnight oats for breakfast and Nature Valley bars for snacks. 

“I haven’t touched Little Bites in almost two years,” Affolder boasts.  

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Once he regained his footing, he won the conference steeplechase championship, earning All-ACC Academic Team honors. Then, at NCAA Outdoor Championships, he placed ninth in the steeplechase. Affolder’s mind was clear and his legs churned; the three-week sabbatical paid off. 

Then, to start his sophomore year, Syracuse failed to win the cross-country ACC Championship for the first time since joining the conference in 2013. When the team returned to Syracuse, they went out to dinner at Dinosaur Bar-B-Que to discuss what went wrong and how to regroup for nationals, which were less than three weeks away. Affolder remembers eating pulled pork and macaroni and cheese, same as everyone.  

Hours later, around 3 a.m., Affolder woke up and couldn’t stop vomiting. He assumed it was food poisoning. But in the back of his mind, he remembered the anatomy and physiology exam worth a third of his grade he had to take later that day. Affolder didn’t have time to recover. He composed himself the best he could, sat down in class, filled out the first three questions on the exam, then fled to the bathroom to vomit more. Twenty-four hours after first vomiting, Affolder was rushed to the emergency room for an appendectomy.  

Nineteen days after his surgery, Affolder competed in the National Cross-Country Championships, finishing 190th out of 252 runners. He said the right side of his body still wasn’t responding well when the race started.  

“Unfortunately,” his mom said, “It seems like just when we think he’s about to peak and do something great … he has these unforeseen setbacks.” 

After becoming the best distance running prospect in New York, according to former head coach Chris Fox, Affolder moved to Carlisle, Pennsylvania, but sat out most of the outdoor season due to tendinitis. During a meet at Virginia last year, Affolder clipped a barrier and injured his elbow, but he ran the next day in an Aircast.  

The memories of last indoor season haunt Affolder, but they also fuel him every day, in every practice, and every decision he makes. A roadblock can appear any time — he knows that — but now, he’ll be ready for it.  

Published on January 30, 2019 at 11:20 pm

Contact Danny: dremerma@syr.edu | @DannyEmerman