Breckenridge – Whitney Anderson might make a living as a runner someday, but she doesn’t live to run.
Anderson, who won five 4A state titles for Summit High School and finished fourth at the national Foot Locker cross country championships in December, will represent the United States for the first time at the upcoming Pan American junior track and field championships in Windsor, Ontario. In the fall she will run for Duke, where she is considered a prized recruit.
But when she’s not on the track, the Alaska native isn’t sure which path she wants to follow.
“Sometimes I’m afraid to say I love running,” Anderson said last week. “I’m going through a period in my life when it’s kind of hard to love things that wear you out sometimes. I’m not really figuring out that loving something can actually mean pouring your heart out for it. I don’t think I’ve really felt that, and I think I’ll figure it out later on.”
Anderson qualified for the Pan Am juniors by finishing second in the 5,000 meters at the U.S. junior championships last month in Carson, Calif. Mullen’s Kira Robinson (100-meter hurdles) and Montbello’s Chealsea Taylor (high jump) also will compete in the four-day meet, which begins Thursday.
Anderson expects to feel a tingle of excitement when she pulls on that USA uniform – she has a brother in the 101st Airborne who is scheduled for his second tour in Iraq this fall – but she is ambivalent about the role running should occupy in her life.
She loves drawing and appears to have considerable talent as an artist. Academics are important to her, as are her strong “conservative Christian” beliefs, which kept her from seriously considering attending college in Boulder.
Duke coach Kevin Jermyn calls her one of the “most talented and fastest recruits we’ve ever had.” Her time at junior nationals (16 minutes, 33 seconds) ranks seventh on the all-time U.S. 5,000-meter list for high school girls.
She wants to qualify for the Olympic trials someday, but she also wants to be a professional illustrator, maybe a courtroom artist.
“Sometimes when you’re unsure about your life, you hate to say you actually love something and you love it so much you’re just going to go all-out for it,” Anderson said. “I have a heart for running, but some people live to run. I really admire those people. I’m hoping I can be like that.
“I’m just afraid those people who have a passion for it; that’s not all there is to life. It’s going to wear off after a while.”
Lyle Knudson, a private coach who has been Anderson’s mentor the past two years, said he believes Anderson’s desire for a well-rounded life will benefit her running. Knudson, who started the CU women’s program in the early 1970s and later coached at the University of Florida, coached 48 All-Americans and seven Olympians.
“I think athletes who, when they’re in high school or at the club level their goal is to be an All-American, an American record-holder, an Olympian – if that’s what guides them through life, there is little chance they’re going to get there,” Knudson said. “You’re not going to get there by hoping. You’re going to get there by being realistic and keeping balance in your life. Whitney’s got a better chance of getting on that medal stand at the Olympic Games if she keeps emphasizing painting, academics, family, etc., than if she totally goes running.”
Having trained mostly by herself until now, Anderson will have to adapt to running with teammates at Duke. She also will have to adjust to a new coach. Anderson credits Knudson for her success but wonders if she became too dependent on him.
“I have to get back into why I’m running,” Anderson said. “Sometimes runners can just go with the flow. I feel like that now sometimes. It’s really important to keep it personal, do every workout to the best of your ability and do it for your satisfaction.”
John Meyer can be reached at 303-820-1616 or jmeyer@denverpost.com.
