DURHAM, N.C. – Recently, GoDuke.com sat down with senior Henry Farley to learn more about the Indianapolis, Ind., native.
GoDuke.com: What has been your favorite place to compete with track?
Henry Farley: My favorite place to compete with track has definitely been at the New York Armory. It's an indoor track and field facility in New York City. We always stay at a hotel just a few blocks from Times Square. Before freshman year, I had never been to New York City, so it was really just a great time to explore Times Square after I was done competing. And the Armory is a really historic place. It's a really fast track, and the atmosphere inside the facility is just fun.
GoDuke.com: What is one lesson competing in track has taught you that you can use the rest of your life?
HF: I've been competing in track as long as I can remember – fourth grade is when I think I started – but for me, the big thing is that it takes time, it takes effort. It's something that requires commitment that I think a lot of other sports definitely need, but in track, it's a lot more direct in the way you have to go about it. For example, the workouts you have to put in to get to where you want to be are generally not the most comfortable things in the world. You have to mentally and physically work hard. But I think the biggest thing for me is the mental aspect of running that you don't get out of a lot of other sports, which I think really helps me in my day-to-day life, as well.
GoDuke.com: What is your proudest academic achievement at Duke?
HF: I think my proudest academic achievement actually started last summer. It was an internship through the Duke Hospital where we shadowed in the operation room with a surgical oncologist and identified a need we could fill by designing a device. What we ended up building was a foot orthotic to help offload the foot, which ultimately we ended up filing a patent on. I got to build the whole thing out of carbon fiber. I've never actually built something that I designed, and that was really fun for me.
GoDuke.com: If you had a chance to do a field event, what would it be?
HF: Definitely javelin. I think javelin is the coolest field event. It's like throwing a spear; it doesn't get much better than that. I'm definitely jealous of the javelin throwers. The only thing that would be unfortunate about javelin is that they can only compete outdoors and don't get an indoor track experience, which is a bummer.
GoDuke.com: What does it mean to you to be able to represent Duke?
HF: That's always a good question. For me, it's really an honor. It means the world to me to be lucky enough to have been given the opportunity to wear the Duke jersey, which obviously not everybody gets. It's an honor, pleasure and anything positive you can say about it. I didn't look anywhere but Duke because I knew Duke was the place I wanted to be. Then for Coach Norm [Ogilvie] to have the faith in me to offer me a spot on the team was something I'll never forget and cherish for the rest of my life.
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