You’ve just finished running three miles in a little over 20 minutes, and the lactic acid in your body gnaws at you all over.

You’d probably retreat to a tub of ice or hurry home and collapse on your bed.

Mary Erin Imwalle, however, would rather coach a cross country team of her own.

The mass communication senior did just that following her win at the Xavier/Loyola Cross Country Big Easy Invitational on the morning of Sept. 15. She went from one course to another to coach the Isidore Newman School’s eighth-grade girls’ team, whose meet began minutes after her own ended. It’s one of the many examples of multi-tasking on the Loyola cross country squad.

“She’s a dedicated, knowledgeable runner,” said coach Al Seither. “Kids who manage to juggle things turn out to be successful individuals.”

At the invitational, Maroon photo editor Tyler Kaufman, marketing sophomore, ran for Loyola’s men’s team and still found time to assist The Maroon photographer for the event, mass communication senior Rosamar Torres.

“My main focus is always on the race, but at the same time having to do stuff with The Maroon, Tulane and freelance stuff is not easy,” said Kaufman. “My mind is always on running, but sometimes while running I wish I had a camera.”

Political science sophomore Chris Tyree, who couldn’t be reached for an interview, cleans pools when he’s not working on lowering his run times. Runner Zach Custer, English writing junior, is a sports columnist for The Maroon and also an intern for NOLA.com.

Do all of these responsibilities get in the way for Seither’s team? He doesn’t think so.

“I’m very flexible on (allowing the runners to do extracurricular activities),” he said. “I understand it’s something we have to do. I don’t have them on scholarship.”

“If I was paying a kid’s way, paying him big bucks to run for Loyola, then it would be, ‘Do well in classes and track, and don’t worry about the other stuff.’ But we don’t,” he said.

He does, however, feel that not being able to provide athletic scholarships could be an issue in recruiting runners to the school. But under an administration still reeling from Hurricane Katrina, he acknowledges that the school, like his runners, has quite a bit on its hands as it is.

Chad Bower can be reached at [email protected].