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Athlete: Anna Rohrer
Year: Junior
School: Mishawaka High School
Location: Mishawaka, IN
1600m PR: 5:02.06
3200m PR: 10:20.68

In an effort to assess her fall fitness in her first race of the season, reigning Foot Locker national cross country champion Anna Rohrer of Indiana rocketed a 16:53 for 5K on Aug. 31 for a 63-second victory at the Viking Stampede in Dowagiac, Mich. The course was rolling, the weather ideal and Rohrer’s time was the fastest ever by an Indiana girl in a 5K cross country race. In last year’s Viking meet, Rohrer won in 17:46, so this was a 53-second improvement.

First Race Flyer: With little chance of being pushed until the postseason, Rohrer, 16, wanted to get a big effort under her belt as a curtain raiser. “I thought I did well racing myself,” she said. “I knew I’d improved but was surprised by how much.”

Summer Base Work: Mishawaka coach Chris Kowalewski continued Rohrer’s past program of five days a week running, 30 to 40 miles, and two days cross-training. Rohrer, 5-foot-6 and 102 pounds, built her longest run up to 9 miles. She did some tempo runs at progressively faster pace as well as hill sprints. Her cross-training consisted of bicycling and elliptical work. With a long season ahead of her, Rohrer said she didn’t want to do anything “too fast” over the summer.          

Whole Nine Miles: Another indication of Rohrer’s fitness level occurred earlier in August when she met up with a group of men in their twenties for a 9-miler. She was supposed to run about 6 minutes for the last mile but would not back down from a challenge by one of the top men and came home in 5:36. “It didn’t feel all out,” she said. To which Kowalewski added, “Anna’s greatest asset is her mental toughness and ability to tolerate pain.”

Pre Said It: Rohrer has been inspired to conquer racing pain by running films and videos, especially those featuring Steve Prefontaine. She can quote many of Pre’s classic lines like, “All it takes is all you’ve got,” and “If I’m still standing after a race, knock me over because I didn’t run hard enough.”

Learning Core Principles: At the mid-summer Nike elite camp for top high school distance runners in Beaverton, Ore., Rohrer learned a lot “about doing things to make you stronger and prevent injury.” One thing she took back to Indiana was an expanded repertoire of core work, including plank variations and use of exercise balls. Rohrer does core work almost daily.

Fit But Fragile: Rohrer and Kowalewski are always attentive to injury risk and the growing female body, which accounts for Rohrer’s cross-training as well as a variety of drills for strength and form. As a freshman, Rohrer missed most of cross country because of breaking four bones in her foot, the result of a pronounced forefoot strike. Last spring, Rohrer was sidelined for a month with Achilles tendinitis (no running, only cross-training).

Few Track Races: After her Foot Locker triumph in San Diego last December, where she ran 17:25 on the Balboa Park 5K course, Rohrer was somewhat under the national radar in track. She came back from her spring layoff to win the state 3200m in 10:20.68 on only three weeks of training. While missing some race opportunities, her 1600m PR was 5:02.06.

She’s “Top Boy”: Like many elite girls, Rohrer runs with the boys’ team for a good training pace. But in a role reversal that may be unique, it’s Rohrer who paces the boys. “We graduated a lot of seniors,” said Rohrer,” so our number one guy is a soph.”

Friday Morning Hero: Rohrer got some grooming for team pacesetter in Mishawaka’s “Friday Morning Hero” runs before school. They’re supposed to be tune-ups for Saturday races but eager freshmen often fly out in racing mode. Rohrer used to do that, dragging the boys with her; at the end, they were tired and she was not.  

Meets on Tap: Rohrer’s next invitational meets are New Prairie, on Sept. 21, and Culver Academies, on Sept. 28. Rohrer said she would like to compete in a couple of the major out-of-state events but that her plans were still uncertain.

The Post-Season: Rohrer wants to defend her Foot Locker title and is considering the possibility of running Nike Cross Nationals as well. The two regional qualifying meets—Foot Locker Midwest and NXN Midwest—are on separate weekends.   

On the March: Rohrer is an accomplished flute player and member of the school marching band that performs at football games. If there’s ever a conflict with band and cross-country, not to worry: the band leader is a former cross country runner.
 

Headshot of Marc Bloom
Marc Bloom

Marc Bloom’s high school cross-country rankings have played an influential role in the sport for more than 20 years and led to the creation of many major events, including Nike Cross Nationals and the Great American Cross Country Festival. He published his cross-country journal, Harrier, for more than two decades.