Going the distance

Two hours' drive north of the U.S.-Canada border, senior mid-distance runner Courtney Inman began a journey when she ran for the Valley Royals track-and-field club in her home town of Abbotsford, British Columbia. Now, more than a decade later, running has taken her farther than the trek back to Canada.

After running in hundreds of meets, including the 1998 Junior Pan Am Games and Junior Olympics and five NCAA championships, Inman will give competitive running one last shot -- next week at the national outdoor meet in Sacramento, Calif.

Inman loves to compete, and has picked up many accolades on the way to her second consecutive NCAA championship appearance in the 1,500-meter run -- including being voted "most valuable" by teammates yesterday. But she laces up her running shoes for more reasons than simple success.

Courtney said that she has used her athletic experiences as a way to live a steady life -- even if it meant running during fall's cross-country, winter's indoor track and spring's outdoor track seasons. In addition, the year-round competition keeps her constantly physically prepared to take her place at the starting line.

"I have always done three sports; if I'm not doing something I'll go insane," Inman said. "It's a part of the business; I can't take time off, really, and any track athlete can't. Athletics give me a routine and a schedule that keeps me going, plus I love the fitness factor of it."

Inman qualified for next week's NCAA meet last weekend when she was the third competitor to cross the finish line at the west regional championships. Inman is the seventh-ranked 1,500-meter competitor in conference history; her best 2003 time of 4 minutes, 15.14 seconds is the second-fastest time inscribed in the UW record books in the event.

She gets good marks off the track as well. The business major was recently named to the academic all-district VIII second-team, due to her 3.4 grade-point average.

In the fall of her senior year, Inman began the cross-country season by making the top grade for Washington runners at the 2002 national championship. Her 54th placing was the highest finish of five Huskies.

Even though Inman was the best Washington finisher in every race of the cross-country season, she does not favor cross-country over track. Inman said that she signed on to stay in shape for track competitions later in the year. As a result of her work ethic and training goals, the cross-country squad found a scoring leader and an inspiring example for the underclassmen runners.

"We just follow and watch what Courtney does; she runs with a lot of heart," said sophomore runner Camille Connelly. "She is all business and takes things very seriously; on race day, she never complains. She could be sick, but she always did her job."

This year, Inman lowered a pair of indoor-track school records, including the indoor mile with a 4:40.24 time -- which topped her previous record by 20 seconds -- and the 800-meter, where she clocked a 2:08.39 finish in March.

At the 2003 indoor national championships that month, Inman placed ninth overall with a 4:48.03 time in the 1,500, one spot away from all- american honors, but five spots better than her 14th placing the previous year. Her improvement exemplified how she competes -- as if she can do better each time she hits the track.

Inman punched her outdoor postseason ticket early, qualifying for the regional competition in just the second outdoor meet of the season, when she ran a 4:19 in the 1,500.

Inman does not plan to conclude her collegiate campaign without making a memorable impact in the final meet of her Husky career.

"I want to be an all-American, top eight," said Inman. "I would love to be a competitor to the top runners in the nation. For me to win it all I would have to drop 5 seconds, which isn't something too realistic, but 2 seconds is within my reach."

Inman has come a long way after a stress fracture in the ball of her foot forced her to red-shirt early in her sophomore campaign.

She agonized, sat out but waited patiently to get back on track, and made her return -- even though the time she was sidelined seemed endless.

"There was no doubt in my mind that I was going to come back," said Inman. "But there were low points. I cross-trained everyday in hopes of next month, and next month, but it turned out to be a year. I did not want to be a high-school has-been."

Her unfailing drive has made her a role model for her track-and-field teammates, said UW track-and-field coach Greg Metcalf.

"Courtney has all the intangibles as an athlete," he said. "She has done everything I have asked of her: She dots the i's, and crosses the t's. She does it in life, too; she is social, a leader, a great student and just a phenomenal young woman.

Metcalf regrets this is the final season that her name will appear on the Husky roster; she was a motivating force for the squad, he said.

"That is the sad part of this deal; kids graduate and move on," said Metcalf. "Courtney is the kind of athlete I wish could stay four more years; she has been a joy and a pleasure to work with every day."