"I love to go for the ride. I run for the joy of it."

This is how Seth Slavin describes his motivation for running. His performance for the Pleasant Valley Cross Country team this season has earned him the "joy" of being selected as the Times News Boys Cross Country Athlete of the Year.Slavin likes to set goals, and during this, his senior year, he certainly has achieved many. He won every league meet and was crowned District 11 champion, the first ever from his school. He took home the gold medal at the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference cross country championships and had the highest finish in the State meet for a Pleasant Valley cross country runner since 1987.Slavin's road to success has come without putting the burden of pressure on himself. When he races on new courses, he likes "running into the unknown." While training, he prefers to run through nature. "I throw all my worries away, I relax and remind myself that every day is a new day."I don't worry about my times at meets because no matter where I finish, I have no regrets about competing as hard as I can."Slavin may not be concerned with his minutes on the race clock, but he has thrived on competing against the best. He has placed in or near the top 10 percent in major races. Last year he finished 23rd out off more than 200 runners at the Northeast Footlocker Regionals in New York City. This October, he finished ninth against hundreds of runners in the Paul Short Invitational at Lehigh University.As a fifth-grader, he began to run with his parents, Thomas and Tracey, who are accomplished marathon racers. He started to run competitively as a seventh-grader, and when he became a member of the high school team at Pleasant Valley, his coach George Fair saw unlimited potential in his ability."Even as a freshman, Seth set goals for himself and he worked hard to achieve them," Fair said. "One was to qualify for the state meet, and he did."Slavin trained rigorously to improve his strength and endurance, often running 50 to 60 miles a week in the offseason."In his first two years, Seth was more of a front-runner," Fair said. "As he matured, and got stronger and gained experience, his endurance helped him to pace himself better. Seth preferred to be the hunter rather than the hunted at the end of a race. In other words, he wanted to catch runners in his last stride rather than try to hang on."Slavin, who also runs for the Bear's track team, was a major reason why the Pleasant Valley harriers finished 15-2 this season."Seth leads by example," Fair said. "He used Facebook to help recruit new runners to the program, and he encourages and supports everyone on our team, whether they finish right behind him or they finish last."At the state championship meet this year, Slavin was in 80th place out of 240 runners for the first few hundred yards."I didn't panic," he said. "I just told myself to be patient. I was able to move up to 30th place and I finished 16th to earn a medal." Slavin's list of multiple awards includes his selection to All Conference, All District and All State teams. He was also chosen as MVP of the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference.His everyday philosophy is to set a goal to improve himself, and there is certainly enough evidence to verify that his personal plan has been successful off the course as well. He ranks second academically in his senior class and has received an acceptance to Lehigh University where he will run track and cross country and major in physics and electrical engineering. In addition, he belongs to a student outreach program that helps improve the lives of others who live in Pleasant Valley."Seth volunteers his time to mentor developing students and athletes at Pleasant Valley," Fair said. "With all of his achievements, he is quite humble, and that's a characteristic that I admire the most.""I try to move forward each day," Slavin said. "Stepping sideways is OK, but I try not to go backward. I have my family and Coach Fair to thank for keeping me on course to always try to improve."Perhaps Seth Slavin's daily goal-setting and his joy for running aren't for everyone, but who can argue with what this young man has accomplished to become the consummate student-athlete.