Fairfield Union's Anna Conrad set to leave a lasting legacy as a long-distance runner
LANCASTER — Anna Conrad started her track career as an outstanding sprinter, and the thought of running long distances was not something she was interested in at all.
However, Fairfield Union coach Rob Myers saw something in her and felt she would be an outstanding distance runner, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Myers was finally able to talk Conrad to go out for cross country. Not only did she hold her own, but she was putting up some impressive times and had a lot of success, and she has carried that over to track.
“I was the best 400 runner on my team in the seventh grade, and to be honest, I hated the thought of running long distances,” Conrad said. “When coach (Myers) asked me to run cross country, I didn’t like and I wanted to quit, but my friends on the team made it more enjoyable, as well as my coaches, and I just grew to love it. My mindset changed completely.”
Now a senior, Conrad, who has qualified for the state track meet the past two years in multiple events, as well as the state cross country state meet, is ready to end her career on a high note and will certainly go down as one of the best girls' long-distance runners in Fairfield Union history.
For a girl who despised running long distances when she was in junior high, Conrad has certainly made a name for herself and is one of the top long-distance runners in the state in Division II.
The will to succeed
That Conrad was so successful early on, made her work even harder. Each year with more experience on how to run races, Conrad has improved. She qualified for the state meet in three events as a sophomore and four last year, earning All-Ohio honors with a seventh-place finish in the 1,600.
Like she has done the past two years, she continually wins races at just about every meet the Falcons compete in.
“I kind of got in the game a little late, and I never thought I would do it,” Conrad said. “I was really surprised with how well I was running, and I was really surprised in myself and that made it more enjoyable that I had success early on. It has been neat to see all the hard work pay off. I just think about all the tough workouts and all the things I’ve gone through and all the hard moments, the hard workouts in the rain, and it is worth it when you are standing on the podium.”
Conrad’s times have improved each year, and she said it’s all about training the right way and following the process Myers puts in front of her.
“First of all, when you are training, it’s all about having the right mindset,” Conrad said. “Before, I was regularly running 50 miles a week and now I am running 30 to 35 miles per week. I have also got more experience with my running, and it has helped with speed and just building so much more strength and endurance over the years.”
“I have learned that in each race, I just try to go out and get out front because if you don’t get out fast, you probably aren’t going to run a good race. If I know there is a fast girl in the race, I try to stay with her and give it everything I have. I enjoy being in competitive races, and to be honest, it’s better and more fun when you have to chase someone down.”
With the postseason looming, which will be Conrad’s last chance to leave her mark, she is running with even more of a sense of urgency. She expects a lot out of herself, and one of her goals is to break the five-minute mark in the 1,600.
Conrad just committed to run in college at Winthrop University in South Carolina next year, but she has unfinished business before then.
“If you told me I was going to run in college as a distance runner, I would have said no way because when I was in seventh grade, I said I was never going to run more than 800 meters and after high school, I am going to be done with running. But looking back, I am so fortunate with the way things turned out. I fell in love with it and fell in love with the process.”
Tom Wilson is a sports reporter for the Lancaster Eagle-Gazette. Contact him at 740-689-5150 or via email at twilson@gannett.com for comments or story tips. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter @twil2323.
This article originally appeared on Lancaster Eagle-Gazette: Conrad is set to leave a lasting legacy as a long-distance runner
