The last few months have been a blur for Boerne Champion running sensation Elizabeth Leachman.
Since mid-October, Leachman has won a district, regional and state championship and qualified and ran in a couple of national races.
But her biggest running accomplishment so far came last weekend when the Champion sophomore captured first place at the 44th Foot Locker Cross Country Championships National Finals.
Leachman won the Foot Locker race in San Diego, California, with a time of 16:50.7 in the 5K event and said it’s been a crazy few months.
“I am a little tired but it was a good season, a really good season,” Leachman said. “It’s kind of a weird time because right after (the race) we’re coming into this week with our midterms so I’ve kind of been focusing on that.”
The sophomore said her accomplishment last weekend in California didn’t really register with her until she returned to Texas.
“Probably the first time it hit me was right after we landed on our plane home and I kind of realized that I was coming back to like normal life, so probably then,” she said. “But yeah, I mean when I think about it, it definitely is crazy to think about. It’s really exciting.”
Race day As far as last Saturday’s race, Leachman was second for most of the first two miles but caught the leader, Rachel Forsyth of Ann Arbor, Michigan, in the final mile.
Forsyth finished third and Allie Zealand of Forest, Virginia came in second.
Leachman said the race wasn’t so much about her time as it was about running a smart race.
“I think that my main priority was just to like feel calm and collected and be ready to push it when I really needed to,” she said. “I wasn’t looking to hit a particular time but I was happy with my time and the way it played out. I don’t think I felt quite as good as I did at state but I think considering everything, it was a really good race.”
Leachman usually leads a race from start to finish and found herself in an unfamiliar position of having to play catch-up against the nation’s top runners last Saturday, but added that it wasn’t a big deal.
“I don’t really mind it, it’s definitely not my preference just because I don’t have the best closing speed so I want to be able to get out ahead of it early,” she said. “I think as long as I feel like I’m still running strong I’m okay with it. It was definitely tough to stay with (Forsyth) because she’s a great athlete but I felt good and I felt like I was having the right kind of day to be able to hold it, so I was happy with that.”
Near the finish line, Leachman had a comfortable lead but wasn’t sure how far back the other competitors were, so she pushed herself to the point of almost passing out at the end. She ended up winning the race by 14 seconds.
“I didn’t really know that I was as far in front as I was because I remember I had my dad yelling at me what times I was compared to the other girls and when we got to the top of that hill it was 9 seconds and then a little further on, he said 8 seconds so I really thought they were catching me,” she said. “I didn’t want to look back but once I saw the clock, I was just trying to run the fastest time.”
What’s next for the national champion from Champion?
Leachman said it’ll be nice to get a break from competition and doesn’t plan to race again until January. She added that she’s looking forward to the spring track season where she is the defending girls 5A state champion in the 3200.
“I might do some other races but not until at least midway through January, so I have a little time. I’ll do a couple indoor races which will be fun,” she said. “Mostly I’m just looking towards track. I’m just excited for school track and hopefully I can jump in a few 5Ks outside of that too.”
A video of Leachman winning the Foot Locker race that was posted on X or Twitter @BoerneStar-Sport has been viewed almost 12,000 times as of Friday so the Champion sophomore has quite a few people following her running career and she said she’s grateful for that.
“I feel really blessed for all the support I’ve had going into this,” she said.
