“The miracle isn’t that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start.” – John Bingham
I spent my first two years of college at Rochester Community College (RCC) and I lived at home, saving on both tuition and room and board! I kept up my running, which was now a great stress release for this college student. I’d take to the roads in and around Elgin, getting in my miles when I could. These two years further developed my discipline, seeing that I was now running on my own and for just myself. There was no team waiting for me to show up at 3:30pm for workouts. After two years at RCC and graduating with my Associate of Arts, it was time to move on to another school where I could finish my Bachelor of Arts. I had chosen a small college in Northfield, MN. St. Olaf turned out to be a great choice for me, and I was delightfully surprised that I had been paired up with a wonderful roommate with whom I hit it off immediately. It was my first time living away from home with my first ever roomie! Around mid-afternoon on our first day together, she announced she was heading to cross country practice. I was thrilled; I found someone who shared my love of running! I asked her how she got on the team and if she was recruited. This was Division III, she explained, and the St. Olaf women’s team had a history of accepting runners of all talents. There were no cuts, she further stated, and if I was interested, I should join her. So, I did.
After struggling to make it on my high school team, joining a collegiate team was something I never expected to happen. But it did, and what an experience it turned out to be! We were a team of 60 women, coming from all across MN and the US, with one shared passion. I was lucky to be under the guidance of yet another accomplished and determined coach, Chris Daymont, who pushed her team day-in and day-out. She wanted all of us to be successful, to improve, to develop healthy bodies, and to contribute to the team.
One of our meets was held at the University of MN golf course, where coincidentally, the MN State High School meet was held back then. I can remember the joy I felt warming up for my race that day. I was a junior in college competing in a Division III cross country race. I was an Ole. And, I was finally going to race on that course. But something else momentous happened that day. I recall about halfway through the race, Coach Daymont was shouting encouragement and advice to her runners from the sidelines. She instructed me to catch up to a certain runner from another team. In particular, she said “push yourself”. So, I did. I can remember digging down deep that day, exhausting myself more than I think I ever had. I remember catching that girl. And most importantly, I remember being really proud of that race and realizing I could do better.
I truly think that was a turning point in my running career. A point at which I wanted to work harder, push myself more, and see what I might be able to accomplish. I didn’t have to settle for what I had accepted as the limits of my abilities. Something more was there… And, so I worked harder. I felt myself getting stronger. I felt my hunger to improve intensifying. I also noticed that I thrived more running these longer distances. Before I knew it, I found myself in the middle of the St. Olaf women’s pack, and when that pack is 60 strong women, that isn’t so bad!
Cross county went so well that when track season rolled around, I went ahead and joined that team as well. My first experience with indoor track was interesting. In the dead of winter, we distance runners trained outside. While Minnesota was setting records for the coldest temperatures ever, without the windchill, we were outside getting in our miles no matter how quickly our eyelashes froze and every extremity went numb. Competing in the 5K on an indoor track wasn’t for the faint of heart. Imagine running in small circles with people constantly darting in front of you to cross to the infield, other runners lapping you, and struggling to keep track of how many laps remained (each runner, especially in smaller meets, was responsible for counting their own laps). However, because I was getting used to these longer races, I felt I was being punished if I was asked to run anything shorter. Therefore, I learned to endure the added challenges of indoor season and worked to keep my spot in the 5K.
Outdoor track was much better for many obvious reasons. In addition to being outside on a larger track, there were additional events from which to select and I found one that suited me: the 10K. On a 400 meter track, this equated to 25 laps. As you can imagine, there weren’t a lot of people raising their hand asking to compete in this event. Because of this, the 10K became “my event” and I was overjoyed!
I can still hardly believe I competed in two sports for my college, and remain thankful to this day that I had the opportunity to do so. A couple of moments highlighted my career at St. Olaf. The first one actually had nothing to do with any performance of mine on the course. In the fall of 1995, the women’s cross country team had won the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) for the 3rd straight year. Thrilled to be a part of the team, though I wasn’t one of the scored runners, I celebrated the accomplishment with my teammates. Later that week, the campus newspaper gave the top sports headline to the football team for winning a game- just a single, regular season game. While I didn’t want to diminish another team’s achievement, I was outraged that the coverage of the cross country team fell much farther down the page with a much smaller headline and far fewer words. I wanted to correct this injustice! I decided to write a Letter to the Editor, expressing the imbalance in their reporting and using the opportunity to draw attention to my teammates’ accomplishments, as this was obviously missing in the article. Well, the letter was printed. My teammates and coach were so pleased with what I had done, they gave me a special award during that season’s awards banquet. I had no idea my little letter would garner so much attention, praise, and respect. It was such a special moment to me! I was proud to stand up for my teammates and give them well-deserved acknowledgement for their title run. It also further exemplified how I was able to find my role on the team, whether it was on the course or off.
Another highlight came during outdoor track season. I qualified for the MIAC meet in the 10K based on standard alone! I was so proud to get into the meet based only on my efforts. The qualifying race was held at MaCalester College while Hamline hosted the MIAC. These two tracks hold a very special place in my heart!
Cross country and track turned out to be my saving grace for my two years at St. Olaf. Don’t misunderstand, though, I loved the school and I am honored to call myself an Ole. However, it was challenging transferring into such a small school as a junior. My peers had established and cultivated relationships for two years. I made a few friends, of course, and I treasure those with whom I developed lasting friendships. However, I was devoted to my academics, had a work study, and wrote for the campus newspaper (beyond the previously mentioned Letter to the Editor!) in addition to being on the running teams. Outside of the classroom, I spent a majority of my time with my teammates. I am forever grateful for the friendships forged during workouts, in the weight room, at post-run dinners, at competitions, and on the bus to and from meets.
As illustrated from this post and the previous one, the things I treasure most from my high school and college careers are the relationships I built and the lessons I learned. Every other accomplishment was just icing on the cake! I will be forever indebted to the coaches that pushed me, encouraged me, and accepted my level of talent. I owe my sincerest appreciation to Mr. Oven for introducing me to running, to Chief for helping me build a foundation, and to Coach Daymont for pushing me to reach higher. Finally, no success would have been possible without the immense support system I had in my parents (but, that’s a whole topic itself!).
Degree in hand, I was ready to find my place in the working world! And, I had only begun to understand what I could accomplish in the running world!