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| Official team photo Courtesy: University of Mary Athletics |
Zeis started out at Bismarck High in Bismarck, North Dakota. Running for a program with an almost uncountable number of national titles in cross country and track and field, she started out her freshman year by finishing 12th at state cross country and 4th in the 3200 at the state track meet that spring. Next year as a sophomore, she finished 9th at the state cross country meet (a lonely place to be- one place away from 1st team all-state), while placing 6th in the 1600, 4th in the 3200, and 2nd as a member of a 4x800 relay team at the state track meet.
Her junior year she moved up the chain, starting off with a second place finish at state cross country, finishing the 4k in 14:52, only five seconds behind her teammate, Brittany Brownotter. At state track she finished 4th in the 1600 and 5th in the 3200, while being a part of the state champion 4x800 relay team that broke the Bismarck Community Bowl (now the MDU-Resources Community Bowl
Her senior year she finished 4th at state cross country, running 14:28 for 4000 meters. At state track she again placed 4th in the 1600 and 7th in the 3200, while being a part of a 4x800 relay team that again broke the Community Bowl record by running 9:29.88, which still stands as the fourth-fastest time in state history. And thus the elusive individual state title was never realized.
But it gets better.
In college she went/is still going to the University of Mary, a Division II college in Bismarck that has received some very talented women's runners in the last 5 years. Her freshman year started out well, running for a 4th place finish at the region cross country meet and 21st at the National Championships, securing an All-American status in the process. She ran 21:49 for 6000 meters.
During the indoor season her freshman year, she never finished worse than 8th place in any race. She swept the 3k and 5k at the indoor conference meet, and went on to finish 8th in the 3k at the national meet and 5th as a part of a DMR (Distance Medley Relay- 1200/400/800/1600) team, securing two more All-American honors. She finished off the year by placing 3rd and 5th in the 1500 and 5000, respectively, at the conference meet.
Her sophomore year of college is where things really start rolling. She literally won EVERY race of her cross country season, including the Maroon Division at the prestigious Roy Griak Invitational in the Twin Cities. The topping on the cake was a victory at the 2015 NCAA Division II Women's Cross Country National Championship, where she finished the 6000 meter course in 20:03, beating second-place by 0.3 seconds. This, of course, secured another All-American honor. Indoor and Outdoor track didn't see the same amount of success; she placed 9th in the 3k at indoor nationals (9:35) and 15th in the 5k at outdoor nationals 17:02). It was the 5th time she had run between 17:00 and 17:30 in the 5k on the track; a breakthrough was soon to come.
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| Crossing the finish line 1st at Nationals XC Photo Courtesy: NCAA.org |
This indoor season she finally broke through the 17:00 5k barrier, running a blazing-fast 16:20 school record on the big track at SDSU, which followed an equally-fast 9:22 school record in the 3k the week before on the small track at NDSU. She again swept the 3k and 5k at indoor conference, winning by margins of 26 (!!!) and 40 (!!!) seconds, respectively. She completed another stellar indoor season by winning the 5k at indoor nationals just two weeks ago, in a time of 16:23, the third time she's ran in the 16:20s in the last month and a half. She also placed 7th in the 3k with a time of 9:31, giving her two more All-American honors.
So in conclusion, halfway through her junior year she has two national titles and 7 All-American honors.
Here is my interview with Alexis Zeis:
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ND Runner: First off, congrats on your national championship! Second
place was within a second of your finishing time; what were the last few laps
like? How did the race play out?
Alexis Zeis: Thank you very much! The last five laps are what really
broke everyone apart. I saw Coach Newell (editor's note: Dennis Newell, the Head Coach for XC and Assistant Track Coach at Mary) hold up two fingers, saying he wanted
to hard laps which was the 20th and 21st lap. The last
three laps Kendra Foley (editor's note: Foley runs for Grand Valley State in Michigan) was right on my heals like the whole time during the
race and then the last lap I was able to break away. It was Foley and I the
last 23 laps of the race and Coach and I knew that it would probably come down
to her and I again. Out there I was just racing how I have been racing all
season. All my qualifying races I ran by myself, except for one, so I knew
during the race I could do this because I have been doing it all season.
NDR: This wasn’t your first national championship, because you
won NCAA DII Women’s XC Nationals in 2015 in what was also an incredibly close
race. How were these two races similar? How were they different?
Zeis: The race was very similar because it came down to Foley and
I, the only thing that was different was that it was on a track and it was a 5k
instead of a 6k race. When I won XC Nationals, I didn’t take the lead until
there was 1k to go, then Foley and I kept going back and forth. For this race,
I took the lead after the first two laps and never looked back.
NDR: Going back, did you have any athletes locally or nationally
that you looked up to or drew inspiration from?
Zeis: I really am a big fan of Emma Coburn, Galen Rupp and Molly
Huddle*. Two very good distance runners. Even though Emma Coburn is a
steeplechaser, her worth ethic is so incredible. I watch a lot of flo track
videos and when it comes to those three, I get huge inspiration from how well
they do. Watching some of their workout videos also helps me too.
NDR: In high school you ran for Bismarck High. What was the
program like from your perspective? What was it like to be surrounded by the
massive amount of success that the Demon XC and Track and Field programs have
achieved in the last 15 years?
Zeis: I really liked running for Bismarck High, we had such a rich
tradition of excellence. With some really awesome coaches. When I came into the
program I knew the Demons were good, and I felt like I had to help keep the
tradition alive. So, knowing I’m running on a team that has had so many state
champs and people that have gone on to do some incredible things, helped me
with performing at my best, while representing Bismarck High.
NDR: What led to your decision to choose the University of Mary
for college?
Zeis: I grew up always being told to choose the school that best
fits me academically, along with athletics. After junior year of high school, I
knew I wanted to run in college, but I knew I wasn’t good enough to go D1.
Growing up I always heard about how Mary has always had a rich tradition of
good athletes, also they had a very good Athletic Training program, which I am
going in to. I knew I wanted to be close to home also because I am a pretty big
home body, so it was nice that I could go to a school that has a good running
program and AT program.
NDR: What is the most difficult part about being a
student-athlete, in your mind?
Zeis: One of the most difficult things about being a
student-athlete is keeping up with your grades and sleep, but also knowing what
needs to be done to have a good workout every day also. I struggled a little
bit coming in as a freshman, but I really started to prioritize myself at the
end of my sophomore year.
NDR: One thing that people from all over the United States can’t
fathom is how people can train in the winter in North Dakota. How do you do it?
How do you stay motivated?
Zeis: Mental toughness is a big thing that comes to me when it’s
trying to train in our weather. North Dakota has some really bipolar weather
and so you should always be prepared every day for any kinds of weather that is
thrown at us. I run when its snowing, raining or if its even 35 degrees
outside. (as long as its not really icy) I also do a lot of treadmill runs too,
which involve 12 milers. You must learn to deal with what you have dealt in
front of you, because if you always complain about it, you will never get the
work done.
NDR: Obviously something is working quite well for you at Mary-
what do you think led to continued strong improvement in college? How much of a
boost do you think can come from the new track they are building (editor's note: they built a new 200m indoor track)?
Zeis: When I was growing up I was a full-time figure skater and
part time distance runner, if you want to put it that way. I dedicated my
childhood and early high school years to skating on the national synchronized
skating team we have here in Bismarck and skating individually. It wasn’t until
Junior year I realized I was pretty decent at running and wanted to run in
college so I had to make a change. I decided to quit skating for the team that
I was on for 7 years and just focus more on running. Then coming into college,
I quit skating full-time and made a commitment to myself to make running my
main priority. When we had the new track done this year it helped training a
whole lot easier and I felt more motivated to go to practice because we weren’t
running on such a tiny track and what felt like cement when running on it.
NDR: This indoor season you ran in the 16:20s for 5k three times,
9:20s in the 3k on a small track in Fargo, and won a national title. What are
some goals now in your mind moving forward?
Zeis: After this season my mind has really opened to what I know I
can do. I had huge PRs this indoor season because I was able to come in and
finish healthy. With outdoor season starting now, I want to run some more PRs
and hopefully break some records. It’s the same as indoors also, to hopefully
qualify for outdoor nationals in Bradenton, FL at the end of May.
NDR: What is the greatest struggle you’ve had to endure in
regards to running?
Zeis: Collegiate running is a very long season, starts mid-June
and ends in May. So really you have to make sure you don’t wear yourself out
with the season. I’ve learned to take time for myself, if I need a day off,
I’ll take it or I will cross train which is biking or swimming. I’ve had to
learn along the way that you have to be mentally tough and it grows with you as
your training grows.
NDR: If you could recommend any place in North Dakota for someone
to run, where would it be?
Zeis: I really love running along the Missouri river here in
Bismarck. Especially in Bismarck during the summer, when the sun is either
rising or setting. Some other good places to run are in the badlands on the
trails. It’s a different view than what you normally see in North Dakota.
NDR: What is one piece of advice you could give to any runner out
there?
Zeis: One piece of advice I would give to any runner would to be
always run for yourself. No matter if you are running for fun, for an everyday
type of exercise, in middle school, high school, collegiate running and even
professional running. You never want to out run your joy for running, that is
one thing I live by every day.
Thank you to Alexis Zeis for agreeing to do this interview for North Dakota Runner! I hope any of the readers can draw inspiration from any of her story. As always, keep running and have fun!
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*Editor's Note: Emma Coburn is the 2016 Olympic Bronze Medalist and American Record Holder in the Women's Steeplechase. Galen Rupp is the 2016 Olympic Bronze Medalist in the Men's Marathon and the American Record Holder in the 10,000 meters on the track. Molly Huddle is the American Record Holder in the 10,000 meters, as well as a dominant force on the road racing circuit.
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