Just ask Allison Pritchard how much she loves running.
She enjoys it so much she's willing to overcome injuries and withstand pain to get into competitive shape.
The Dickinson High School graduate is listed on the roster of the North Dakota State cross country team. The sophomore transferred to Fargo from the University of Minnesota.
Pritchard has been slowed down with an Iliotibal Band injury, which has been causing pain in her knee and hip. NDSU coach Ryan Godfrey hopes Pritchard is ready for competition at the start of the indoor track and field season on Jan. 12.
"The hardest part is not being around my teammates as often," said Pritchard, a human performance and fitness major. "In high school those girls were my best friends. I'm not around the girls as much as I would like to be."
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Pritchard was part of five Class A cross country state championship teams at Dickinson. She was a state individual champ as a sophomore.
One probably wonders if she vanished from the face of the earth. Pritchard was idle at Minnesota. She recovered from knee surgery on her meniscus.
She's been out of competition since the state high school track meet of her senior year. She's spent the majority of her time in the training room.
As a junior she sustained problems with her Achilles tendon, which turned out to be a tear. That was just the beginning of a flurry of injuries for Pritchard.
It's been one injury after another, but she's determined to make a comeback and finish her career strong.
"I've been dealing with these injuries since I was a junior in high school," Pritchard said. "I've been learning patience. I've never took running for granted, but I realize how much I appreciate every day of running."
Minnesota proved not to be a good fit for Pritchard. The size of the school and the metro area of Minneapolis were too big of an adjustment for a girl from rural southwest North Dakota, where open range cattle litter the country side.
Pritchard then contacted NDSU about transferring.
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"Once she gets back into the flow of things it won't take her long to get back into form," Godfrey said. "I'm excited to have her. She's a good student. It's nice having North Dakota athletes at North Dakota State."
Once Pritchard gets healthy, Godfrey sees her helping the cross country team. He also visualizes her competing in the mile and 3,000-meter runs in track. The 5,000-meter race could also be a possibility.
Godfrey has appreciated Pritchard's optimistic outlook.
"She's not a complainer," he said. "She's not the type of person who wants sympathy. She just wants to be healthy. We're hoping to get her back on the course as soon as we can."
And that's where Pritchard belongs.
(Cindy Peterson is a staff writer at The Dickinson Press. You can contact her by e-mail at cpeterson@thedickinsonpress.com .)
