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An Avid Runner
October 21, 2015 05:12 PM | Cross Country
At age seven, running in 5k races for fun with her family was the moment freshman Anna French discovered her passion for the sport of cross country.
“I don’t know. I guess I just love to run,” French said. “It’s kind of hard to explain the feeling. It’s something I just enjoy doing.”
Her devotion to the sport grew as the Plymouth, Minnesota, native continued various cross country mediums all-year round.
“My main sport, other than running, was definitely Nordic Skiing. It was hard. I wanted to continue skiing in college. I considered that, but it just wasn’t feasible,” French said.
Nordic skiing is also known as cross country skiing. It’s essentially the endurance version of cross country in the winter.
“It’s basically just skiing, but we go uphill as well as downhill. It's really fun. Our races are about 15-20 minutes long for a 5k, and I think the Alpine races will last like a minute, if that. You have two different techniques, skate and classic. Classic is back and forth, and skate is more side to side,” French explained. “The heel is free, so you're able to pick up your heel as you're skiing.”
She’s been skiing ever since she was four years old, and being away from home for the first time will be hard as she determines her training schemes for the offseason throughout the year.
“I think it would be an abrupt transition otherwise because I've never trained for running all-year round. It's always been, I'll run until the running season ends, and then I'm fully skiing,” explained French. “I wouldn’t run at all in the winter. I'll probably run in the winter, but then I’ll also do some skiing in the winter, to supplement that this year. I hope I can keep it.”
Nordic skiing also has a training sport for the summer – roller skiing. It’s similar to skiing except on wheels, and you’re skiing on pavement. The skis are shorter, with two wheels on each ski. It requires the same binding of the feet, and you have poles to use as well.
“People are more amazed by roller skiing. I do them on the rail trail here, and I’ve gotten some pretty weird looks,” said French.
French has a yellow Labrador Retreiver named Abbey, who she misses dearly, along with her family. Abbey will appear in daily Skype videos back at home with French’s family.
Back at home, she and Abbey would spend time out on the slopes together, skijoring. The two started when French was 12 years old.
“Imagine dog sledding, but instead of with a dog sled, it's on skis. You and your dog wear harnesses that then attach together,” said French. “Then you just ski and the dog pulls you until she gets tired, at that point she starts lagging behind a little bit.
French embraces her Minnesota heritage here at WVU. Although there are a few differences, she was able to connect with WVU, the team and the mountainous land.
“What first got me interested was the fact that it was the Mountaineer – the mascot,” said French. “I love the mountains and Cooper’s Rock, so that kind of drew me in too. I really liked Sean (Cleary) and the girls when I came on my visits. Also, the academics fell into place, too.”
Overall, French is happy with her decision choosing WVU, and is excited to compete on a college level.
“I’m definitely looking forward to that. I think it will be very exciting lining up with the other girls,” French said.
“My biggest thought is that I made the right decision to come here. What I saw during my visits was the real WVU cross country team. The girls here are super awesome and welcoming. It’s really awesome being on this team.”
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