58-miles-a-week routine reduced Topham’s stress this summer

Summer is busy when an athlete is cramming in two four-week courses. It’s stressful when one of those courses is public speaking and you’re Wichita State cross country runner Rebekah Topham, who doesn’t enjoy talking in front of a class of 30.

“I did most of mine on running-related stuff,” she said. “One was supposed to be an informative speech, so I informed them on how you should train, and good form, and the basics of running.”

To escape the homework, she turned to running as a relief.

She cut short a two-week break after track season and started training for the best summer of her recent running career. Topham, a sophomore from Griswold, Iowa, earned Missouri Valley Conference Freshman of the Year honors in 2015.

“I couldn’t go that long without running,” she said. “Four-week classes, at the same exact time, I would do homework for like 12 hours every day, and I’m not even joking.”

By the end of the summer, Topham ran around 58 miles a week. While she missed her goal by around 10 miles, the base of training paid off in the fall.

She finished 10th in the Chile Pepper Festival with a time of 16 minutes, 48.9 seconds in the 5-kilometer race in Fayetteville, Ark. On Saturday, she will run in the Pre-Nationals Invitational in Terre Haute, Ind. The stress-relief summer of running paid off and coach Kirk Hunter expects to finish near the top on Saturday and again on Oct. 29 in the MVC Championships in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

“At the Chile Pepper, she ran a solid race, not even the best she can run,” Hunter said. “She’s going to keep getting stronger and stronger and stronger.”

Hunter is working with Topham to run at the front early in races. That approach, he said, would have helped in the Chile Pepper. It might help on Saturday, and it will definitely be important for future races with big fields.

“I’m trying to get out faster,” she said. “Sometimes the course will narrow, so you’re forced to get out faster so you don’t get trapped back in the pack.”

WSU’s women will run in the White race on Saturday, the lesser of the two fields, after dropping to No. 14 from No. 8 in the coaches association Midwest regional rankings. The WSU men, who are No. 10, will run in the Blue race.

WSU hires former Shocker — Judd Easterling is replacing Tony Blake as men’s assistant golf coach.

Easterling, a former assistant at Arizona State and Missouri, played in three NCAA Championships at WSU and finished 10th in 2004. He was named to MVC’s All-Centennial team.

Blake, also a former Shocker, resigned this fall.

Evans cards career-best 54-hole score — WSU women’s golfer Laine Evans shot a 5-over-par 221 to tie for 14th in the Pinehurst Challenge on Tuesday.

The Shockers tied for sixth place with an 890, 29 shots behind champion East Carolina.

WSU’s Taryn Torgerson tied for 19th with a 222.

This story was originally published October 12, 2016 at 4:38 PM with the headline "58-miles-a-week routine reduced Topham’s stress this summer."