It's no joke, Potomac's Anneka Wilson is legit

What began as a tag line or closure to a weekly email, is that much closer to becoming reality.
One thing for sure, it is no longer a joke.


Following her course record 17:45 in winning the Georgetown Prep Classic last Saturday, Anneka Wilson (pictured below in MileStat photos by Ted Plunkett) has firmly established herself as a threat. A Foot Locker national berth, coming out of the South Regional, is a definite possibility.


Of course, this is something her former coach had been telling her all along; last year, even last week, via the Internet.


Apparently, Mike Schroer, who left his coaching position at The Potomac School at the end of last season to move to South Korea with his wife, but still keeps in touch with his protege, has even staked an intercontinental reunion on it.


“It started off as a joke,” said Wilson, whose steady diet of mile reapeats at 5:45 or better keys her success. “He kept saying see you in December. I was like, ‘Oh that’s funny. It’s never going to happen.’ And now I think it's just getting that bit closer to being a possibility. I can’t even believe it. I can’t even believe that that’s possible for me.


“Up until now, I didn’t think that it was ever going to be a possibility. But these last few weeks, I started thinking I’m really going to try and push myself and see how far I can go. I’ve always been in awe of the people that make it as a finalist at regional. I think it’s just inspired me to be the best I can be.”


It certainly has and that is why, this week, an email will not do. Too impersonal. A phone call is a must. The performance necessitates it.


Wilson, who runs for The Potomac School, a small private school in Virginia, has amassed quite a resume this fall: Six wins in six invitational starts – including Glory Days, Octoberfest and William and Mary -- elevating her game to a new level, one that now includes the likes of Brasovan and Hasay.


If those names are foreign to you, return to your Wall Street Journal and continue hoping your portfolio will right itself. If Hasay and Brasovan sound familiar, read on because this kid out of the DC area seems to have what it takes.


Seventeen minutes, 45 seconds speaks for itself, especially on a hilly course on a crisp, windy day.
Sub-18 may not be the hallowed ground that sub-4 is to high school boys' milers, but when it comes to reaching the Foot Locker National meet, it's as good a measuring stick as you can find. Of the 40 qualifiers from the FL regional meets a year ago, 38 ran 17:59 or better. The remaining two were 18-flats.


Translate: Run 17-something at the regional or begin your indoor track season, if that is an option.
Nowhere will that sermon ring more true than down south where you will find more hills on Magic Mountain than you will on the FL South Regional McAlpine XC course. The top 20 finishers cracked the 18-minute plateau in 2007.


Again, bring you’re A-game. The competition will be stiff. Ashley Brasovan and Kathy Kroeger are the two most recent Foot Locker champs and Texas standout Sarah Andrews posted a swift 17:07 at the Nike South course earlier this year. First grade math is enough to realize that there are only seven qualifying spots left if you concede three to those studs.


“By breaking 18, she’s definitely stepped into a whole new category of running,” said coach Jenny Bodine, who ran at Walter Johnson High School and one year at Columbia University. “I’m not all surprised. It was just a matter of time. It was more of a mental barrier than a physical barrier. She’s running fantastic times. She’s one of the smartest runners I’ve seen. She does everything right. I knew it was in her.”


What might be more amazing could be the almost instantaneous synergy between second-year runner and first-year coach. Distance runners, the place kickers of the cross country world, are a fickle bunch by nature. Most people fight change, distance folk loath it.


So how do you explain the emergence of an athlete, who lost the coach who introduced her to the sport, not to mention taught her to love it, moving on to the next level without him?


Bodine’s work ethic, which includes running every step with her charges, and exuberance for the sport has helped.


“I was incredibly nervous going into the season because our last coach was such an amazing coach and I thought it was going to be hard to fall in love with someone again; really make that kind of connection,” Wilson said. “Coach Bodine came in and she didn’t try to be like our old coach. She came in with a whole new sort of outlook on it and new training style. But she brings the same kind of fun and veracity to it. She really knows her stuff, and I think we all gained a lot of respect for her very quickly.”


Of course, Wilson has a history of adapting to change. A British citizen, she has moved frequently. Born in Belgium, she spent time in Singapore, not to mention a return to Belgium, before landing in the DC area.


But, the most significant and impactful change, which both runner and coach concur, was moving the bulk of the workouts from the track to the cross country course or the hills, to best simulate race conditions. Add to that the confidence and experience of a second-year runner, who is obviously serious about her craft, and you have the perfect recipe for success.


“I didn’t know how to run a race,” Wilson said. “I just knew to run. This year I can use tactics to my advantage. I’ve just had this killer instinct to go for as much as I could push myself.”