He wasn't healthy enough to race, but running was his only escape.

Sean McLaughlin, a Cherokee junior, ran with an Achilles' tendon problem last fall, but missed the indoor and outdoor track seasons because of lingering problems in his ankles and knees.

"It was really frustrating," said McLaughlin, who had hoped that by skipping the winter season he would be ready to run in the spring. "I went to every meet and watched. We have a good class [at Cherokee], and to see all them run, I knew I could be right there with them. It wasn't like I was home and not dealing with it. I just had to stand by the fence and watch."

Occasionally, though, he would go out during meets on an easy run, as much of a diversion as it was a training session.

He didn't really get back to training until August, and even now he can't make up for lost time. Shin splints have limited his training, again.

But with a lot of ice, massage and stretching, he is able to fight through, and he is starting to emerge as the lead runner Cherokee coach Steve Shaklee thought he would be.

McLaughlin was Cherokee's No. 1 runner in the Division A (largest schools) race at the Shore Coaches Invitational on Oct. 4, completing the 3.1-mile course in 16 minutes, 34.57 seconds. He was sixth in Division A, helping the Chiefs take the title, and 22d overall.

On Saturday, he was Cherokee's No. 2 man, finishing two seconds behind junior Tom Yersak; the Chiefs won the Division B race at the Manhattan Invitational, where the top teams are divided evenly into seven races.

"I'm racing, which I haven't done in nine months," McLaughlin said. "In the second half [of races] I'm doing better. In the first couple of races, I didn't have any kick. It took a while to get it back. I'm just getting used to racing again."

He is hoping that this time he won't have to slow down again.

Two years ago, he was one of the state's top freshman cross-country runners, but injuries slowed him in the winter and spring. Not to the point he had to shut his season down as he did as a sophomore, but enough to keep him from going all-out.

"There's always something he has to overcome," Shaklee said. "He's very susceptible to injury. We have to watch him closely."

This year, he is taking extra precautions to make sure he stays healthy enough to compete. He ices his shins after every workout - and sometimes before - and he is doing extra stretching. The biggest precaution, though, and the toughest to accept, is that he is limiting his training runs. When his teammates are running 60 miles a week, he limits it to 40. That's still more than many runners put in, but not more than the top runners put in.

McLaughlin is starting to feel like a top runner again.

"I would hope to be our No. 1 runner," he said. "The times I've run in the past say I should be No. 1. But even if I'm No. 1, Tom's going to be right behind me. No matter [how much faster I get], he'll be right there."

Despite his injuries, McLaughlin remains dedicated to running. He has certainly been frustrated with his health, but he doesn't want to let it slow him down.

"Things could be better, but I never think like that," McLaughlin said. "There's nothing I can change about the past. I got hurt and there's nothing I can do about it now. It's not an excuse. Everybody gets hurt. I just might get hurt a little more than everybody else."