Truniger to Compete at Junior Pan Am Games

UNI Track and Field: Pan American Junior Championships

Trujillo, Peru
July 21-23 – 5,000-meter run competes 11:20 a.m. CT July 22

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – A fun run for UNI track and field's Hannah Truniger turned into the opportunity to represent the U.S. in international competition this week.

Truniger earned a spot on the national team competing in the Pan American Junior Championships set in Peru July 21-23.

She took second in the 5,000-meter run in a time of 17 minutes, 5.37 seconds at the USATF Junior Outdoor Championships held June 23.

"I was very surprised," said Truniger. "I hadn't been training a ton, because of injuries. So I went into the race with the mentality of having fun."

Truniger's history of injuries extends to her high school career where she suffered from fractures and an eating disorder.

"She is not afraid to share her journey, because she really wants to help other people," said head coach Dave Paulsen. "She is using her past and how she is overcoming it. She is so open and willing to share with people, it really overcomes any type of barrier that might be there with anyone on the team. She is just a terrific young lady and willing to help anyone."

Her eating disorder was evident to the competitor who beat her in the 3,200-meter run at the high school state meet Truniger's freshman year. The champion pulled Truniger aside after their race and talked about her own eating disorder.

"Even though I was fast, I was thin and not healthy," Truniger said. "It was obvious I had an eating disorder. My high school coaches were always encouraging me to do what was right for my body."

So Truniger took months off competition and focused on healing.

"It's always something to be conscious of, but it's really something I feel like I have overcome," she said. "It's hard as a division I runner to not think about it. I think more coaches are being more aware. Our coaches stress healthy eating."

Truniger ended her prep career as a two-time runner-up in the 3,200-meter run at the Minnesota state track and field championships.

"I have seen the coaches and my parents and the trainers support me," Truniger said. "I didn't expect anything from racing in college. I thought I would be done. But I think God has really led me to this place. My faith has helped me out of that hole. I am very thankful."

The struggle with injuries wore on Truniger, and she questioned her interest for collegiate competition.

"I came back with low expectations," she said. "I have found a supportive family at UNI. I still can't give up running. I just love it so much. I am grateful for the way the coaches at UNI have taken me along and not pushed me through injuries and allowed me to cross train to make my body strong. I am grateful for my high school coaches who have been there for me and my parents."

"Deep down, she wants it for herself," said assistant coach Alex Wilson. "We are just there to take some of the stress and panic off her. We just stress we want her to have the best experience, and we know she will do the best she can. We talk about her goals, but we aren't going to pressure her before a big race. She knows what she wants to do. It's more like holding the reins back on her than pushing her."

Being injury-prone, Truniger's training program is based on low mileage and includes workouts in the swimming pool.

"Your freshman year is really about the coaches learning the athlete and what works for them," said Paulsen. "Every athlete has that balance of how much work they should put in, and Hannah's workload just needs to be a little less than the typical distance runner. At the end of the day, if the athlete can't run because they are injured, they can't help you. So you are better off being undertrained than overtrained. I will give her a ton of credit, she does a lot of work on her own in the pool. And I have never seen anyone attack cross-training like Hannah does."

She aims at running between 25-30 miles a week, which was plenty to earn her Missouri Valley Conference Freshman of the Year honors in cross country this last season.

The incoming sophomore saw a big jump in her times, shaving 2 minutes off her 5K time from high school. Truniger ran 16:23.87 at the Drake Relays in April.

"She is probably the most competitive person in a workout standpoint or racing standpoint," said Wilson. "You know when she steps out on the track, you are going to get every ounce of ability out of her. Her going in with that mindset overcomes a lot of doubt of fitness. I know she struggles with it sometimes, because she wants to be able to do as much as the other girls on the team. She is just not able to do that on land. She is putting in just as much work, and I think she needs to remind herself of that sometimes."

Coaches have helped plot out Truniger's workouts, but she has had to prepare for the national meet and international competition on her own in her hometown of Watertown, Minnesota.

"It is mentally tougher, because I don't have anyone to train with and run with," Truniger said. "So you have to have a certain mental toughness."

She did have the comfort of competing with a familiar face at the national championships. Teammate McKayla Cole took third, just behind Truniger.

"It was just so great to race with my teammate," Truniger said. "She has been my training partner during indoor track. She is a super-motivated athlete. The training was a little different than what I was used to. I just went for it and did what I could."

Truniger has dual citizenship in Switzerland, but she hasn't been overseas since she participated in a mission trip in the Dominican Republic at the age of 15.

"I am really excited to meet some pro athletes like Candace Hill and others that I have only read about," said Truniger. "I am so excited to race at an international level. I am hoping to run a good race and make some friends along the way."

With the Junior Outdoor Championships held at the same time the senior level athletes compete, Truniger had the chance to compete in front of some big names she has looked up to in the sport.

"I heard Shalane Flanagan watched my whole race," said Truniger. "When I was there trying on gear with pro athletes, it made it so real. It really made me realize this is bigger than myself, and I would be representing my country."

"It was so awesome for her to see those professional athletes," said Wilson. "And a lot of the stories I share with her are about professional athletes, so for her to be able to see someone at that high of a level who has gone through the same things, that has broadened her horizon. She doesn't have that sheltered view of what it is like at that level. She chooses the right people to admire. That is a big part of it. I think both her and McKayla benefited from that experience."

This week's trip to Peru has forced Truniger to change some summer plans. She is working toward her certified nursing assistant degree while working at a group home and a local nursing home in Minnesota. She had to re-schedule some of her clinicals, but she is expected to earn the degree before she starts school this fall.

Truniger is a biochemisty major interested in pursuing medical school to specialize in sports pediatrics, but the recent success has her considering post-collegiate options.

"At first coming to college, I wouldn't have considered it," she said. "Now, I kind of want to keep running and maybe run at higher level. And if that happens, that would be awesome. I want to keep working to represent my team. I am grateful for my faith and how it's brought me to this point, because I am able to run despite being nearly hospitalized and being destroyed by running."

"That's why we do this," said Paulsen. "So student-athletes can come here and get an experience they didn't think they could have when they got here. Now that she has competed at the U.S. championships and now she is going to go to the Pan Am Games, the Missouri Valley Conference Championships seems very reasonable and not so stress-worthy."

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