Running down a dream
Scotts Valley’s Fraser on track for Olympic Trials after undergoing surgery on both feet
Vanessa Fraser, a 25-year- old professional distance runner for Nike’s Bowerman Track Club, has aspirations of competing for Team USA in the Summer Olympics in Toyko next year.
The former Scotts Valley High and Stanford University standout, who competes in the 5,000and 10,000-meter events, knows there’s a long road in front of her that leads into qualifying. The U. S. Olympic Team Trials are slated for June 18—27 in Eugene, Oregon.
She said it’ll take her best effort to make her dream a reality. For that exact reason, Fraser made the difficult decision to undergo surgery on both of her feet on May 15.
“I’ve been running with pain the last three years,” Fraser said. “It was pretty chronic.”
Surgery
Her surgery took place four months after she produced a breakout finish, posting the second-fastest U. S. Indoor 5,000
time ever — 14:48.51 at the Boston University Last Chance Invitational. And it came 3 1/2 months after the majority of the sporting world was shut down due to COVID-19. The pandemic forced the Olympics to be pushed back one year, and with it the trials.
With sports temporarily on hold, Fraser decided to finally address her long-running ailments. Since hospitals were busy meeting safety concerns for CO
VID-19 and dealing with an increased workload, she wasn’t able to have surgery immediately. Even with a delay in having the procedure, the window for recovery was still good, she believed.
“March 24, that was the day I decided to stop suffering,” she said. “The window I’d get this summer wasn’t something I was going to get again. My goal is to make the Olympics. How am I supposed to perform my best or reach my potential if I was in debilitating pain? That’s mentally and physically exhausting.”
She underwent a procedure called Tenex, which helps people who are suffering from pain associated with tendon damage. She had damaged tissue removed from both of her Achilles and had her heel bones shaved.
Fraser said she consulted with multiple physicians about the surgery. The majority of them recommended getting the second foot done only after she was recovered from the first procedure. She did find one, however, willing to perform surgery on both feet on the same date. He did so with some apprehension, asking minutes before the surgery if she was sure about her decision. She was.
Previously, including ahead of her breakout race in Boston, Fraser received saline injections in her feet, which created a cushion between the tendon and bone, to alleviate the pain.
“It only lasts for so long,” she said. “It wore off by March.”
Rehab
She rested her first two weeks following surgery. Then she invited her Instagram followers to be a part of her recovery. She posted videos of workouts and progress she made while wearing two bulky and heavy post-op walking boots. She said she fed off their support and used it as motivation.
She started with core exercises, then moved to aqua jogging in a pool, then working out on a stationary bike.
“It was really scary,” she said. “I didn’t know if I was going to have the same level of fitness. I actually think it helped a lot.”
Eight weeks after her surgery, she took made her first run on the ground.
Dr. Jeff Moreno, a physical therapist who has worked with Fraser since she was 13, changed her program to handle the workload Fraser does over the next 11 months. Fraser, who took control of her training program last month, is progressing flawlessly to this point.
“She has come a long way,” said Moreno, founder of Power Lab, which allows him to track clients’ runs daily. “She’s very strategic, highly proactive, and her work ethic is second to none.
“She’s very chippy. She’s working to get better each day. It adds up and compounds, like compound interest.”
Back on track
Fraser, currently training
with Bowerman TC in Oregon, hasn’t forgotten her roots. A two-time state cross country champion for Scotts Valley, she stopped by her alma mater a few weeks back to speak and run with some of the Falcons’ distance runners.
“It’s so raw and pure love for the sport,” she said of running in high school. “It brings me back to that age and that naive excitement. It really re-energizes me.”
It also inspires the Falcons, even the male runners.
“She’s just really talented,” said Jeremy Kain, a junior standout. “I definitely want to go to Stanford. I’m trying to recreate what she did. I’m going to have to drop some pretty fast times if I hope to duplicate what she did.”
Fraser said she’ll continue training with Bowerman TC in Oregon through December. In January, the team will relocate to Colorado Springs to begin altitude training. In February, Fraser will look for some races, though it may be inhouse and intra-squad competition.
Her goal is continued improvement. If she does that, she knows the rest will take case of itself.
“It was a blessing for me to take care of this issue,” Fraser said. “I’m still in recovery, but I’m optimistic that in June of 2021 I’ll be in a much better place.”