Winning Is A Family Business For La Jolla's Chiara Dailey

MileSplit Featured

Tomoki Chien

Oct 26, 2023

* Chiara Dailey at the Woodbridge Cross Country Classic earlier this season.

Photo Credit: Raymond Tran / MileSplit

"I don't want to push myself down because last year I kind of got crushed. I've got to stay positive. I know I can win."

By Tomoki Chien - MileSplit California

- - -

Ask anybody why Chiara Dailey runs, and you'll probably get minor variations of the same answer.

"She loves to win," said Adam Dailey, her father and coach.

It would appear so. Already in her nascent running career, the La Jolla sophomore and returning Champs Sports All-American has won the San Diego Section championship and the Mt. SAC Cross Country Invitational -- twice. She's also placed second at both the Woodbridge Cross Country Classic and last year's CIF Division IV championship.

Her success might not be particularly surprising; running is something of a family business for the Daileys. Both of her parents, Texas natives who first starting dating in high school, were repeat all-Americans when they ran at the University of Arkansas.

"I've always grown up knowing I was going to run," Dailey said. "My parents always said how amazing it was. And honestly ... I've always been pretty good at running. And I like winning. So I was like, 'OK, I'll just do whatever sport I'm the best at.'"

This is only Dailey's second year running competitively, which is unusual for a runner with a resume like hers.

Her parents didn't let her run in middle school, instead convincing her to stick to a "10-year plan" -- the idea being that runners have about 10 years of peak performance, so starting in high school would optimize her collegiate, and potentially post-collegiate, career.

The plan, they say, is all about pacing her training: If she wanted to, she could probably train to win any meet she wants this season. But that could lead to injuries and burnout before she even graduates high school.

"We were just kind of like, 'Let's start the clock late,'" Adam Dailey said. "Who cares if you're the best 11-year-old in the world, right?"

Both Daileys said there's minimal friction between the two of them at practice, despite the father-daughter trouble that stereotypically emerges in teenage years. In fact, they said their running relationship has only brought the two closer.

"Like any 14-year-old kid last year, she was starting to drift away from her dad in a lot of ways," Adam Dailey said. "And so this was a good opportunity for me to reengage and reconnect with her. You know, dads aren't cool."

There's a phenomenon in running -- perhaps sports in general -- where the fastest or most proficient athlete tends to be seen as a team's leader. Even last year, as a freshman, Dailey was far and away La Jolla's fastest runner.

Head Coach Mandy Benham said Dailey takes that leadership role "in stride."

"She's positive with her teammates, she cheers them on," Benham said. "During workouts, she'll circle back and help push people along."

Kirra Fisk, a senior on the La Jolla squad who Benham identified as another team leader, said it wasn't always that way. Dailey, she said, used to be shy and stuck with her dad during the first few days of practice last year. But that quickly changed.

"She's friends with everyone," Fisk said. "She's one of the most outgoing people on the team now."

Talk to anybody who knows her, and Dailey does indeed sound like quite the character at practice.

She functions as the team's DJ. She has nicknames for most people. She runs the team's Instagram account. And Benham was quick to point out that Dailey calls her dad "brah." (Mr. Dailey said she only calls him "brah" in front of her teammates.)

"She knows she's been given responsibility that you could argue isn't earned," Adam Dailey said. "Like, you're just fast, and people are going to look up to you and expect you to be a leader. ... So I think she's kind of raised her level of leadership. She's the one with the music speaker, laughing and joking with her teammates and getting everybody fired up. She's kind of a 'rah rah' cheerleader."

More than being a positive force, those close to Dailey say she leads by example. Her times speak for themselves. But Adam Dailey cites her strong work ethic and grit as the reasons for her success, which no doubt rub off on her teammates.

"She can really put her body in more pain than the average person," Adam Dailey said. "You can line her up with a girl who's doing the exact same workouts -- same height, weight, fitness - and Chiara will beat her 10 out of 10 times."

Dailey will need all the grit she can get as the enters the cross country postseason. If she wants to best her second-place finish at the state meet last year, she'll have to topple Oaks Christian senior Payton Godsey, formidable foe who won the Garmin RunningLane XC Championships on top of last season's Division IV title.

There's also the the JSerra Catholic girls, a good number of whom are credible contenders for the individual title, particularly junior transfer Sophie Polay.

The key to success this year, Dailey said, will be believing in herself.

"I don't want to put myself down because last year I kind of got crushed," she said. "I've got to stay positive. I know I can win."