WW-P South graduate takes eighth at nationals
By Justin Feil, Assistant Sports Editor
Katie Kellner didn’t graduate from West Windsor-Plainsboro High South expecting that she’d be a professional runner five years later.
The former Pirate standout and Cornell University graduate is finishing her first year with the Hanson-Brooks Distance Project team, one of five women on the elite team that trains out of Rochester Hills, Mich.
”I honestly had no idea,” Kellner said. “It would have been a dream. If someone asked me if I wanted to, I would have said, yes. At the time of graduation from high school, I didn’t know how much it took to be a professional runner. Luckily I improved a lot at Cornell and started talking to my coach and realized I could work with one of these shoe company’s professional groups.”
Kellner is teammates with Desi Davila Linden, a former Olympic marathoner who placed 10th at the Boston Marathon in a new personal record last April, Neely Spence Gracey, the eight-time NCAA Division II national champion, three-time Olympic Trials qualifier and six-time USA World Team member Melissa Johnson-White, and USA Championship 25-kilometer winner Dot McMahan.
”We just had three people leave,” Kellner said. “We’re only five women officially. Me, Neely, Dot, Melissa and Desi. We’re recruiting now.
”It’s definitely unique,” Kellner said. “I get to train with Desi Linden. I get to hear about her experiences.”
Kellner is building her own resume. At the USA Track and Field Outdoor Nationals last week, Kellner placed eighth in the women’s 10,000 meters in 33 minutes, 6.82 seconds.
”It was great,” she said. “I was hoping to run a little bit of a faster time. I was really excited about the way I competed and the way I placed. Even though my time wasn’t as fast as I anticipated, the place was higher.”
Kellner’s strong finish didn’t go without notice back home. Those that have watched her develop into one of the country’s most promising runners have let her know how proud they are of her.
”Luckily, I’ve gotten better each year since I started at South up until now,” Kellner said. “I had people from Cornell and West Windsor, teachers in the school district, congratulate me on how I did. It’s cool that people are still following. I love the support.”
At Cornell, she won the women’s Heptagonal cross country individual title to pace the Big Red to a team title as a senior. She was the first Cornell runner since 1994 to win the Heps crown. At the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in her senior year, she took seventh in the 10-kilometer race. That August, she joined the Hanson-Brooks team.
”I’m definitely just trying to do this while I’m still young,” Kellner said. “It’s an opportunity. One nice thing about the program with the Hansons is it’s sponsored by Brooks. They have a lot of money available for stipends. I’m working toward hitting the times so I can justify focusing on what I love so much.”
Kellner picked the Hanson-Brooks team over a couple of other choices. She knew that she wanted to keep running, she just had to find the right place.
”It is interesting,” she said. “It’s almost like looking at colleges. I took recruiting trips. I looked at Hanson, I looked at New York-New Jersey Track Club. I had a year of cross country eligibility, and I considered running at Duke or Providence for one year. Neither of the schools had any programs that I was really excited about. I thought I might sacrifice my money for a couple months (if she went to one of them).”
Kellner has caught on quickly with the Hansons team. Her recent 10-kilometer is proof that she is continuing to improve, and she is looking to continue to lower her times. She will run in the Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta today before flying home for two weeks off from running.
”It’s been up and down,” Kellner said. “I set a PR, and I didn’t expect to PR this year. I never really PR’d my freshmen year of college because I was getting used to new things. I did run under 16:00 in 5k for the first time. I was running close to my PR in the 10K at nationals. I’ve been pretty proud for being able to improve from college.”
When Kellner returns to training after her trip back to West Windsor, her focus will be on gearing up for longer races.
”My focus this past spring was the 10k on the track,” Kellner said. “Going into the fall, I’m going to build up to the half-marathon. Hopefully I’ll qualify for the marathon by the 2016 marathon Trials.
”I’m definitely excited about the marathon,” she added. “I want to be a marathoner. I think that’s my best shot of qualifying for the Olympics one day and being one of the best runners in the U.S.”
Kellner says so almost casually, but she knows that goal will take some of the best training of her life. She feels she is off to a good start in running as a career.
”It is a lot different,” Kellner said. “It’s really nice to be able to not have to stress about schoolwork and be able to put more of my focus into running. It’s a lot more individual. I have a coach. But going to the meets and deciding if I need a day off, that’s something I’m becoming more mature about and starting to learn to rely on myself about instead of relying on my coach for every little thing.”
Training with the Hansons team has helped her lower her times after college. She has adjusted to the changes in her plan.
”It is quite different,” Kellner said. “I’ve been doing more mileage. It’s been a gradual increase. It’s more doubles. I never did doubles before. A lot of the increase is in the second run that I do. Also our workouts add up to more mileage.”
Kellner also has an eye on her future beyond running. She is working part-time for the Hanson-Brooks team.
”I work at their running store,” Kellner said. “They give us a job at the store they own. I work part-time. I’m also volunteering at the emergency room of the hospital. I’m looking to take some EMT classes. I was a pre-med student at Cornell. I want to get some medical experience to maybe eventually go to (physician’s assistant) school.”
For now, Katie Kellner is focusing on her other job, which is enjoying the chance to run professionally and find out just how good she can be as she tries to build toward qualifying for the 2016 Olympic Trials.
”We’ve considered the Philadelphia Half-Marathon,” Kellner said. “That’s a tentative plan.”