There has been much pain for running sensation Emi Trost, but gain, too

May 6—HASTINGS — There has been nothing easy about these last six years for former Cannon Falls and University of Minnesota Duluth running sensation Emi Trost.

There has been lots of pain for the former NCAA Division II 1,500 national champion, both physical and emotional for a 28-year-old who continues to have Olympic aspirations.

Two surgeries resulted from leg problems, the first in 2019, with bits of muscle removed from her calves due to a rare condition — Popliteal Artery Entrapment Syndrome. That had inhibited blood flow to Trost's lower legs.

Surgery followed a year after that discovery. One year later came more trouble, this time Trost suffering knee pain. It had been known since birth that Trost had a benign hemangioma tumor in her right quadricep, just above the knee cap. She'd been able to deal with it throughout high school and college, the pain tolerable. But one year after graduating from Minnesota Duluth in 2018, it was tolerable no more.

Trost's doctor fished out a peach-sized tumor. It had not only become painful, but hindered Trost's muscle strength and growth in her quadricep.

Running became intermittent for her due to those surgeries. Then in 2021 came more trouble, Trost fracturing the metatarsal bone in one foot, then five months later suffering the same fracture in the other foot.

A member of Minnesota Distance Elite since graduating from college, Trost has gradually been building up her strength and running stamina the last two years. She's done that as she's living in Hastings with her two brothers. Trost has a masters in nutrition and dietetics under her belt and is enjoying one gap year before she finishes schooling to become a dietitian.

Trost spoke to the Post Bulletin last Thursday about her journey, three days before she was inducted into the Cannon Falls Athletic Hall of Fame:

How is life in Hastings?

I'm living with my two brothers there, having moved into our grandpa's old house. My grandpa passed away three years ago. We're taking care of his dog. It was a good opportunity for us as we are all in our in-between adult years.

For the past six years, you've been training under Chris Lundstrom at Minnesota Distance Elite, Lundstrom's run and nutrition business called "Forever on Fire Coaching." What's that experience been like?

I've been enjoying that. I can't believe that I've already been on the team for six years. We train out of the Twin Cities area, moving around to different practice locations, like Hopkins and Edina. Chris Lundstrom has been fantastic and he has brought me through so many ups and downs, with all of the weird injury stuff that has happened to me.

When did those injuries really begin to hit you in earnest?

In high school and college I had a few things, but nothing crazy until my senior year of college. That's when I really started to hit the injury experience hard.

You were laid up frequently from 2018 until 2022. How difficult was that to handle, especially considering you're a person who wants to keep building, with Olympic dreams in mind?

Well, I'd been used to getting a little bit better every year, both in my times and my placings. I'd been improving as an athlete and everyone wants that continuous improvement. That I stopped doing that, that my (best times) were still from 2017 was tough. I've still not gotten back into that territory yet. This summer, I want to get back there. But it is such a fight to get back and so much work when you're always trying to recover from something.

How forlorn did you become over all of the injuries and the attempted comebacks?

There were just so many low moments, times that I almost wanted to quit the sport because it was so discouraging. My identity had been so wrapped up in my running success. A lot of people know me as that runner, that fast runner. So I was stuck thinking, "Without that, what am I?" There were a lot of points where I was super angry. I was asking God why he gave me the gift to run, but then took it away with all of these injuries. I was wondering why He gave me all this pain and heartbreak and everything.

How did you come to terms with all of that?

I started to see, through all my surgeries and everything that came with it, that I was given a lot of time to really share my story. There was an athlete that I was coaching at the time, at the University of Northwestern in St. Paul, who had this condition where she had calf pain. I told her that that had also happened to me and that I had surgery for it. I told her that her symptoms seemed similar to mine, that she might also have (Popliteal Artery Entrapment Syndrome). It turned out that she did and then she went into surgery for it and is now doing great. She's active and pain free.

What else has your painful past few years done for you, your silver linings?

I think it just carved out a lot of empathy and compassion for people. When you go through hard things, your character is tested. I like the term "on fire." You go through the fire, it's painful and hot and it leaves you with some scars. But I like the analogy that you are refined by going through fire. It purifies the silver and the gold in you and takes out those impurities. It makes you shiny, like a precious metal. It made me stronger and helped me as I struggled with my identity. Being that fast runner used to be my identity. But I have so many other things in my life to be thankful for. That includes my coach, who cares about me as a person first, a runner second.

On Sunday, you are being inducted into the Cannon Falls Athletic Hall of Fame. The honor is a reflection of your having been a three-time state champion, once in cross country and once each in the 800 and 3,200 at the state track-and-field meet. Your thoughts on entering Cannon Falls' Hall of Fame?

I was not expecting this at all. You have to wait 10 years (after high school graduation) to get nominated. Finding out about it came at a great time, because I'd been feeling discouraged about my running. Then I got the notification and it was so special. I'll give a little talk at the induction and it will be fun to see so many different people again. Really, running has been great for me. I've built so many different relationships through it.