SPRINGFIELD, Neb. (KMTV) — Imagine balancing a full time job, three kids and being a semi-professional athlete. That’s exactly what Christina Elder does.
- At 36, she’s a mom and she’s a physical education and health teacher at Platteview High School; she’s also a masters track and field runner.
- For the next couple of weeks she’ll be in Sweden competing at the masters world championships.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
After a 10-year break from competitive running, Christina Elder stepped back on the track.
“Just kind of noticed that the fire was still there,” she said. “Just wanted to see what my body can do, and here we are today.”
Four years after returning to the sport, Elder is making her second trip to a masters world championship.
She traveled nearly 4500 miles to Gothenburg, Sweden to compete in the 400, 800 and 4x400 relay.
“This is the fun part,” Elder said. “You know you train so hard for 12 months and then you get to go represent your country at a World Championships. There’s just nothing like it.”
“You have to be detailed but you also have to be committed,” Christina’s strength coach, Nick Crouse, said. “There’s a lot of people that say they want things, but there’s a lot of people that put the rubber to the road, and she’s one of them.”
“It’s funny because I think there’s a misconception that people think all I do is work out all day, which is not true at all! I don’t have time for that!” Elder said with a laugh.
“I want my priorities to be God, my family, work and then running. So I want to make sure that there’s an order there.”
The 36-year-old spends at least an hour per day working out, while also taking care of her family, working and making sure she gets at least seven-and-a-half hours of sleep.
“Sometimes that means that running might not happen on a day if I have a sick kid or something, but I really do work hard to be disciplined about fitting it in,” she said.
She’s also adamant about weight training, an element she added to her regimen about three years ago under Nick Crouse.
“I said what you’re doing on the track, what you’re telling me is there,” he said. “I said ‘I’d be willing to help you out with whatever,’ and she didn’t hesitate. She was like ‘hey alright. You registered for it, now you’re stuck with me,’ and it’s been a fun three years.”
“This is the unglamorous stuff that people don’t see,” Elder said. “It’s like you’re out sweating on the track, I come in here, hammer out some hard lifts and it’s a year-round process. It’s not just like ‘oh I just come in when I feel like it.’ I know I have to be diligent.”
With her family, coaches and community behind her, Elder hopes the hours she’s put in will help her shave off seconds on the track.
“I want to make them proud because I know they invest a lot of time in me,” She said. “And then just this community too and the high school kids. I want to show them investing that time… there’s gonna be fruit that comes from that.”
Christina tells me she gets travel stipends from her track club and from USATF Nebraska but she does cover some things herself.
Of course she says the investment is absolutely worth it.
