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Former Oregon runner Amber McGown has worked to overcome anemia, car wreck
by Bryn Jansson | Sports Reporter
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"I went back to Canada and got a job and then I actually retired for one full day," the Melfort, Saskatchewan native said.
So it has come as a surprise to even her that three years later she's still competing.
After enrolling in graduate school at Oregon and using her final year of collegiate eligibility in 2006, when she placed third in the 1,500m at the Pacific-10 Conference championships, McGown started training with hall-of-fame coach Frank Gagliano, who heads up Oregon Track Club Elite in Eugene.
She started the 2007 season strong with a personal best of four minutes, 16.13 seconds, at the Stanford Invitational in late March. But right as she felt she was ready for a big season, she became anemic and lost several months of her season.
"Every workout was so hard which was really disappointing because I was so fit and just moving forward," McGown said. "I think I would have gotten close to 4:10 last year, except when you're anemic just getting through workouts is tough. My arms would fall asleep during my races, I'd get dizzy, so I'm staying on my iron this year and trying to make sure I'm getting consistent sleep and eating good food."
She still raced at the Canadian national championships in Windsor, Ontario in July, where she placed sixth in what she called a very tactical race.
"It was really bad weather right until we got on the track, so everyone's coaches told them don't lead, so no one wanted to lead," she said. "We went through ridiculously slow for 800 meters and then it was an all-out sprint for the last little bit."
After fully recovering from her anemia, McGown ran into another setback. Or, rather, it ran into her. While on her way to work one morning last fall she was rear-ended, causing severe back pain and forcing her to back off her training. A chain reaction of injuries ensued, which she has yet to fully escape.
The initial back pain didn't allow her to do her regular core work, which led to lost hip strength, which then caused her to get plantar fasciitis, an inflammation of the foot. She had to wear a boot on her foot for three weeks.
Rehab didn't solve all her problems either.
"I was in the pool and on the bike," she said, "but the bike and pool hurt my back so it was a catch-22 where I couldn't do anything for a while."
She was finally able to start running again in January, but is still dealing with lingering foot pain, though she classifies it as non-threatening.
Now three months into training, McGown is starting to round back into shape, while keeping her season in perspective.
"It's easy to get frustrated when you can't hit times you hit the year before," she said. "I'm trying to keep in mind that I'm a little bit behind, so I just have to work hard everyday."
McGown, whose first race since her injury came during the Pepsi Invitational on April 5, plans to run in at least four meets in preparation for the Canadian national championships in early July, including the Oregon Relays on April 25-26 and the Oregon Twilight on May 9.
At the Canadian championships, McGown hopes to improve on her sixth-place finish from last year, but said that the women's 1,500m is one of the deepest events.
"Some of the top world athletes in the 1,500 are from Canada, so it's a very competitive race," she said. "I'd like to be top three obviously. I'd like to improve upon sixth this year, at least top five, hopefully top three."
Even with a top finish at the national meet, McGown wouldn't be guaranteed a spot on the Canadian Olympic team, as Athletics Canada, the national governing body, selects team members based on qualifying marks met and potential to place at the Olympic Games.
"Is it realistic? ... I don't know, but I'm still gonna keep working hard because it's still three months away."
McGown plans to continue running for a few more years, until she feels she's reached her potential. She said she's been improving steadily, as long as she's been healthy. Her senior year at Cornell, she was injured but still dropped 11 seconds off her personal best. She cut another five seconds during her season at Oregon and another 2 1/2 seconds before anemia hit last year.
"I didn't even think I'd run this long and then I keep getting better every year," she said. "Last year would have been an even bigger year, so I would like to get a couple good years in straight and try and realize my full potential. If I feel like I get close to that and am still not at Olympic team level, I might consider shutting it down, but because I feel like I've had this great progression for a few years, I'd like to get a couple more of those in and see where I get to."
bjansson@dailyemerald.com
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