Adair Lyden-Holmer has seen and covered just about everything on the high school cross-country and track and field scene.
She’s covered state champions on the track and cross country course. She’s seen countless school records broken and personal records set by athletes. She’s witnessed upsets, heartbreaks and heartwarming performances.
She’s seen athletes give their blood, sweat and tears in order to have a great performance, and she’s seen athletes leave everything they have on the track. Literally.
For her, it was never about personal satisfaction or having the spotlight on her. Her goal was to give each athlete a platform and an unforgettable experience, while producing a product that elevated the sport.
Lyden-Holmer was the lead editor for Florida Runners, a MileSplit affiliate for close to three years. Her many responsibilities included producing and managing digital and written content, overseeing social media, as well as the digital and written teams that covered track and field and cross country in the state of Florida.
While managing her responsibilities as the editor, Lyden-Holmer was also a student at the University of Florida. While managing all of her obligations wasn’t easy, she carried the mentality of prioritizing what she can control, which helped her accomplish everything while looking to the common goal.
“I glance at the road ahead, and I gaze on what I need to do in front of me at that moment,” she said.
For Lyden-Holmer, making sure that the team around her was successful was for them to know that she trusted them and was confident in their abilities.
“My philosophy on things is that these people, they know what they’re doing, trust them,” she said. “I trust you. Let’s work on this together, let’s figure out what we can do here, brainstorm, then we can come out together and revise. Then it can be a team effort.”
Denise Spann, who currently works for the Players Tribune, worked with Lyden-Holmer at Florida Runners during her tenure as Lead Editor. The trust factor that Lyden-Holmer resonated with Spann.
“Any story that I thought was worth pursuing, she trusted my talent enough to bring it to light,” Spann said. “Whether it was in two days or a turnaround of a month, she trusted my features selection. To be able to work under her were some of the smoothest times that I’ve had at Florida Runners, and I enjoyed every time that I got a chance to write a piece for Adair there.”
Lyden-Holmer believes that the key to elevating the sport is not only by elevating the athletes, but elevating those who tell the story. That was the mentality that she had while leading the charge at Florida Runners.
“I think it first starts with when you’re looking at elevating the sport, elevating the people in the sport and figuring out how you can be behind the scenes and not the show,” she said. “Not only elevating the athletes, but elevating the other story tellers in the sport, I think that you then grow whatever you’re seeking out to do. When you’re elevating the people around you, you’re typically going to have a better impact on the space that you’re leading. My mindset with all of that was, what was the best way that we can elevate these athletes and give them the experience that they deserve.”
Lyden-Holmer was able to build relationships with coaches, parents and athletes during her time as editor, and she gained their respect and trust. Building the relationships in the running community while covering the sport was what she enjoyed the most.
“When I was in the journalist role, that was my favorite part – getting to know the kids, getting to know their parents, talking within the community, getting to know coaches in the community,” she said. “It’s just fun to know people and know what their goals are: where do they want to go to college, what they think about their race. Typically, they come down that line and it’s either a great race and they’re super excited to talk to you about it, or they’re not, so you’re really experiencing a lot of emotion with them and that’s really cool.”
Ka’Deem Wynn, who works for RunnerSpace, has known Lyden-Holmer for a while and has worked with her on many occasions. Her passion for the people she covers stands out the most to him.
“She’s very personable and she really loves what she does,” he said. “You can just tell with everything that she does, she honestly just really cares. I’ve watched her give interviews with kids who have won races, and it’s almost as if she’s more excited than the kids are. That’s honestly just a beautiful thing.”
The experience of being in the infield at a track meet or getting a great view of the action at a cross-country meet left a lasting impression on Lyden-Holmer. So much so that it led her to get into coaching. She was an assistant coach at Buchholz High School in Gainesville, Fl. She found that the kids that she invested in made an impact on her.
“Incrementally, sometimes you’re told that you make a difference, but I think they really make a difference on you,” she said. I think they help you grow as a person and help you learn new things and challenge you in different ways that you haven’t been challenged before. That’s what I would say is why I really enjoyed it.”
“It’s the stories that really drew me into really getting to know them and experiencing the highs and lows with them. It was really impactful for me.”
Lyden-Holmer traded in her sports cap for a business cap and is now the Manager of Media Rights Acquisition for FloSports. While she’s not serving in the role as a journalist, she hopes that she’s left a lasting impact on those that she covered.
“My hope is that I helped give an experience that was desirable and that athletes would remember down the line and can recall to their kids how it felt when they got interviewed, how it felt seeing something published about them, how it felt talking to a member of the press, ” she said. “I hope I made a difference in their lives.”
