Summer is supposed to be a time of relaxation and
recuperation.
But not for cross country runner Valerie Flores.
The UCLA senior spent the summer months training for her final
collegiate cross country season, and so far, the hard work has paid
off. Flores’ times have improved dramatically this year, and
her performance has helped the No. 15 Bruins emerge as one of the
Pac-10’s best squads heading into the conference
championships Saturday in Pullman, Wash.
“The way she is running today is the athlete she has
always wanted to be,” coach Eric Peterson said.
Running has been Flores’ life for the past four years as a
member of the UCLA track and cross country squads. The San Pedro
native gets a total of two weeks off from training a year.
Flores sites the grueling summer that the team endured as the
reason for her development. In addition to spending two weeks as a
team at Mammoth Lakes to take advantage of the high altitude, they
ran individually throughout the summer. By mid-summer, Flores was
running mornings and afternoons, logging a total of 85 miles per
week.
“I ran and ran and ran,” Flores said. “That
was my life. I can’t imagine not waking up and going for a
run.”
Peterson also has been impressed with her dedication.
“The thing that is so impressive is that she has made a
strong commitment to her training”, said Peterson. “She
has adopted the lifestyle of a world class runner.”
While Flores has control over the amount that she trains,
experience and mental preparedness can only come with time. She has
put in this time.
“Racing mentality is so much different, so much more
competitive,” she said. “I have learned to focus on the
competition.”
She has also learned to beat the competition.
At the beginning of the season, the Bruins topped then-No. 1
BYU. They followed this victory with a win over Pac-10 powerhouse
Stanford at a meet the Cardinal hosted. Flores led the team with a
personal-best time of 21:13.
“To beat Stanford was always something that we had wanted
to do, especially at their own course and at their own
invitational,” Flores said.
Flores is quick not to take sole credit for the team’s
victory.
“Everyone was on,” she said. “We all felt
great.”
Looking ahead to this Saturday’s Pac-10 Championship,
hosted by Washington State, Flores has reason to feel great. UCLA
has risen in the rankings to No. 15 and is expecting to receive an
invitation to the NCAA Championships held Nov. 15.
This is not supposed to happen to a team that is missing two
All-Americans. Lena Nilson, the Bruins’ top runner last year,
is busy training to run in the Olympics for Sweden. Alejandra
Barrientos, another solid contributor, will likely redshirt this
year because of injuries.
This has put the pressure on Flores, who is one of only two
seniors on the squad, to play a larger role. Peterson, who
described Flores as “a hardworking, dedicated athlete,”
challenged her to carry more of the load.
“I had to step up to the plate,” she said. “I
have more responsibility. It encourages me to do better. As a
senior and a team leader, it’s my job.”
She does her job well, leading the Bruins with an impressive
14th place finish at the Pre-National Meet with a time of
20:31.
“She leads by example,” Peterson said. “That
is where her strength in leadership comes from.”
Flores hopes that the experience the team gained at Nationals
last year will help the team to improve on the disappointing finish
to last season. Last year, the team placed 25th out of the 31 teams
at the meet.
“You are surrounded by 200 girls that are just as good as
you,” Flores said.
With Flores’ dedication, chances are she’ll do just
fine.