Former CCHS track star Ailee Larson spent the winter in Chile for college. While there she also trained and ran in several races, often winning or placing very high in the competitions.
As part of her college curriculum, Ailee Larson has spent the last five months in Chile learning Spanish and studying the culture.
The daughter of Mike and Jana Larson of Lutsen, Ailee also took her running shoes with her and has been racking up some great times and places at track meets and road races in Chile, running with a team sponsored by Nike.
As a senior, the 2011 Cook County High School graduate placed fourth at state in the 800 meters, a great accomplishment for an athlete who hadn’t had much exposure to running on a track.
As a freshman at the College of St. Catherine, Larson recorded some fast 1,500-meter and 800-meter times, but as she has gotten older and stronger she has gotten better at long distance running. As a sophomore, Larson was St. Catherine’s top cross country runner and this spring she would have been one of her college’s top middle distance runners if not for her trip to South America.
So far Larson has placed third in a 1,500-meter race held at the national stadium in Santiago. Larson ran 4:52, three seconds faster than her previous best time.
In an all-women Nike 5K, Larson ran 18:14 to win her age group and take 5th place overall. She followed that race with a first place in a 7K run held in Vina del Mar and another first place in a 10k race held in Mendoza, Argentina, a race that left a great impression on her.
“The race was stunning. We were dropped out in the middle of nowhere, pitch-black morning at 6 a.m. in the middle of the mountains. At 8 a.m. the race started and the sun was rising over the mountains in the distance. It was really the perfect setting. I took first overall for the women, running a 41-minute time. Wasn’t too fast and wasn’t too slow, it was just a relaxing pace,” said Larson.
“So far the team I have been running with is a club sponsored through Nike. These clubs are located in the bigger cities of Chile, and it is a great opportunity to get out and run with friends.
“We have a coach named Carlos and we practice Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday at a track. Now it’s not like a usual track, it’s basically a dirt path in a circle…I truly think it makes the experience much more authentic.
“Anyone is allowed to run, therefore we have about 45 Chilean students ranging from 16 years old to adults who have finished college and are in their late 20s.
“Other than the set practices, I run every day to keep up my distance training, and once in a few weeks I will take a day off. Carlos pulled some strings so three other men on the team and I can practice at a real track at the Navy school on off days.
“The reality of this experience is that the times I’ve run and the places I have placed don’t matter at all. Every day I am so thankful for this experience to be surrounded by my native Chileans, working on the language, and doing what I love doing the most. I could have attempted to try out other things but finding the club has been such a blessing and it has made my study abroad experience unlike any other,” said Larson.
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