The Grind to the Top - Simon Attia

By Colin Peters

SEATTLE -- Junior cross country runner Simon Attia wakes up in the morning, takes the train from Snohomish, and gets to O'Dea for 6:00 AM workouts. After school, he has practice, and he takes the train back at 5:30 PM for soccer practice.

A question someone might have for him is how he manages so many responsibilities. But for Attia, it's a question of how many more responsibilities he can have.

On September 25, 2025, Attia ran a 22.39.3-minute 5K at Magnuson Park. From that point forward, he was determined to lower his time to ultimately help his team make it to the state championship.

Attia, looking back on his rapid improvement, says, "I showed up to every practice and did two other sports in the meantime."

Attia also swims and plays soccer for O’Dea. Soccer and swim have helped Attia build stamina and endurance which has proven to help this season.

Training for cross country can be difficult, but Attia doesn’t think of it that way. He thinks that training for cross country can be done in many ways.

Attia says that while improving in cross country, he got "much more productive in soccer."

While going to summer workouts and settling into his upperclassman role, Attia found himself becoming a leader.

Talking about how his leadership status changed, Attia says, "I am lucky enough to boost the team and keep the morale high."

All this work cumulated into Attia running a personal best of 18.54.7-minute 5K at Magnuson Park on September 23, almost a year removed from the last Magnuson race.

After all these feats, someone might wonder if Attia did all this work for himself. But the truth is, he not only did this for himself but for his team and teammates. He wanted to make sure the underclassmen could have a mentor to look up to if no coach is around.

Attia is a walking example of working when no one’s watching or when no one cares. The important part is that he cares, and he cares about leading his team to success.

All these events have led to head coach Jackson Derby calling Attia up to varsity to run in the Nike Bob Firman Invitational in Spokane, Washington. The opportunity was a great chance for him to race in a competitive environment.

Attia is a true inspiration of dedication, and if he keeps improving, he could find himself at the very top.