Northwestern University Athletics
Olympic Sport Feature: Cross Country's Carly Brown
10/20/2008 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 20, 2008
Despite its emphasis on individual achievement, there is a multitude of reasons why a cross country team is referred to as just that--a team. Perhaps more so than any other so-called individual athletes, runners can feed off the energy and mental approach of the person wearing the same color next to them. It's why Northwestern head coach April Likhite has talked to her team all season about one central slogan.
"We talk a lot about putting the puzzle pieces together and I think now in her fourth year Carly definitely has all her pieces together," Likhite said. "Now it's just a matter of seeing where it will take her."
Likhite is referring to Carly Brown, a senior co-captain for Northwestern who has become the team's unquestioned leader and most reliable performer in a resurgent 2008 campaign for the program. While continuously filling in the pieces of her life's puzzle, Brown has been the consummate student-athlete at Northwestern while thriving in a grueling and mentally exhausting sport.
For as long as Brown can remember, running has always been a hugely important piece of her puzzle. She grew up in Kalispell, Mont., where she and her parents, Desi and Brad, take every opportunity to immerse themselves in the state's natural beauty, running trails as a means of relaxation.
"I started running with everyone else in phys ed class and after-school races," said Brown, who along with her Northwestern teammates runs between 50 and 60 miles per week. "I just love the freedom of the sport--that all it requires is a pair of tennis shoes--and the fact that it removes you from everything else. Being out in the wilderness on a trail is my favorite spot."
While Brown was making the transition from rural Montana to the hustle and bustle of Chicago, she quickly made a home with the cross country team. She ran in five races her freshman season and notched a first-place finish among Northwestern runners in the Roy Griak Invitational. By the time she was a junior, Brown became a team captain and established herself as a crucial cog in Likhite's plans to return NU's program to national prominence.
But Brown had plenty else on her plate her junior year. While most student-athletes have difficulty finding time to spend a quarter studying abroad, Brown traveled to New Zealand last spring where she was one of only two Northwestern students in her program.
"I feel really blessed to have had that experience and I think it changed me in a lot of ways," she said. "Going abroad is like being a freshman again only you know more about what you want to do and who you are. It's more about being able to step into that person and then you can bring it back to Northwestern with you."
Brown's trip was a chance to rediscover an old feeling in new surroundings.
"New Zealand is absolutely beautiful," Brown said. "I took a lot of three and four-day camping trips and did a lot of trail running. Taking in all that beauty brought forth a new joy for running and it took me back to how I was raised in the mountains in Montana. Having those experiences again in college was really refreshing."
Back in Evanston for her senior campaign, Brown's leadership has been invaluable on a team that features nine freshmen on a roster of 20 runners. At the 32-team Sean Earl Lakefront Invitational in Chicago in September, Brown nabbed sixth place and helped Northwestern claim its first team victory since 2006. Brown finished the 5K event in 18:08.
"I think it's great that April brought in such a large class this year and I'm excited by how talented they are because it challenges me to be better," Brown said. "I just try to be someone who listens to what they're going through and share with them my joy for running because I think that's more important than telling anyone what to do."
"Carly's very positive and she wants to see success not only for herself but for the entire team," said Likhite, who last year began her second stint as Northwestern head coach. "She's always about the team and that's why she's a team captain for the second year in a row. I wish I had two more years to work with Carly, not only for myself as a coach but I know the team just benefits collectively from having her around."
In the coming weeks, Brown has set her sights on breaking 21 minutes in the 6K distance and qualifying for nationals. Through her experiences in New Zealand and the guidance of her coaching staff, Brown is confident that she--and her teammates--has assembled the missing pieces.
"I've found that in season it's really important for me to take time out and gather my thoughts sometimes, which can be challenging to do when you're so busy," Brown said. "I just want to look back and be able to say I ran every race knowing I enjoyed myself and gave it everything I had."
