Over 24 years, Coach Rod Wortley has seen many of his athletes not only improve, but excel beyond what they ever imagined. Meet Erin Laplander.
The little engine that couldn't? When Erin asked to join the track & field team, Coach Wortley did not think she would stick around, "The expectations were the same for walk-ons and All-Americans and I wasn't sure she understood what being part of the program really meant."
"When I walked onto my college cross country team as a freshman, I can honestly say the only things I was expecting was to make some good friends and to go some cool places," Erin explains. "Running on the team was just going to be a fun experience where I could get a little bit fitter and faster.
"I wasn't expecting very much from myself and I didn't think very much about how my coach would be involved."
"While Erin had little in the way of athletic ability, she possessed a tremendous capacity for hard work and a mindset that understood the long view," Wortley says. "After a rough first season, Erin found her place and pursued the biggest goals, eventually qualifying twice for the National Championships in the marathon."
"After 4 years, I can honestly say Coach helped shape me to be the person, not just the runner, that I am today. He pushed me to do things that I never thought I was capable of and taught me that doing hard, intimidating things is always worth the extra effort," Erin remembers. "He saw potential in me that I didn't see in myself.
"More than that, he pushed and expected us to do big things, but he always expected us to be good people first and foremost. That's the kind of coach you want. Rod saw us as people to be cared for before he saw us as a performer and an athlete."
Instead of college being the climax of her athletic career, Erin continues to excel as a runner. To date, she's run 18 marathons, including Boston, four times and won 3 others. She's also completed the Leadville 100 mile mountain race and other ultramarathons.
"To this day, whenever I have a really big, successful workout or a fantastic race, Coach is one of the first people that I call or text."
