UA Welcomes Becky (Wade) Firth '07 as Head Cross Country Coach
"Ursuline Academy of Dallas welcomes alumna Becky (Wade) Firth, Class of 2007, as Head Cross Country Coach. UA Cross Country holds 15 straight Varsity District Titles and 12 Junior Varsity District Titles. The team has also won five State Titles during the last eight years and 15 State Titles overall.
After falling in love with the sport as a UA Running Bear, Becky attended Rice University where she majored in Psychology, History, and Sociology, won a junior national track title, and was an NCAA Division I All-American in cross country, indoor track, and outdoor track. In her nearly eight years of professional running, she’s participated in four U.S. Olympic Trials (2 x marathon, 2 x 3,000-meter steeplechase) and qualified three times for Team USA.
“It feels wonderfully full circle to be back at Ursuline in a coaching capacity. I can’t wait to share my experiences and passion with the team and to grow just as much alongside them,” said Becky. “While we have big goals for this fall, it is also my aim to make running enjoyable and fulfilling enough to be a lifelong habit for as many of these young women as possible.”
Becky is also the author of
Run the World: My 3,500-Mile Journey Through Running Cultures Around the Globe, which chronicles the year she spent living and training with runners all over the world and exploring different approaches to the sport. She is also a contributor at Runner’s World, Outside Magazine, and other publications.
“We are so excited to have Becky lead our cross-country program,” said Athletic Director Stefanie Hill. “Not only is she an accomplished runner who has had an amazing career, but she is also someone who is passionate about coaching and using her wealth of knowledge on the topic to support and motivate our girls to reach their full potential.”
Becky’s older sister Rachel ’06 was also a Running Bear (fun fact: they were each born into a set of twins!). Becky and her husband Will, a former Rice runner, moved back to Dallas this summer after five years in Boulder, Colorado.
Go Bears!"