(Cedar Falls) UNI distance runner Kate Crawford has her eyes on the Panther record in the 5,000 meters.
The ACGC alum is showing vast improvement over her first two years on campus in Cedar Falls and has big goals for the future. “Indoor I would love to get the school record in the 5K. I’m not super far off of it, so I think it’s definitely something I’m capable of doing. That’s something my coach and I have talked about. Then I would just love to see how I can continue to drop my 5K and 10K times. I think it would be awesome to qualify for the regional meet.”
Crawford says last year brought a break through during the indoor track season. “I was able to shave :32 off of my 5K time and :14 off of my 3K time. That showed my what I’m capable of. That’s when I made the decision that I wanted to stay a 5th year. So I redshirted my outdoor season so I could have a full 5th year.”
She admits to being disappointed in her performance during the fall cross country season. “I knew that I was capable of much more so I put in a ton of work in the little gap between cross country and indoor season. I really pushed myself and made sure I was doing the little things right like my nutrition and keeping my body healthy and fueled properly and injury free. That really made a difference. ”
Crawford is back on the grind this summer. “It’s been a lot of really high mileage, but I’ve gotten in a lot of really high quality miles and high quality lifting. I’m really happy with where I am at and I think I’m setting myself up for success this fall.” She’s eyeing the 21:00 mark on her 6K races this fall and hopes to be among the Panther’s top runner.
It was an easy decision to use a COVID year of eligibility and have five seasons to compete. “It was definitely a no-brainer. I mean I’m never gonna get these years of my life back. I want to see what I’m capable of with running. If I have the chance to do a 5th year and my body is healthy and I’m still improving then I absolutely want to take advantage of that opportunity.”
ACGC grad Kate Crawford:
