Running with a purpose

“The [Presidents’ Athletic Conference] Championship is something that I want to conquer because I know that last year, it conquered me.”
To fully understand and appreciate the turnaround displayed by women’s cross-country captain Annette Aho this season, one must travel back through time to spring break of 2013.
Many members of the track and field roster were enjoying the experience of a week-long mission trip in Wilmington, North Carolina. The team worked with an organization called W.A.R.M, which helps restore houses and properties for some of the less fortunate members of the community. On only the first night of the trip, Aho experienced something that would cause her much upheaval throughout the next year.
“On the first night down there, I was just hanging out and laid down and [teammate] Olivia Latimer was in the room,” said Aho. “I don’t remember anything. I just remember laying down and waking up in the emergency room. I remember Coach Falvo’s face and the doctor. They told me I had a seizure.”
Head track and field coach, Jason Falvo, recalls vividly the emotion brought about from the medical emergency.
“When I first heard something was wrong, I tried to stay calm until I saw her,” said Falvo. “Then, I was absolutely scared to death when I did see her.”
In a moment dealing with so much tension and worry, the team decided to rally together behind Aho, and in turn, according to Falvo, the team came closer together.
The tribulations had just begun for Aho as the doctors explained a small mass that was found in her brain. The doctors performed numerous tests and determined the mass was not cancerous, and Aho could leave the hospital. When asked if Aho could run, the doctors simply said that she could try.
Easier said than done, as it turns out.
“I was still going to practice and not really running,” said Aho. “I was just showing up and being there, maybe doing a warm-up or doing a workout once a week or so. The side-effects of the medicine were making me really dizzy, and I kept having seizures.”
At the end of October of 2013, with the PAC Championship race right around the corner, Aho started feeling a little bit better from a physical standpoint.
“I kind of convinced Coach [Chris] Hardie to let me run at PAC’s, and he was okay with it, and my doctors were okay with it, so they let me do it,” said Aho. “I got to run at PAC’s, and it was basically my first race of the cross-country season. I remember being so happy that I got to run. I remember seeing the finish line and all the people that were there. And then I remember waking up in [a teammates grandparents’] car. Well I didn’t finish the race. I passed out and had a seizure 200 meters from the finish line. It was the worst feeling ever.”
That one race, which could not even be completed, marked the end to a bitterly sad cross-country season for Aho. With running out of the picture for the time being, it was time for Aho to focus on achieving good health, a more permanent health.
The next area of concern dealt with scheduling a surgery time that would not dip too far into the spring semester. Aho was determined to have it done as close to the beginning of the semester as possible so she could get back to school, and perhaps, another chance at running. The doctors removed the lump in Aho’s brain on Jan. 13, 2014, the first day of the spring semester.
“Ten months ago, I looked up at a pair of operating lights, and I chose to believe that everything was going to be okay,” said Aho. “I spent two days in the hospital, spent two weeks at Jonathan Blatt’s [teammate] house recovering, and then I came back and said, ‘It’s track season.”
The ability to place such a tumultuous experience behind her demonstrates the necessary character required to be successful in long distance running. Through the course of her senior season of cross-country, Aho has taken the perseverant attitude she learned from her medical emergencies and applied them to her racing performances. As a result, she has pieced together a masterfully consistent season in which she has been a top-five finisher for the team in all but one race.
One of the coaches for the women’s team, Michelle Cross, explains the variety of factors that have played into the successful season Aho has put together.
“A senior year has the potential to put an extra edge on races because the athlete knows these are their last races,” said Cross. “Also, this is the longest stretch of time [Aho] has trained since her sophomore year because of her health complications. I also think that [Aho] has been very willing to share about the Lord through her running.”
Hardie notes Aho’s leadership ability as the main legacy she will leave with the program once it comes time to hang up the spikes.
“Annette is a true leader on and off the course,” said Hardie. “The women look up to her and respect her on campus and prior to practice. When she flips the switch and starts competing, she never has a break in her focus.”
A main theme for the success of the program this season lies in the quantity and quality of youth infused into the team from the most recent recruiting class. With such a young team performing with lofty expectations placed upon them, Aho’s leadership has been essential to the development of the younger runners.
Freshman standout, Julie Gerber, realizes the tremendous impact Aho’s steadying presence relays to the mostly inexperienced team. Aho represents a model the freshmen strive to become.
“Annette is very positive and encouraging at practices, and she always shows how much she loves running, which has a great part in how we perform as a team,” said Gerber.
With the PAC Championship race is scheduled for Saturday, Aho, and the rest of the team, hold an amazing opportunity to take home the team title. This year, however, Aho is ready and determined to ‘conquer’ the race that brought her so much pain last year.
“This year, I’m excited to step up to the starting line, I’m not afraid to,” said Aho. “If something stops you, it doesn’t mean that God doesn’t want you to do it anymore, He’s just trying to show you something. That is why I say, ‘When you ask about my running, hear me talk about my faith.”