Record Holder Koll Looks Ahead

AMES, Iowa ? It is starting to sink in. Just more than a week since she set the American Collegiate record in the 10,000-meter run, Iowa State's distance runner Lisa Koll is now turning her focus to the balance of the collegiate track season and finishing the latest chapter in a remarkable academic career.

“It feels great,” Koll said. “It was so exciting at first. It's in describable. But you start to realize after couple of days it is not ?the end all.' There is so much left of the season and so there are many things I still want to accomplish. The (record) is just a stepping stone.”

The Fort Dodge native beat all-comers in the 10,000-meters at the Stanford Invitational on April 5, in Palo Alto, Calif., winning in 32.11.13 seconds. That bested the previous record of 32:19.97 by Alicia Craig of Stanford in 2004. Koll's performance, which crushed the previous mark by more than eight seconds, affirmed Koll's transformation from promising underclassman to status as a runner now just off the wings of the international stage.

While Koll's climb to rank among the best distance runners in the United States may have initially surprised some, her Iowa State head coach, Corey Ihmels, wasn't bowled over and is looking ahead.

“We thought she could run 32:30 and that is what we set out to do,” Ihmels said. “Logically, the record was not in our thought process. But now, there are a lot of scenarios and at the end of those is the Olympic Trials. We've got to give her the best opportunity to be successful at the end of the season when the Olympic Trials come around. We have a plan and we are not going to abandon that plan now.”

The four-time All-American will be facing new challenges in the coming months, on and off the track. Koll's academic accomplishments are equally as impressive. The biology major will earn her bachelor's degree next month after just three years at Iowa State. Her 3.97 grade-point average opened the next academic door, a slot in ISU's College of Veterinary Medicine. Koll, a sophomore in track and field, will balance the next two track seasons with the obligations of vet school. She feels the “life of a distance runner” will serve her well in both pursuits.

“Sacrifice, it's determination,” Koll said. “It's getting up to run in the morning even though you don't want to get up in the morning to go run. It's eating right and being conscious of your diet and what it will do for your body. Both running well and vet school are big goals of mine and that is what I'm focusing on right now.”

Ihmels has faith Koll can maintain that balance.

“She has great focus,” Ihmels said. “She's got a focus that's hard to break. Lisa is dedicated and has bought into what is necessary to compete at this level. As long as she keeps doing this she will continue to improve.”

Koll has come a long way from the eighth-grader who ran cross country at the urging of her middle school coach.

“I played every sport there was except running until eighth grade,” Koll said. I ran cross country just to hang out with my friends.”

During high school, Koll began keeping a running log her senior season. She keeps how long she ran each day, who she ran with, what the weather was like and how she felt.

“It helps you look back and remember what worked, what made you feel good and what made you feel bad.”

There were no leading indicators from Koll's prep career that collegiate records were in her future. During her senior year of high school (2004-05) she placed eighth at the state cross country meet in Class 4-A and finished third in the state track meet in the 3,000 meters (10:16.71). A look at her diary shows that she peaked in training as a high schooler at 52 hours a week. Even with hindsight, it is hard at first glance to see what was ahead.

“I think she trained pretty hard in high school and has trained hard here,” Ihmels said. “Sometimes the cumulative benefits of training take time. She has really made the sacrifices and tough choices to reach excellence.”

The turning point for Koll came during her freshman year at ISU, when she was injured throughout the 2006 track season. She redshirted indoors and ran just one race outdoors.

“Even in high school, I had been good, but not great,” Koll said. “After I recovered from the injury, I started running a lot more. I started researching more about runners and what great runners do and how they train. I decided I would do everything necessary to be that one outstanding person. Either I would get better or focus my energy on something else.”

Thankfully for Iowa State, Koll bounced back and exceeded all expectations. The Big 12 10,000-meter champion in 2007, she won the league indoor 5,000-meter title in late February. Koll then placed second in the 5,000-meters and ninth in the 3,000-meters at the NCAA indoor meet in March. She earned All-America honors for the second straight season in cross country last fall.

Now, Koll is “that one outstanding person,” not just on the track but in the classroom. Her biggest collegiate competitor is NCAA champion Sally Kipyego of Texas Tech, who is the collegiate record-holder in the 10,000 meters. The two will likely meet again.

“She still has running to do this season,” Ihmels said. “The NCAA Championship is in Des Moines in June (11-14). I know she is excited about that.”

The U.S. Olympic Trials are June 26-July 6, in Eugene, Ore.