Lizzy Nelson's story is arguably the most inspirational in Santa Clarita Valley cross country and track history. Her surname, Nelson, is one of the most well-known in California high school running history. Her father, Jeff, won several state championships, finished fourth at the IAAF World Cross Country Finals, and held the national high school record over two miles for 29 years while running for Burbank High School in 1978 and 1979. Her mother, Kathryn, was an assistant coach for Saugus High's girls team, the only program in California sports prep history to win seven consecutive state crowns from 2006-12. And her older brother, Alec, was there when Saugus' distance dynasty began. He helped Saugus' boys cross country squad achieve greatness in winning five consecutive Foothill League titles from 2006-10 and finishing 10th at the 2009 CIF Division Two State Championships.
Before Lizzy's college career took off, she ran for Saugus as well. But she was only the 48th best girl on the team with personal best's of 2:46 for 800 meters, 6:13 for 1,600 meters, and 13:55 for 3,200 meters as a freshman, and even as a senior, never appeared on the Lady Centurions' varsity roster. Following her prep career, she decided to run for Glendale Community College's decorated women's program (they haven't finished worse than second at the state junior college cross country finals since 2006. The rest of Lizzy Nelson's story is a large chunk of SCV history.
Since graduating from Saugus, Nelson has dropped her personal bests on the track to 2:17 for 800 meters, 4:33 for 1,500 meters, 5:01 for 1,600 meters, 10:31, 17:54 for 5,000 meters (cross country), 21:03 for 6,000 meters (cross country), and 39:55 for 10,000 meters. While at Glendale College, she won four Western State Conference titles (cross country, 1,500 meters, 5,000 meters, 10,000 meters), two Southern Section crowns (1,500 meters and 5,000 meters), and one state championship (1,500 meters), as well as several team titles in both cross country and track.
In Lizzy's first two races in a Cal State Northridge, she won the University of San Francisco Invitational in a new 5,000-meter personal best of 17:54 and clocked 21:03 over 6K for fourth at the Riverside Invitational. That mark makes her the fifth fastest performer for 6K in SCV history, trailing only Lauren Fleshman, Shannon Murakami, Stephanie Bulder and Grace Graham-Zamudio. How's she do it you might be asking? Years and years of dedication and hard work ... Here's an interview with Lizzy Nelson. Hope you all enjoy a great interview with a great individual:
Since graduating from Saugus, Nelson has dropped her personal bests on the track to 2:17 for 800 meters, 4:33 for 1,500 meters, 5:01 for 1,600 meters, 10:31, 17:54 for 5,000 meters (cross country), 21:03 for 6,000 meters (cross country), and 39:55 for 10,000 meters. While at Glendale College, she won four Western State Conference titles (cross country, 1,500 meters, 5,000 meters, 10,000 meters), two Southern Section crowns (1,500 meters and 5,000 meters), and one state championship (1,500 meters), as well as several team titles in both cross country and track.
In Lizzy's first two races in a Cal State Northridge, she won the University of San Francisco Invitational in a new 5,000-meter personal best of 17:54 and clocked 21:03 over 6K for fourth at the Riverside Invitational. That mark makes her the fifth fastest performer for 6K in SCV history, trailing only Lauren Fleshman, Shannon Murakami, Stephanie Bulder and Grace Graham-Zamudio. How's she do it you might be asking? Years and years of dedication and hard work ... Here's an interview with Lizzy Nelson. Hope you all enjoy a great interview with a great individual:
1. How and when did your running career start?
My running career began back in 2005, when I competed for STORM. My mom had told me and my brother about my dad’s running story. Immediately after, my brother wanted to follow in his footsteps and run. When we moved to Santa Clarita, my mom signed him up for STORM, a youth running team, and asked if I wanted to join, too, but I didn’t want to. I started going to the practices with my mom to watch. Eventually I got tired of watching from the bleachers and gave in to joining.
I remember one time I was doing a cross country race and I was taking so long to finish that they had to turn the clock off and start another race while I was still racing. Needless to say, I was not much of a running fan after that and quit when I was in eighth-grade to try hip-hop dancing. I rejoined cross country and track when I entered high school because my mom was coaching at Saugus and convinced me to give it another chance. We made a deal, though, that I would only have to run two years to satisfy my P.E credits.
I remember one time I was doing a cross country race and I was taking so long to finish that they had to turn the clock off and start another race while I was still racing. Needless to say, I was not much of a running fan after that and quit when I was in eighth-grade to try hip-hop dancing. I rejoined cross country and track when I entered high school because my mom was coaching at Saugus and convinced me to give it another chance. We made a deal, though, that I would only have to run two years to satisfy my P.E credits.
2. Give us a summary of your high school career. Did you have any expectations while at Saugus, and were you planning on running in college or is that something that didn't materialize until senior year?
When I joined it was really intimidating because Saugus had a reputation of being really, really fast. I started off training with the beginners in Barbara Phillip's group. It was frustrating because even though I had a background in the sport from STORM, it never seemed to help me. Pretty much all the new people were faster. I was also overweight and I always felt really insecure.
After improving in the 1600m by almost 30 seconds after my sophomore year, I decided to run another two years, but I never planned on running in college. I pretty much ran on the junior varsity squad all four years. I eventually worked up to the varsity training group my senior year, but I was never in the top seven. I always dreamed of being in the top seven at Saugus, but I knew my chances we very slim. The idea of being part of one of the state championship teams seemed so special. My biggest problem was also my insecurities and the varsity girls always seemed so confident. I guess I thought that if I ever made varsity, I would finally feel like that too.
My mom also stepped down as a coach my senior track season. After that my motivation really declined and I really started to hate running. My mom was offered a coaching position at Glendale Community College right around the time of my graduation, though, so I decided that since she would be at Glendale, I would continue running only two more years there. I definitely did not plan on running in college until my mom took the coaching position at Glendale College.
After improving in the 1600m by almost 30 seconds after my sophomore year, I decided to run another two years, but I never planned on running in college. I pretty much ran on the junior varsity squad all four years. I eventually worked up to the varsity training group my senior year, but I was never in the top seven. I always dreamed of being in the top seven at Saugus, but I knew my chances we very slim. The idea of being part of one of the state championship teams seemed so special. My biggest problem was also my insecurities and the varsity girls always seemed so confident. I guess I thought that if I ever made varsity, I would finally feel like that too.
My mom also stepped down as a coach my senior track season. After that my motivation really declined and I really started to hate running. My mom was offered a coaching position at Glendale Community College right around the time of my graduation, though, so I decided that since she would be at Glendale, I would continue running only two more years there. I definitely did not plan on running in college until my mom took the coaching position at Glendale College.
3. While at Glendale Community College, you improved by leaps and bounds. Who and/or what do you credit for your huge improvements from high school to college?
I think it was a combination of reasons for my improvement at Glendale. Head coach Eddie Lopez was really nice to me and never put a limit on what he thought I was capable of accomplishing. He always made me feel like I mattered and that made me feel more confident in my races. He really believed in me and that helped me believe in myself more. My mom also helped a lot too. She's always been such a huge supporter of my running and she never misses any of my races. She always knows how to reach me. Grace Zamudio also helped a lot. She became my idol my freshman year and seeing her improve so much made me really believe in the program.
My dad also helped a lot because he became my Sunday running partner. On Sundays we were supposed to run long, but we did not have organized practice, so we had to run alone. I felt like I had an advantage because I never had to run alone and he always did what ever distance I had to run even though he would say it was hard for him because he's getting old. He still always pushed the pace though!
I also ran a lot more mileage at Glendale than at Saugus, which helped me lose weight and become more confident.
My dad also helped a lot because he became my Sunday running partner. On Sundays we were supposed to run long, but we did not have organized practice, so we had to run alone. I felt like I had an advantage because I never had to run alone and he always did what ever distance I had to run even though he would say it was hard for him because he's getting old. He still always pushed the pace though!
I also ran a lot more mileage at Glendale than at Saugus, which helped me lose weight and become more confident.
4. You won the CCCAA State 1,500-meter state crown over a fantastic athlete in Yesenia Silva. At what point in your Glendale College career did you realize you could be state champion? Was that a goal always in the back of your mind or did it take some time to start believing you could compete with Silva and the rest of the state's best?
I never really thought I could win state. After finishing 4th my freshman year, I thought I had a good chance of being up there again the next year. At the Oxy Invitational, I ran a personal best of 4:33. At the time, it was the leading time in the nation for junior colleges. I knew, though, that there was a girl from up North named Yesenia Silva and she had run 4:34. I got a chance to race her at the Mt. SAC Relays and she beat me and ran 4:32. To be honest, I was really sad I no longer had the fastest mark.
Once I knew how fast she was, I really hoped that I could at least finish second or third at the state meet. She was the favorite going into the state meet. Coach Eddie Lopez told me that I could win. I just had to stay relaxed and start kicking with 400 to go. When we had 100 meters left, I thought for sure I was going to get second, but then with 70 meters to go I suddenly had a second wind and was able to kick a little faster. I felt really sick when I crossed the finish line, though, and they made us get on the awards podium right away. I remember trying really hard not to throw up in front of everyone.
Once I knew how fast she was, I really hoped that I could at least finish second or third at the state meet. She was the favorite going into the state meet. Coach Eddie Lopez told me that I could win. I just had to stay relaxed and start kicking with 400 to go. When we had 100 meters left, I thought for sure I was going to get second, but then with 70 meters to go I suddenly had a second wind and was able to kick a little faster. I felt really sick when I crossed the finish line, though, and they made us get on the awards podium right away. I remember trying really hard not to throw up in front of everyone.
5. You've always been a very dedicated, hard-working individual in cross country and track. Would you agree that all the hard work and time you put into the sport while in high school laid down the foundation for the success you've enjoyed so far in college?
I definitely agree that high school laid the foundation for my improvement. High school running helped with conditioning and gaining race experience, but it never would have amounted to anything if I had not gained confidence or had people who believed in me. I really felt like I was part of a family at Glendale and that made a huge difference for me
6. You recently won the University of San Francisco Invitational and ran a huge personal best over 6,000 meters at the Riverside Invitational for Cal State Northridge. What are the rest of your season and career goals at Cal State Northridge and what do you need to do to accomplish them?
I would really like to finish in the top 10 at the Big West Conference Championships this year, and a really big dream of mine would be to qualify and compete at NCAA Division 1 Cross Country Nationals. I plan to do this by just trusting in my training. Coach Hernandez just tells me to have fun when I race and so far that's just what I've been doing. I'm really starting to fall in love with racing. Before I hated it and I would get so nervous, but now I really enjoy. It's fun to just compete and see what you can do. I'm also starting to learn what racing strategies work better and it's fun to try out different tactics when you're racing.
7. Your dedication and hard work over the last few years has transformed you from a novice runner to one of the best, which has inspired A LOT of people along the way. Some advice or words of wisdom to those individuals that aren't necessarily one of the best but have aspirations of being one in the future?
I would tell all novice runners hoping to improve to never set a limit on yourself. Always work hard and trust your coaches. Don't let other people tell you that you have a limit. Embrace your insecurities and hardships and draw from them when you're looking for motivation to keep running and to push harder, especially when it does not seem worth it anymore. Be confident and have fun when you race. Running has way more downs than ups, but that is what makes your victories and improvements even sweeter.