Running brings the best out of Gilbert senior 4x800 runner Clare Stahr

Clare Stahr is regarded by her Gilbert girls track and field teammates and coaches as a kind individual who is always the first one to support her teammates, no matter how their event turns out.

But when she is on the track, Stahr is all business.

“I’ve been told I look very determined when I run,” said Stahr. “I think a lot of that is that as soon I start the race I just focus in, and I’m really thinking about anything else. Sometimes it comes off as a little intense, but I’m not like that as a person.”

Stahr, a senior, was certainly focused during the opening leg of the high school girls 4x800-meter relay at the Drake Relays Saturday in Des Moines.

“When she’s on the track, look out for her,” said Gilbert 4x800 anchor runner Sarah Feddersen. “But it doesn’t scare me because I know her amazing personality beneath it.”

In fact, Feddersen, who placed seventh in the girls individual 800 at Drake on Friday, is motivated by how determined Stahr looks when she runs.

“It honestly gets me excited,” Feddersen said. “Being an anchor, I have to wait for so long. When Clare has the baton, I know we’re in safe hands from the get-go. You can see the look on her face, and it gets me determined to do my best as well.”

More: How Gilbert star runner Sarah Feddersen found her niche in track and field

Feddersen ran an incredible anchor leg to help Gilbert finish seventh in the girls 4x800 at Drake for the second year in a row. The Tigers, a 3A team, ran a season-best time of 9:27.52 to easily beat the 9:40.03 they ran at last year's Relays.

On Saturday the Gilbert 4x800 girls only finished behind six 4A schools, led by Pleasant Valley's Relays record time of 9:01.47.

Stahr played a huge role in that. She has been an inspirational figure at Gilbert for a long time.

She has run track and cross country all four years she has been at Gilbert. Stahr has been part of multiple state-qualifying events and teams during that time.

Sophia Bleich is the person Stahr hands the baton to in the 4x 800. She is a junior at Gilbert.

When Bleich started high school Stahr was already setting a standard for distance runners in girls track and cross country.

“Clare has always been the person I look up to,” said Bleich. “When I was younger, she was the fast runner in track, and I was like I want to be like Clare. Watching her go out and race just gets me so excited to go race for this group of girls.”

Sophomore Keira Andersen burst onto the scene at Gilbert last year as a freshman. Stahr was right there to welcome her and make her feel comfortable.

“She really does set the tone for us,” said Andersen. “When we do workouts, she’s always the one saying it’s just one more rep, just get up there and do your best — we're going to crush this.”

Stahr now has two seventh-place finishes in the girls 4x800 at Drake under her belt. In a few weeks she and her three 4x800 teammates will be going for a repeat Class 3A state championship.

More: Ames' Lauren Risdal and Gilbert's Emee Dani enjoy their first 3,000 run at Drake Relays

But medals and championships are not what drives her.

“I really don’t care about the place, I care about us running our best,” Stahr said. “Every single time I’ve watched these girls run they’ve given everything they have, which is just so beautiful to see.”

She loves every moment she has with her teammates and getting to compete against outstanding competition.

“I’ve just been gifted with an incredible team, and God has blessed us with the opportunities we’ve been given at Gilbert,” Stahr said. “It’s just so incredible to race with competition with these girls right next to us (Pleasant Valley) running a 9:01.”

Stahr said she wants to savor her final few weeks as part of the Gilbert girls track program. She will try and make the most of that time, and winning another state championship would be the cherry on top to a fantastic career.

One thing is for sure, Stahr is going to give everything she has to close out her career.

“She has the best race face of anyone I have ever seen," said Gilbert coach Jodi Hurn. "When I see that look, I know she is 100% game on and watch out!”

Joe Randleman covers high school sports for the Ames Tribune. Contact him at jrandleman@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JoeRandleman

This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: Running is a joy for Gilbert senior track athlete Clare Stahr