Kym Hunt
For The New Era
When Kambria Schumacher graduated from Sweet Home High School in 2006, she was arguably one of the most talented runners to ever grace the Huskies’ uniform.
She had competed in six total state championships in cross-country and track and ran herself into the Sweet Home record books in every event she participated in. As she finished her high school career she looked forward to a dream that many would deem impossible: running for the Oregon State Beavers and coach Kelly Sullivan.
A year later, when Kambria’s younger sister Cassandra graduated from Sweet Home, she too had left her legacy, six state championship appearances and a spot in the record books in every event she ran. As her high school career finished, she looked forward to relaxing and taking some time off of running.
Dreams can result in harsh reality, especially for a distance runner. Kambria was told by Beaver coaches that she wasn’t fast enough to run for OSU, that she should just give it up and find somewhere else to compete.
“When I was told that I wasn’t fast enough to run for OSU, I was crushed,” she said. “I thought my running career was over, and that I would not be able to see what my true potential could be.”
What the naysayers didn’t take into account was that distance running breeds competitors who, when faced with a challenge, fight like never before. They will take off out the door and run thousands of miles in burning heat, torrential rain and on rock-hard asphalt. They will run down hills and up mountains and around city blocks, all for the chance at success.
Rob de Castella, an elite distance runner, put it perfectly when he said: “A lot of people don’t realize that about 98 percent of running is anything but glamorous: 2 percent joyful participation, 98 percent dedication. It’s a tough formula. Getting out in the forest in the biting cold and the flattening heat, and putting in mile after mile.”
It was this very formula, and encouragement from her family, that spurred Kambria to go for it.
“What motivated me was my family,” she said. “I had a dream to run for OSU and my family put that belief back into me after I was told I wouldn’t make.”
Under the eye of Dan Petersen, who coaches at Cascade High School, Kambria started her career all over again.
“I chose Dan Petersen because of all the success he has had with his runners, and I knew that he would make me run fast enough to reach my goal,” she said.
Starting out with low-mileage workouts, Kambria built her endurance week after week after week. She knew that to accomplish her dream of running for OSU she would have to improve her 5k time by at least a minute. Taking a minute off in a three-mile race is extremely difficult. She would have to run 20 seconds faster per mile to accomplish it. It is not impossible; some runners can take a minute off their time after a few years of intense base training.
But Kambria wanted to accomplish it in a matter of months. She pushed herself daily. Waking up early to swim at the pool, working all day, then stepping out the door in the evening for runs ranging from four to 10 miles. She improved her diet, she hydrated better and she focused completely on running. She ran thousands of meters on the track; she hammered out painful time trials and eventually focused on one race to go after it: the Willamette University XC invitational.
“High school workouts are normally based for everyone on the team versus the one’s that Petersen wrote for me,” she said. “His were based on where I was in my training and how good of shape I was in.
“He added more variety to the workouts. Instead of having the majority of workouts on the track he had me do some on the road and trails. Even for long run days, it was made into a type of workout instead of just a long slow run. Plus, the days when I did the long runs they would be 70-80 minutes long and sometimes with hills.
“I believe that one of the biggest factors … was the cross training. I was in the pool two to three times a week. I believe this truly helped.”
It was at Bush Park in Salem, that she would look to accomplish a goal she had been working towards for years. She knew it would have to be special, she knew what it would take and she believed she was ready.
There is never a perfect way to run a race. There are too many variables that an athlete can’t control. All you can do is step up to the starting line, take a deep breath and run the way you run. As the starting gun goes off you realize that you have three miles of discomfort ahead. Three miles of gut-wrenching, back-aching, eyes-burning, throat-searing, heart-pounding discomfort.
It is in these miles where you discover yourself, you discover what your made of. It is here where those thousands of miles are called up. It is here that you finally discover if you can do something extraordinary.
At the Willamette Invitational, Kambria stepped to the line and knew it was now. As she did, Cassandra was overcome with a feeling. She knew what she needed to do. It was time for her to follow in her sister’s footsteps. As the race started and Kambria bolted out, Cassandra envisioned herself right on her sister’s hip, running stride for stride. The passion she had lost had returned.
Eighteen minutes and 48 seconds. That’s how long it took Kambria to cover 5k that day – 1 minute and 11 seconds faster than she ever had run before. As she came across the finish line, one journey was complete, yet another was just starting. Kambria would be a Beaver.
“When I knew I would be able to run for OSU. I was ecstatic,” she said. “I could not believe that I finally reached my dream. It was real now, and I would finally be able to see what my potential could be.”
Cassandra’s passion returned and she started to train seriously after that. With Petersen planning her workouts, she reached weekly mileage totals she never thought were possible. It was during these miles on the cold, hard pavement that she rediscovered who she was.
“I wanted to see how much I could tap into my potential because I was going through a hard time in my running career and it eventually led to asking Dan Petersen to write workouts for me just as he had for my sister,” she said.
“I saw how much he improved my sister and other athletes and knew that he could do the same for me. He is also one of the best coaches in state.”
As an artist, she set off out the door, knowing that sometimes to create something beautiful you have to put in the hard work and just be patient. The hundreds of miles she ran were just another art project.
“There was a significant increase in mileage and intensity in workouts, and in every other aspect of my training,” Cassandra said.
The project reached its apex in January at the Cascade half marathon. That’s where she lined up with the other 10-kilometer runners and set off on the beginning of her own journey.
At the beginning of the race she ran at her pace, knowing that the 6.2-mile distance will catch up with a runner who’s not careful. As she reached the turnaround point she was amazed at her time – 20:21 – just five seconds slower then her 5K PR and she still had 5k to go. The boost this gave her propelled her to the finish line, where she crossed in 40:45. Walking away from the finish line, she took a deep breath and knew that this piece of art was something extraordinary, a piece that makes people stop and stare.
Last spring Kambria, running as a Beaver, improved her 5k best to 18:40. In the same race Cassandra ran 19:01.
When the Oregon State University women’s cross country team began practice this season, the Beavers had two new members. Two sisters who overcame the odds and the doubters and showed what to girls, from a small town could do when faced with an impossible dream.
They’ve set challenging goals.
“I plan on reaching into the 17’s this coming cross-country season and being one the girls to run at the Pac-10s, regionals, and nationals,” Kambria said.
Cassandra said she also plans to drop her times into the 17-minute range for the 5000 meters and to get to the national meet.
They advise young runners to focus on achieving challenging goals.
“My advice for upcoming runners is to never quit,” Kambria said. “Running is one of the most challenging sports there are. So many times during a hard workout or in the middle of a race you just want to stop and catch your breath, but the reward of finishing that gut-pulling race, that 10-mile run, or that gruesome workout is an amazing feeling.
“At the end you can say I really did that. The goals are endless in this sport, and anyone can run. A person can always improve, but it comes down to you, to have belief in yourself that you can accomplish your goals – just as I did in making it on the OSU cross country and track team.”
Said Cassandra: “There is never a limit to what you can do or how good you can be.”
Kym Hunt is redshirting this season in cross-country at Corban College, where he plans to run track in the spring. A former runner for Cascade High School, he finished fourth in the 2006 3A state championships in the 3000-meter event, and was an assistant coach for Sweet Home in the fall of 2006.