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Wednesday, January 27, 2016 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Running commentary
By Charlie kanzig
Correspondent
When I heard that elite run-
ner Lauren Fleshman would
be making an appearance at
Sisters Athletic Club (SAC)
last week, I was not sure what
the focus of her presentation
would be. After all, in addi-
tion to being one of the finest
distance runners in America
during the past decade, she is
also the co-founder of a busi-
ness that produces athletic
performance bars, an author,
a wife, a mother, and a coach.
In a humble and honest
manner, Fleshman proceeded
to weave many of the com-
ponents of her life — includ-
ing the challenge of cop-
ing with injuries — into an
inspirational and meaningful
message.
Host and SAC owner Tate
Metcalf began the evening by
showing some clips of Flesh-
man performing in high level
meets as well as one in which
she was featured in a Nike
ad and another which was a
spoof ad produced by her lat-
est sponsor Oiselle, a running
apparel company focused on
promoting and supporting
female athletes.
In the first clip, at a Dia-
mond Level meet in Europe,
Fleshman is shown burst-
ing away from the field with
two laps to go in such dra-
matic fashion the British
announcers thought she had
miscounted the laps. In real-
ity, she had simply decided
to make the uncharacteristic,
risky move in order to win the
race, which she accomplished
going away.
Fleshman, a five-time
NCAA champion while
attending Stanford, where
she graduated with a degree
in human biology, lives in
Bend with her husband, Jesse
Thomas, a graduate of Moun-
tain View. The pair met at
Stanford where they both ran
cross-country and track.
Fleshman described one
of her finest moments in
which she placed seventh
in the 5,000 meters at the
2011 World Championships,
where she ran with the leader
through 11 laps of the 12-1/2-
lap race before falling victim
to three Kenyans and three
Ethiopians, who “seemed to
simply have another gear and
moved like a single organ-
ism” at the end of the race.
Regardless, her finish was the
highest by an American up to
that point in history.
After her success in 2011,
Fleshman believed that the
next year, 2012, would pro-
vide her the best opportunity
of her career to qualify for
the Olympics after missing
by one place in 2008. Sadly,
an injury kept her from any
sort of normal training, from
November to June. Since she
had a qualifying mark for the
Olympic Trials in Eugene,
she had a guaranteed place on
the starting line for the 5,000
meters. She decided to give
it a try against the odds of a
positive result.
“The only actual running
I could do was sprinting for
short distances, so prior to the
race I had not run more than
a mile non-stop in months,”
she said. “I wanted the fans
to know what I was doing, so
I blogged and tweeted about
my situation and even sug-
gested my followers hold up
their hands in the form of a
‘C’ for ‘courage.’”
The fans at Hayward
Field, well known for their
support of distance runners,
especially those with ties to
Oregon, responded fully with
hundreds of hands aloft, lift-
ing up Fleshman before the
race even began.
“I ran with all those peo-
ple in my heart that day,” she
said. “It was so exciting to
hear the crowd.”
The support she garnered
from the fans at Hayward
Field, along with a strategic,
slow pace, helped her to actu-
ally qualify for the final.
“It came down to a sprint,
which I had actually been
practicing, and I earned the
sixth spot in my heat for the
final,” she said.
The final had an entirely
different outcome, how-
ever, as Fleshman struggled
throughout and finished last.
Therein lay part of her
message for the audience of
about 50. She said, “Every
time you race there comes
a point where you have the
opportunity to be brave.”
She clearly did something
brave by allowing herself to
be vulnerable and stepping to
the starting line and then see-
ing it through.
Going further, she said,
“What gives you courage is
when they realize that failing
does not make you a failure.”
Beyond running, she has
branched out with her busi-
ness producing Picky Bars,
which she described as being
“performance and real food
bars”, authoring a guided
journal for female runners
(called the “Believe Training
Journal”), and coaching three
elite women, as well as doing
some public speaking.
As is often the case, the
philosophy and lessons shared
by athletes can be transferred
to other parts of life. Flesh-
man clearly has the will to
take risks and learn from
them. I appreciated that she is
clearly motivated to support
women and girls in their life
endeavors. She even agreed
to come out to cross-coun-
try practice in Sisters next
year in order to speak to the
team.
Even though most of us
are not elite runners, we can
still relate to someone like
Fleshman, who described her
love of running outdoors as
“a chance to breathe fresh air
and let the wind blow through
your brain.”
Her message of grit, goal-
setting, humility, balance
and being your best came
at a good time for me, and I
believe she inspired everyone
else in the room as well.
You can learn more about
Lauren Fleshman at www.
asklaurenfleshman.com and
about Picky Bars at www.
pickybars.com.
All that jazz...
photo by susan sprinGer
SMS and SHS band instructors tyler Cranor and Julie Cash led
Jazz Band and Jazz Combo students to eugene’s lane Community
College to perform at the 2016 oregon Jazz Festival for fellow
student musicians and clinicians from around the northwest.
SPRD SPRING CATALOG
Released February 1
Check out all of our upcoming
spring programs and start
getting registered!
SHOOTOUT 2
February 13&14
Come watch youth basketball
action at Sisters HS & MS!
Fundraiser for Sisters Basketball.
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REGISTRATION
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Call 541-549-2091 or drop by the offi ce.
1750 W. Mckinney Butte Rd. | 541-549-2091
View activities & classes and register online!
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