Last Saturday, in temperatures hovering in the mid-20s with snow on the ground, the Class A State Cross Country Meet was held at Parkhurst Recreation Area just outside of Jamestown, ND, and the Class B State Cross Country Meet was held further north at the Cooperstown Country Club. The Class A races stayed close to the predictions, whereas the Class B meet had some upsets. This interview is the first of four interviews with the individuals who won state titles this year.
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| Ford at the recent State XC Meet. Photo courtesy NDHSAA |
On October 24th, 2015, in Grand Forks, ND, a 7th grader from Jamestown finished in the Class A Girl's State Cross Country meet. Her time for the 4k was 16:24 and there were 56 girls ahead of her, five of whom were also in 7th grade. Her name was Meghan Ford.
The next year, 2016, the women moved to 5k in North Dakota, which means we've now had 5 years of 5k at state. Ford has won three of those five titles.
Meghan Ford has become one of the more dominant high school runners in state history. She currently:
1.) Is only the third Class A girl to have won three consecutive state xc titles
2.) Has three individual state track titles with one season left to go
3.) Is top ten in state history in the 800, 1600, and 3200 on the track
4.) Won the Nike Cross Country Regional Meet as a junior and just missed top 20 at the National meet.
Placing that high at regional and national meets starts putting her on lists with name like Ihmels, Anderson, and Leingang. She wins races by large margins here, and has recently committed to run at the Division 1 level. She won this year's state meet by close to 40 seconds, and below are her responses to questions that I had for her. I asked her about the race, track, the pandemic, college, and the best state in the Union- North Dakota. One thing I learned from this questioning is that the state high school track record book is going to be attacked this year!
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1.) First of all, congrats on your victory! Being that this is your third state title in a row, what does this one mean for you? How does it stand out?
Thank you! This last victory was kind of a cherry on top to my career here. It was a good way to wrap up these last 6 years and I’m grateful to have had the steady progression and stay injury-free every single season I’ve run cross country to be able to accomplish the things I did. It means a lot, having three titles in a row was a new milestone that I was reaching for ever since I got the first one my sophomore year.
2.) Being close to home, with cold temperatures (which I’ve read you said you run better in), how did you prepare for this race? What was your mindset coming in?
Going into the race, I knew that I had done everything I needed to prepare and the only thing that I could control no matter how the race played out, was my attitude during the race. I knew beforehand that it would be cold and that I have always run well in that weather, so that made me more confident heading into it. I also knew that the race being held on my home course was an advantage since I have been running on it for so long and so often.
3.) Talk a little about the race. How did it play out?
Right off the gun, everyone was sprinting so fast, and I didn’t feel that I needed to do the same, so I was in like 8th place at the 200m mark, and made my way up to the front by the 400m mark. I thought that was a very good move to make for me since I don’t like to start races off too fast like that. I felt amazing at the mile mark and even a little past 3000m I felt comfortable. The hilly section between 3000m and 4000m really took a toll on me, I think mostly mentally honestly as I came into the final 1000m, I slowed down a bit at that point. I wish I had another chance to race on the course because I still haven’t quite mastered resetting myself for the last half mile of the race mentally.
4.) Where did you set your sights this cross country season? Are there goals for you outside of a state title?
At the beginning of the summer going into my build-up, I had set my goal for breaking 17 in the 5k and also placing top 5 at NXN this year, which I knew were both bold goals, but felt that I was capable if I worked hard. A couple months later, NXN got cancelled so I was mostly left with the goal of breaking 17, I haven’t done it yet, but a month ago I ran a PR of 17:16 during a hard week of training in the Nike Cross Virtual race in Jamestown on a trail. I still have the Virtual National race and one more regional race where I hope to break the 17 minute barrier. I’ll also be going to a “National” meet in Terra Haute in November so ill have some fast girls to race there.
(for readers, "NXN" is one of the two national high school cross country meets, this one being put on by Nike at their campus in Oregon. To qualify for it you have to place high enough at a regional meet to advance as an individual or team. Ford won the region meet last year)
5.) What about track- what are your goals for track?
For track, my goals are to win the 800m, 1600m, and 3200m state titles, run under the 1600m state record of 4:44, and to break the 3200m state record and run a 10:15 in that event. For the 800m, I would love to break 2:10, but that won’t be a main focus of mine. At Nationals, I would want to get top three in whatever event(s) I’m running.
6.) What have you done to stay motivated and continue your training through the pandemic?
Once Covid cancelled our track season, I decided to get my iron levels checked again. Once I found out that they were even lower than before, I just tried to listen to my body for a couple months to get those levels back up. I was battling it throughout a lot of the summer as well, but I am feeling a lot better now. It isn’t all the way back up quite yet, so I’m still trying to be cautious of overdoing it, but I have the energy to train with much more consistency and volume.
(for readers: iron deficiency is more common in runners that you might think. this link from Runner's world has a pretty good summary of it)
7.) How did you cope with not having track last season?
Just because I had issues with my iron levels, I saw it as kind of a blessing in disguise. I really missed track season, but that period of time was perfect for me to step back and take care of that issue without having to worry about upcoming races so I could be stronger for my last year of high school running.
8.) You have committed to run collegiately at Division 1 Furman University (for readers- this is a school in South Carolina that has had success in cross country over the last decade). What stood out about Furman to you?
Looking at the results of the 2019 NCAA XC Championships, I saw Furman had placed both their men’s and women’s teams inside the top 10. I had never even heard of the school until that fall, but they were still placing ahead of teams like Oregon and Syracuse, like these huge well-known running programs. I decided to do some research on them, saw that the school only had 3,000 students (which was important for a North Dakotan girl like me), and that the campus was just beautiful. I emailed Coach Roberts and he got back to me quickly and our phone calls remained consistent from that point on. I always felt that I was a priority on their team and that they really cared because they reached out for phone calls often. Ultimately, what made me choose them was the team, I got along with them instantly (over zoom calls).
9.) I have to ask- are you ready for the humidity of the South? I live in Virginia now and it’s not really something you can prepare for in North Dakota.
I have raced in North Carolina a couple times and it is so humid!!! I know what it’s like, but it is definitely going to take my body a while to get used to... I won’t be spending a ton of time there my first summer, so I’ll hopefully be avoiding the worst of it. I’m more worried about coming back to North Dakota during winter break and not being prepared for the blizzards and below-0 degree temps!
10.) To what or to whom can you attribute the success you’ve experienced?
I feel like each year and season I have ran, somebody different has been motivation or inspiration for me. It was my brother who convinced me to start in the first place. When I was in 8th and 9th grade, I aspired to be like Karly Ackley who ran the 3200m State record and almost lapped me when I was 12. Sophomore year, I wanted to run for Oregon, so I looked up to Jessica Hull and Galen Rupp. I looked up to Emily Covert who won NXR. Then she committed to University of Colorado, and suddenly I wanted to be a Buff. Last year and this year, I discovered that all the people I fan-girled over were the same people that I raced and maybe even beat at NXN, and I still look up to them and strive to do the same great things they do. But we all have to agree that the ultimate idol is Eliud Kipchoge.
11.) What does running mean to you?
Running is a very good way for me to let out anger, stress, or grief when I am struggling with things. Going on a run is also a great way for me to relax, celebrate, or dream. Running is basically the one part my day that I can always count on to let go, push myself, and feel so much better afterwards, even if coach schedules 1000m repeats.
12.) What’s your favorite place to run in North Dakota?
There’s a winding, hilly, gravel road that runs along the reservoir here in Jamestown that me and the guys like to do our long runs on. It’s the closest thing in North Dakota we can get to running on the roads we run on in Wyoming at camp.
13.) What words of advice can you give to those who are interested in running?
All season I have been telling the younger girls on the team to stop setting limits on themselves. You can do a lot more than you think you can, but when you set a goal that doesn’t test you or scare you, you aren’t going to get as far. I would tell young runners to not put so much pressure on yourself and just enjoy the process because you will run your fastest when you are happy and excited to do it. Lastly, focus on your path and don’t get caught up in how everyone else is running because I see it happen a lot and I have struggled with it. You have no idea exactly how they are training, so why would you compare yourself to them?
14.) What adversity have you experienced with running, and what did you do to overcome it?
A huge setback I had last year was my iron deficiency that I found in late September after I finished 42 nd at the Roy Griak Invitational. I had to continue training for WDA, State, and NXR, though, so I had to fight really hard at practice sometimes to even finish workouts. I was so fatigued for a period of time. It made me a lot more mentally tough so once I started to feel better with supplements, I realized I could push myself more. That kind of led to a huge breakthrough for me in my post-season, especially at NXR and NXN.
15.) Do you have any runners from North Dakota that you’ve drawn inspiration from or look up to? What about professional runners?
I definitely look up to Laura Roesler, Karly Ackley, and Becki Wells. To run the times that they did just all on their own and in the Midwest with our unpredictable weather is so incredible. For professional runners, I look up to Karissa Schweizer and all of the Bowerman track club a ton.
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