Running On A Thin Line - Past issues nearly kept Sporrer out of sports

Taylor Sporrer's competition resume would be a challenge for anyone to replicate.

A combined seven-time Iowa high school cross country and track and field qualifier, a top 20 finisher at the Morningside University Invitational as a freshman and seven top 10 marks, including one event championship, between indoor and outdoor track and field during her first collegiate campaign.

To think, though, all of that might have been for not.

Going through an injury-plagued athletic career as a youth and through her middle school and early high school days, her dad bluntly pointed out in a conversation "Any more injuries and we might have to look at pulling you out of sports altogether."

"Yep, it seemed like I had a broken bone every year when I was playing basketball," she reflected with a laugh. "Once I got involved in running, that all changed."

Once she was locked in, the sky has been and continues to be the limit. Sporrer, along with a youthful women's cross country and track and field group, looks ahead to another of life's changes in 2022-23.

"I and the rest of the returners are definitely excited and ready to take larger leadership roles from a class of graduated seniors that have left very large shoes to fill," she admitted. "We know how great last year's senior class was, but we think we'll be up to the task to take the programs even further forward."

"The biggest part of that is having all of us who are back bring the same energy that the senior class did last fall, especially in cross country," she added. "There has to be enthusiasm and fun involved."

Sporrer is using her training regimen as an example.

"My intensity has gone up along with mileage since I got to Morningside," she noted. "The newcomers will have to understand that process, too. College cross country and track and field are definitely more time consuming, and you have to find a way to balance that with class work and so on."

"I've been working on the hills around campus and even getting back home to Logan and the hills around there," she added. "Doing that kind of training has really helped me be prepared for how competitive collegiate running can be, as it makes you mentally tougher by being a mental sprint at each step. From there, the flat parts of a course for cross country and track and field overall is easier. I aim for four to eight miles a day. While that has been tough, it can be a big help to eat and hydrate correctly. If you do so, you can stay focused."

It can also help you stay one step ahead of a family member, no matter who it might be, during easy jogs and potential town races.

"I always used to run 5Ks with my mom," Taylor remembered. "That's where I started to enjoy running. People used to joke that all I wanted to do was beat her. It wasn't easy when I was younger, but now I'm a little faster, so it can be pretty competitive."