Anna Gibson back on track in Wyoming

By Mary Albl for DyeStat

JACKSON HOLE, Wyo. – On a late September afternoon on the western edge of Wyoming, the Jackson cross country team is on a 12-mile run along a single-track that takes the runners up over a saddle, crossing from one watershed to another.

The aspens are changing colors. The panoramic view holds rocky outcroppings, beaver ponds and blue skies.As head coach Jeff Brazil puts it, "Just one of those days where it is good to be alive, breathing in the world on a run!"

For senior Anna Gibson, these moments are appreciated and savored with the zest and wide-eyed wonder of a first-time viewer of the two national parks in the neighborhood – The Grand Tetons and Yellowstone.

After a promising freshman cross country campaign, a combination of shin issues and then a case of anemia slowed Gibson down for nearly two years. It pulled her away from the sport of running.

"She still has a thrill for running but a much deeper respect for running (now)," Brazil said.

Gibson is back and healthy as evidenced by an impressive 17 minute, 32.1 second victory on Sept. 24 at the Bob Firman Invitational in Idaho. The result put the senior back into the national conversation.

She feels alive again.

"She just has a deep passion for the sport," Brazil said. "She didn't want to be the story of the flash in the pan."

Go back to the fall of 2013. Gibson is a freshman and one of the brightest young prospects in the region, if not the country.

She collected wins at Bob Firman (18:57.30 in a non-elite race), Blackfoot Invitational (18:29.97) and won the Wyoming conference and state meets. She capped off the season by winning the NXN Northwest Regional meet B race in 18:50.30. Her time would have been good enough for a top 15 finish in the championship.

"We had high hopes after her freshman year in cross," Brazil said. "She's got gifts to not only be a good runner, but just a thrill for everything with running, like going for a 10-mile run and then jumping in the lake celebrating the run. Then, all of the sudden she just didn't have the same enthusiasm. It was kind of confusing."

Shin issues kept her from running at 100 percent during her first high school track season and then into her sophomore year as well. She finished in 48th place at the NXN Regional in 2014.

Gibson explained she experienced a solid summer heading into her junior year, but quickly was derailed by a "weird bug."

"It happened so fast, I didn't realize," Gibson said. "There was few distinct workouts, I remember feeling really dizzy and really out of it, and it wasn't just while I was running."

She said her older sister, Reily, had been diagnosed with mononucleosis so the thought maybe she had caught it, too. A few tests and visits to doctors finally determined that she was suffering from anemia, a condition that happens when a person’s red blood cells are depleted.

The 2015 cross country season saw Gibson not able to break 19 minutes in any of the major meets.

Her road to recovery began last winter.  

"There were definitely days I did want to give up," Gibson said. "But I always thought there's still time to recover and my dream has always been to run in college. Being around the team, I was at practice every day and kept myself on the team."

One thing that helped was Nordic skiing. Without indoor track, Gibson was able to compete on the Jackson ski team, relieving her legs from the constant pounding. Gibson said it's been a nice change of pace and allowed her to use and develop different muscles as well as her cardiovascular system.

She's been part of three Junior National Championship Nordic relay teams and hopes to make it a four-peat this winter. She was named the Casper Star-Tribune Nordic Skier of the Year for 2014-15.

"She's done tons of strength work, and she's always looking for a solution," Brazil said. "It's always been, 'How do we get over it?'"

Gibson seems to finally be over the big hurdles. Last spring, she slowly worked her way back into racing. She finished as the Wyoming 3A 1,600 and 3,200 meters champion and ran on the winning 4x8 squad.

She traveled to North Carolina for the New Balance Nationals Outdoor, where she broke five minutes in the mile, running 4:53.73 for 12th place.

Brazil said Gibson is now putting in around 45 miles per week and the intensity is increasing. Her confidence and race experience are still coming, but one thing she has developed is an almost unmatched kick, something she unleashed at Bob Firman to seal the victory.

"It's so nice to actually run all the time and feel great," Gibson said. "I've started to figure out I can run faster. I had that tease: You might be fast but then we're going to get hurt. I know I can run faster." 

The game plan for Gibson this fall is to stay healthy and gear up for the championship portion of the season. Prior to Bob Firman she ran a season-personal best of 17:31 at Liberty Bell in Colorado, finishing third behind Colorado stars Brie Oakley and Lauren Gregory.

While it hasn't been the ideal blueprint for Gibson, the senior said she is stronger because of her setbacks. And now she's able to enjoy every minute of it.

"She's been away from running for two years and it's all new to her again," Brazil said. "Everything is a thrill and new. That whole process of discovery right now is so much fun for her."