Nov
29
Predawn Profile – Allie Marquis
While this blog is generally written for the runner balancing their passion with their family and career commitments, it turns out that competitive college runners face the some of the same challenges. Thus, when Allie Marquis, a runner for the University of Kansas cross-country and track teams, put in her first marathon this past month, I thought it’d be a great opportunity to find out how such an athlete balances studies and sport while striving for aggressive goals. It turns out that Allie faces some of the same hurdles we all do – finding the time, pushing herself too hard at times, and maintaining motivation. Thus, I hope you find motivation from her story, or from following Allie’s training on dailymile. Even here initials fit the theme of Predawn Runner!
Predawn Runner: When and how did you discover your talent for running?
Allie Marquis: I was a big soccer player growing up. I had speed and I never got tired, so I had quite a bit of success. I look up to my dad, and he ran every morning at 5:30 am. I started getting up early with him in 6th grade (I think I just loved my time with daddy 
). My mom told me to go out for cross country when I got to high school. She said I only had to do it for a day, and if I didn’t like it I could quit. The first day I realized I had some talent and decided to stick with it!
PR: What type of high-school performances did you need to turn in to be recruited to a Division I-A school for cross country and track?
AM: I was our number one runner on my high school team, and we have a HUGE cross-country team. I was not a huge standout in the state however. I think I only qualified for state 2 times out of my 4 years in cross-country. I loved track however. I was on a state champion 4X800 team. I also qualified in the mile and the two-mile each year. I placed 4th my senior year in the 2-mile, and I knew I loved the longer distance. I did not realize that I could run in college until beginning of my senior year. It was very surprising to me when the schools started calling to recruit me.
PR: Why did you settle on Kansas?
AM: I was recruited pretty hard by Drake and University of South Carolina. I went on an official visit at both schools. However, I wanted KU to call me more than anything! My parents went to University of Kansas, and I am a fourth generation Jayhawk. I grew up going to the football games and basketball games in Lawrence. So, when KU finally called I was so excited! I went on my official there, and I loved the team and facilities. I was recruited by a coach that I didn’t love, but he ended up getting fired the summer before I got there. I love Coach Whitlesey (the current coach). He has coached many Olympians such as Shalane Flanagan. I have a ton of trust in him and am eager to please him on the track and cross course.
PR: Can you briefly describe the training you follow during cross-country and track season? Do they differ?
AM: I am definitely a longer distance competitor. I run the highest mileage on the team, and the high mileage works best for me. I ran 95 miles a week in the off-season, and then went down to about 85 during season when the intensity picked up. We workout 2 or 3 times a week, and all the other days are just road runs. One day a week we usually do a 6-mile tempo at about 5:45 pace on VERY hilly courses. The toughest course we tempo is called Camelback! The other days we will do speed work on the track or at a local cross-country course. In cross-country we will do 3k repeats, miles, and even 800s toward the end of the season. For track we do our speed work on the track. We do more 1000s and mile repeats. Sometimes we will put in a 4-mile tempo then head to the track for 1000s or other repeats. We do drills and hurdles 3 days a week, and we lift weights 3 days a week. Sundays we don’t have practice but we put in a long run. My long run ranges from 12 to 16 miles.
PR: What have been your biggest accomplishments at KU?
AM: My biggest accomplishment at the University of Kansas was probably Big 12s my freshman year. I ended up placing 5th and running a 35.00 in the 10k. This was when I first realized I could really do something in the longer distances.
PR: What is the training approach during the off-season (if there is such a thing at your level)?
AM: I probably push myself more in the off-season than the other athletes. I am incredibly goal driven, and I have a very tough time taking time off. My teammates use the off-season to take some time off and ease back into mileage. I tend to like to amp up my mileage during this time, and I really work on my base training. To me, the off-season is the time to get strong and get that endurance up! Our only off-season when we aren’t competing is summer.
PR: While you are doing all this training, you obviously have to keep up with the typical college commitments of studies and a good social life. How do you fit it all in?
AM: Keeping a balance is incredibly important and also one of the most difficult parts about athletics. We (my roommates/teammates) are pretty good about keeping school in check. You have a ton of people keeping you in check to make sure that you are making grades and going to class. Studying can get tough because training can really wear on you, and the last thing you want to do is come home and do school work. However, keeping a balanced social life can be the most difficult task. I tend to get a little too focused with my training and forget that part of college is enjoying the social scene. If I’m not careful, I get so hooked on training, sleeping, and school that I forget this. The key is to know when it’s time to buckle down and focus on health and studying and when it’s ok to go out and enjoy yourself. Saturday is our big night to go out because our run on Sunday is a longer one and usually not quite as fast paced. We let ourselves use Sunday as our fun, relaxed run. Plus, Sunday runs are the best for talking about the fun that happened on Saturday night .
PR: You missed much of the recent cross-country season due to injury, correct? Can you share what happened?
AM: I have been side lined a lot from injury. My freshman year I ended up losing a ton of weight. I hit about 103 pounds, and I was extremely under weight. My bone density was so low that it caused multiple stress fractures in my feet. I spent a ton of time in the training room and was put on extremely high doses on Vitamin D and calcium pills. I had to cross train and meet with the nutritionist regularly. Since then, I have really worked on my nutrition to prevent injury. Although being injured is a very negative experience, I was able to put on some weight and get my bone density up. This also helped regulate things in my body. I had gone 8 months without a menstrual cycle, which helped cause the low bone density. I was put on a hormone that helped trigger it, and since the injury my body is able to have a period.
PR: How were you able to maintain fitness while injured, and what was the recovery process like?
AM: While I was injured, I spent a TON of time in the training room getting stem and other treatments to help my stress fracture recover sooner. I used the under water treadmill, elliptical, bike, and alter G while I was injured. The alter G is an anti gravity treadmill. It lifts you slightly off the ground so that all of your weight is not on the ground when running. Cross training got extremely boring and mentally tough. However, it did keep me in fairly good shape! Even though I was in decent shape, the lack of speed and endurance coming back is extremely frustrating. Nothing trains a runner better than the actual action of running. Running is the only way to truly prepare for racing.
PR: What made you choose to do your first marathon, and how did it go?
AM: My cross-country season did not go great this past year. I was constantly frustrated and mentally worn out. I just couldn’t find my love for running that I had always had. I decided I needed to jump into a race for me. I’ve always loved the marathon. To me, it’s such an honest distance. I have followed the marathon for about 7 years, and I love following the elite runners. I decided that this might be the perfect way to find my love again. My coach had taken my mileage down to about 65 miles a week, and I wasn’t feeling great. My hips were incredibly out of alignment, which was making me have major tightness and pain in my calves.
However, stubborn me still signed up for the Gobbler Grind Marathon. I wanted to do one without training, and the Gobbler Grind was the marathon that was coming up the quickest. I was pretty nervous going into the race because I had not had a “feel good” run in a few weeks. My legs were tired and tight constantly. I was hoping to run the entire 26.2, but I was prepared to drop out if need be. Miles 4 through 8 my legs were very tight. I decided I would go for at least an hour before I dropped out. Luckily, things loosened up after an hour and I was able to get into a great rhythm. The marathon was not a great spectator course, and I felt like I was running alone for a lot of it. I decided to have fun with it and just keep moving. I ended up running a 3:10.17. I got first place for the females and 15th overall. I was very happy with the marathon, and I loved my first marathon experience.
PR: What are your goals now, both as you finish college and look to your plans beyond then?
AM: After finishing the marathon, I have some big dreams . Prior to the race, my nutrition wasn’t great and I hadn’t done a run longer than 12 miles in about a month. Also, during the race, I was unable to take more than a sip of Gatorade and I couldn’t stomach any GU or any kind of calories. I would LOVE to actually train for a marathon and condition my body to take in calories during the race. The Olympic Trial qualifying time is a 2:47 for B standards. Going to the trials is my big time dream. I love the marathon, and I would love to really condition my body for it! Other than that, I would love to get my mileage back up and my body feeling fresh again!
PR: Best of luck Allie, and I’m looking forward to seeing what you do once you start pursuing your marathon goals!
