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Kassi Andersen competes in an indoor track race for BYU.

Interview with Kassi Andersen

Posted on September 25, 2006, Interview conducted September 20, 2006

By Alison Wade

Kathryn (Kassi) Andersen of Brigham Young University made a strong return to competition on September 9th when she won the BYU Autumn Classic by more than 30 seconds, in 17:54.3. It was Andersen's first race since she ran the 3,000m steeplechase at the 2004 U.S. Olympic Trials, a race in which she finished second but broke her foot and sprained her ankle going over the final water barrier. Because the women's steeplechase was not contested at a major championship until 2005 (it will be a part of the 2008 Olympic Games), Andersen did not miss an opportunity to go to the Olympic Games due to her injury, but she was sidelined for a while.

After the Olympic Trials, Andersen spent the summer crosstraining in preparation for the 2004 NCAA cross country season. On Labor Day of that year, she was hit by a truck while doing a workout on her bicycle. The crash resulted in a broken hip which required surgery but, amazingly enough, she was able to resume running three months later. Instead of returning to competition, Andersen opted to take that time to go on an LDS mission. She spent a year in Cleveland and Kirtland, Ohio, and returned to BYU in April of 2006. Now healthy and back at BYU, Andersen is expected to be one of BYU's leaders this year.

Andersen has twice competed in the NCAA Cross Country Championships. In 2002, she finished seventh and helped BYU to a team title, and in 2003 she finished 13th. She has earned All-American honors (eight total) every time she's competed at an NCAA cross country or track championship, and she won her first individual NCAA title in 2003, in the steeplechase. The 23-year-old Provo, Utah native is a two-time runner-up in the steeplechase at the USA Championships (2003 and 2004). She holds personal bests of 4:16.77 (1,500m), 9:44.68 (3,000m steeplechase), and 15:57.60 (5,000m).

While at Provo High School, Andersen won 10 Utah state titles and had an 800 meter best of 2:08. Andersen had already completed her undergraduate degree in Exercise Science with a concentration in Fitness and Wellness Management, and she is now working toward a Master's in Exercise Science with a concentration in Health Promotion.

Andersen will next compete at the Bill Dellinger Invitational at the University of Oregon on September 29th.

Can you start off by telling us about the bicycle accident you had in the fall of 2004? At the time it seemed there was a lot of concern regarding whether or not you would be able to return to competitive running at all.
I was just out on one of my bike rides with my brother. We were coming down the Provo Canyon side of the Alpine Loop. It was raining, it was Labor Day weekend so everyone wanted to go up and see the leaves. It was pretty busy, and it was a little dangerous because it was wet and slick. We were coming down a hill with switchbacks and blind turns. We were being really careful at the beginning and we were taking the turns easy, but just at the perfect time a trailer turned around the corner, going up as I was coming down. I was kind of in the middle of the street, it was really narrow, so I was trying to swerve in order to miss him, and avoid the gravel, and I just flipped over my bike and slid under his back wheel. He ran right over my hip bone and it just cracked right in half. I just laid there until the ambulance came up about a half hour later. We went straight to the hospital and all my family and my coach [Patrick Shane], everyone was there. I had a lot of support, but I didn't really know what had happened until I went to the hospital. I knew something was broken because my leg went limp and I was just in a lot of pain.

I found out that I needed to have surgery, and they just put screws in my left hip. The next day they get you up and they start you walking. I went back to school, I started my first year in the Master's program. After three months, I started running again. I went to the doctor and he said, 'I don't ever want to see you again' [laughs]. I healed completely and perfectly, so I was really blessed. I just started running on my own. I had been thinking of going on a mission before, so I decided that was what I wanted to do. I went on mission for a year, until April of 2006. I served in Cleveland, Ohio, and then our church has historic sites in Kirtland, Ohio, so I served in several sites there.

When you decided to go on mission, did it have anything to do with your running? Did you see it as an opportunity to let your body heal a little more?
That's what everyone kind of thought, but I was healed. Before the accident, I was already planning on going sometime, my coach and I were just figuring out how it could all work out. It definitely gave me a break from school and it worked out. I wanted to run. I did as much as I could on my mission. I ran a lot, in the mornings or in the snow, whatever I could do. I stayed in pretty good shape, so when I got home I just trained all summer, and now I'm ready to go for cross country.

What did you do during your mission?
The mission is for the LDS church. We have a strict schedule, but I was able to run early in the morning. After eating and getting ready, we study for two hours each day, then we would go out and teach people about Jesus Christ and about how to be happy. We'd teach them about the scriptures and the gospel of Jesus Christ. We'd go door to door, get media referrals, deliver free movies and free Books of Mormon, or whatever they wanted. We'd do that until about 9:00 p.m., when we'd have to be back home. We did that every day.

When I served in Kirtland, Ohio, it was more as a tour guide, testifying and teaching the gospel, as well as teaching the history of the site. It was a really great experience. I learned a lot and grew a lot. It was really hard. I was able to meet some amazing people and hopefully help change some lives. It was really a good experience. Not all women will do this, it's more the men of our church who have that call, but sisters can do it if they choose to do so. There's another girl on our team who is also a return missionary, Breanne Sandberg. She served in Chile. We've had several return missionaries and it's possible to come back and do great.

Do you get credit for school while you're gone, or do you put everything on hold to go on mission?
We put everything on hold. It's volunteer service. We pay our own way. We can't work while we're being missionaries. BYU puts things on hold for us but we have to re-apply to come back. It's a big sacrifice because it's not like a guarantee and you don't know what to expect when you come back, or what kind of shape you'll be in. You're called to wherever the president of our church calls you. Some people go to foreign countries and have to learn a new language. It's a big commitment that not everyone can do. You have to be able to work hard day in and day out.

How do you feel about your fitness? Do you feel that you're back to where you were in 2003 and 2004?
Yeah, I do. I don't feel like I've lost much. It's always hard getting back in shape, but I don't feel like I'm behind, I feel like I'm where I should be. I'm excited. I think it's going to be a really good year. I still have my big dreams for this coming season, and then the World Championships and Olympics, we'll just see what happens. I'm just excited to see what I can do.

Do you think that BYU has a chance to make another run for a national title?
I hope so, but I don't know. It depends on the day, what team is better than us, or if we can all perform our best. I think we have a lot of potential and it will unfold as the season goes on. We're still pretty young, we have a lot of new girls and new dynamics to the team. I'm back, there are new girls, and some old girls. It's just a question of how we put it together. We have a lot of potential, but there are a lot of good teams out there. We'll just have to see who's the best that day. I think we definitely have a chance, but we'll just take it one race at a time. Our goal right now is just to win the Mountain West Conference championship and that should determine how we do later.

Do you feel like the team has changed since you left?
Oh yeah, just the people in general. There are some of the same girls and I still train with some former BYU runners, but it's definitely changed. It's still so fun. We're all best friends and I love them all. I feel really excited about the season and I think everything is going to be good, it's going to be fun.

We've heard that you have a sister who is also on the BYU track team.
Yeah, I do. Her name is Julie and she started out as a heptathlete, because she's pretty good at doing everything. She did that last year and then did a little bit more of the 800. Coach wants her to choose what she wants to do -- sprinting, throws, jumping, or more distance. She's been training with us for cross country. She won't compete, but she'll be geared up for track. It's fun, we're a little different that way.

The BYU team is quite different than many of the top teams around the country. You haven't tended to get as many of the top-tier recruits, but Coach Shane does an amazing job of building championship teams out of the talent and potential he does get.
That's true, we don't get the top recruits, but we luck out because we get people who really want to be here, who want to be a part of BYU and the team. They work really hard and they turn out to be really good. In their later years, you really see that potential come out. Every once in a while we do get one or two really good girls, but we usually don't get the top recruits. That's kind of how it's always been.

Why do you think Coach Shane is so successful? Is it superior training? Some other factor?
It's a combination of things. He's definitely an excellent coach. He knows what he's doing. It's his passion, it's his life. He loves coaching. He stays up to date on all of the latest research. But then the girls on the team have these dreams and this work ethic. We really come together and just make it happen. We definitely have a very good team atmosphere here.

When your team won the 2001 NCAA title, you all had big smiley faces on your hands, while the Stanford team that you beat had their teammates' names on their hands, so they could look down and do a 'gut check' at the 2.5 mile mark. It just seemed like your team was so close and had so much fun.
That is so true, everything we do, we have fun. I hear how serious and how competitive other teams are, and that whole dynamic is so foreign to me. It doesn't exist on our team. We are always pushing, helping, and encouraging each other. We're just best friends automatically. To see how different it is on other teams is strange.

Your team is also very different in that you tend to have more married athletes...
Yeah, we have at least five or six right now.

How does that, plus the different lifestyle at BYU (no alcohol, no drugs, etc.) change the team dynamic?
Marriage really helps a lot of our athletes because they have a better schedule, better sleep pattern, better work ethic, they eat better...everything is just a little better in life, or happier. But also the lifestyle we live as members of our church, and also at BYU, where we sign an honor code saying we won't take in any harmful substances -- drugs, tobacco, alcohol -- and that's part of being a student at BYU. It keeps a lot of that junk out, so we don't have to deal with it. It's a very clean environment with very clean language. It's just ideal for anyone who really wants to go far in life. It's a better quality of life. None of us miss that stuff or want that. We just know what matters and what's important, and [the alternatives] don't even seem appealing. It's not like we're giving up anything.

Back to cross country, what are some of the staple workouts you do throughout the season?
We do mile repeats, 800 or 1,200 repeats, threshold runs, and hill workouts. We do a speed workout, a hill workout, and a long, hard run each week.

You still have two seasons of cross country eligibility (plus the 2007 track season) left, correct?
If I get my medical hardship, I will have another season (2007) of cross country eligibility.

You could potentially run in the NCAA until you're 25 years old, if you get the medical redshirt and choose to finish out your eligibility. Some people would say that's an advantage, but there's also a flip side in that time you spend in the NCAA is time during which you can't have a shoe contract and can't make money off of the sport.
That's the other thing that I'm still considering when I decide if I want to do my medical hardship next year. If I'm going to be serious about it at that point, I probably will just go pro. But I think age is an advantage, because the older you are, the stronger you are, as long as you continue to train through. You're getting closer to your prime running age. But you're right, if I'm going to be doing well at this age, I could be getting paid for it. I think that will come. I don't know if it will be this year or next year, but I definitely plan on seeing how far I can go for at least a couple of years.