Emily Infeld on her way to winning the 5K at the Portland Track Festival on Saturday. 

It’s been three days since Emily Infeld ran the IAAF “A” standard in the 5K at the Portland Track Festival, and the Bowerman Track Club athlete can’t stop smiling while sitting on the couch in her apartment in the Pearl District of Portland, Ore. 

 

It was Infeld’s first 5K on the track in two years. 

 

She recounts the context of the race while rolling the bottom of her foot on a tennis ball, describing her coach Jerry Schumacher’s expectations prior to the gun, which were to run the U.S. “A” standard of 15:26. Her smile widens and Infeld gets visibly more excited while remembering what it took to get in this position. 

 

“I had so many days where I was questioning running. I remember having those talks with Jerry and just being like, ‘I don’t know if I’m cut out for this, I don’t know if I’ll be good ever again and he just said, ‘We’ll get you there, you just have to believe and keep trying,” Infeld recalled. 

 

She rolls the tennis ball to the side, moves her legs on top of the couch and sits cross-legged, talking with her hands in excitement while remembering how strong she felt and how fun the race became in the final laps at Lewis & Clark College. 

 

“I’ve put in so much good training and I feel like I haven’t been able to fully showcase it over the years, but me and Shalane [Flanagan] just had an awesome training stint in Park City and I feel like I’m the most fit I’ve ever been under Jerry. I’m happy that it’s coming at the right time,” she said. 

 

Infeld crossed the finish line in 15:07, four seconds ahead of training partner and Olympic medalist Shalane Flanagan. The time not only crushed her personal best by 20 seconds, but it also stands as the second-fastest time run by an American in 2015, behind Nicole Tully’s 15:05 at Payton Jordan. 
 

The Long Road Back

Infeld has every reason to be happy. Two sacral stress fractures in two years left her young professional career riddled with disappointing results. It was a period of time never before seen by the NCAA Champion who entered the professional world with endless promise. 

 

Sitting next to Infeld on the couch in her apartment, I remember her as a force in the NCAA while running for Georgetown. She was the leader of the 2011 NCAA Cross Country Championship squad and an individual champion in the 3K at the 2012 NCAA Indoor Championships. 
 

She was a true competitor that seemed super-human and unbeatable.  

 

Infeld joined the Bowerman Track Club in 2012 after four years at Georgetown under then-head coach Chris Miltenberg. In her first year competing as a professional, Infeld increased her mileage from 50-60 miles a week to 80, assuming that was the requirement to be competitive on the circuit. The result after a strong fall base was over-training, which was apparent after a disappointing race at the Re:Run mile in San Diego. Infeld and Schumacher decided to sit her out of competition for the remainder of the 2013 spring season. She returned to competition in the summer after recuperating from over-training, and posted a season’s best of 4:11 in the 1500m in Padova, Italy and a 3K personal best of 8:41 in Reiti. 

 

She continued with road races in the fall of 2013, but by the end of the season, received the news that she had a sacral stress fracture on her left side, her first major injury at that point in her career. Being new to the cycle of injury, Infeld cross-trained furiously in an attempt to maintain her fitness. After several weeks, the doctors saw no signs of healing and told her that she needed to take 10 weeks of zero activity. Six months from the time of her diagnosis, Infeld was finally able to take her first running steps. 

 

Infeld returned to running in the summer of 2014 and repeated the over-training cycle to regain fitness quickly, which resulted in another sacral stress fracture on her right side in the winter of 2014. 

 

“I thought I was breaking up with it [running] this winter, but it feels really good that things are coming together now,” Infeld said, as the Portland summer sun peaked through her living room window. 

 

The Unfinished Business

Seven months later, Infeld has posted two IAAF “A” standards in the 10K and 5K, beginning with her first attempt at the 10K distance at the Payton Jordan Invitational in May. In her first track race since 2013, Infeld ran 31:38 for sixth-place overall, and may have stressed out Schumacher in the process. 

 

“He said ‘Think of it as a four-mile tempo, try to run 5:16 and see what you can close out the last two miles,’ but I think I just got in race mode and really wanted to go with the pack, but Jerry said that he was looking around at everyone and saying, ‘Oh no! This is terrible.’ He said after the first mile he thought I was going to drop out, he was so nervous,” Infeld said laughing.

 

“But I ended up happily surprising myself and happily surprising him so it was a really good feeling and it meant the world,” she said. 

 

After a long, difficult road to recovery, Infeld was overwhelmed by her debut at Cobb Track.

 

“Right when I crossed the finish line, I looked over and saw Chris Derrick and Elliot Heath and when I gave them both a big hug I started balling and I was probably crying to absolutely everyone, I was just so happy to be out here and running again,” Infeld recalled. 

 

With the USA Outdoor Championships approaching on June 25 and a World Championship team on the line, Infeld has established herself as a threat in the 5K and 10K distances. After discussing the possibilities with Schumacher, Infeld has decided to run both races in Eugene, Ore. 

 

“I haven’t run USA’s in three years so why not get a couple races in [laughs],” Infeld said as her eyes widened and a smile grew across her face. 

 

Sitting next to her and taking in Infeld’s enthusiasm, I can’t help but be excited at the endless possibilities of her talent. Despite a tumultuous start to a professional career, Infeld has risen to another level that has put her in contention for making Team USA this summer. And she has created the opportunity for herself against all odds. 

 

“I wasn’t ready to be done with it and give up on it. I feel like I have so much running left in me and so much unfinished business,” Infeld said.