Awake at 9:15 a.m. Into the shower, breakfast and coffee, off to class at 11 a.m. Return to Eliot House. Hang with friends, go to lunch, check e-mail.

It’s now 2:30 p.m., and up to this point, it’s an average day for any Harvard student.

But for senior Jack Brady, that’s when everything changes.

Brady walks across the river, where, as captain of the Crimson track and field team, he arrives at practice early to speak with his coach about the day’s events.

Once his teammates arrive, it’s time for a quick warmup of stretching, running, and different agility exercises. And then  after that, Brady’s ready to go.

“He’s probably the most committed person I’ve ever known,” says Brady’s girlfriend, Molly Boyle ’08, a former Harvard track captain herself.

“He spends most of his free time looking up videos of new techniques, videos of the best athletes. He can tell you who the best athletes in high school, college, and the pros are...[and] he’s always on blogs and message boards looking up what’s new in the sport.”

Today, on a cold February afternoon, he practices the weight throw—and all the footwork and technique vital to its success—for an hour and a half. That means spinning around four times to gather strength and then throwing a 35-pound ball attached by a chain to a metal handle that Brady holds.

Then it’s off to the weight room for an hour and 15 minutes, followed by the occasional ice bath (which he calls the “horrible part of being an athlete.”)

It’s now 6:30 p.m.

Not such a normal day anymore.

It’s a routine Brady’s been accustomed to since the seventh grade, when he first got into track and field.

But during those years, he wasn’t focused on his throwing. The events he was most interested in were the triple jump and the long jump.

“I love to brag about how great of a middle school jumper I was,” Brady says.

Towards the end of seventh grade he picked up a shotput—a 16-pound ball that is thrown from the neck—for the first time.