Photo provided from Toledo Athletics

University of Toledo's Ari Fisher is riding a killer upswing in her progression as a runner. After being three places off of All-American status in cross country last year and at The Payton Jordan Cardinal Invitational, where she won her 5,000-meter heat in a big personal-best time of 16 minutes, 24.27 seconds, she suffered a stress fracture injury the next day on her easy run. Not willing to settle for losing that momentum, Fisher immediately hit the bike and the pool and cross-trained her tail off. After this past weekend, where she took third overall in the Gold Race at Roy Griak Invitational, Fisher is ready to roll all the way to nationals where she hopes to garner top-20 honors.

You're on the bus right now, back from Minnesota. How long have you been on there?

It's a good 12-hour drive. Next week we have Missouri, and we're going to fly there, which should be good. We're pretty used to these long bus rides. We watch a lot of movies and TV shows—like Entourage.

Can you talk about your opener and what it was like to kick off your season?

It's amazing, I've been waiting all summer to race. It's great to finally get out there and race. I finally got to prove my training and everything.

Is third place what you saw yourself capable of?

Yeah, I did. I thought I would be a contender for like top 10. I really knew I was going to show something that my training reflected. I did expect something like that this season.

You battled with Betsy Saina, of Iowa State, who took second in the NCAA 10,000 this past outdoor season. Does that get you really excited for how this season could play out?

Yeah, definitely. I'm super-excited because I was so close to All American last year and it just left me hungry. I want to prove myself. I know I'm All American and I want to prove it. It's really cool to get out there and start so well.

Is simply being an All American the goal or do you have bigger goals than that this year?

All American is the goal, but honestly, I just want to run as fast as I know I'm capable of. If that makes me All American, or if that makes me top 20, so be it.

Since you sound excited about how your training went this summer, I'm going to push the question a little further: if this season plays out perfectly, how do you see it going and how do you see it ending?

I don't want to jinx anything, but I would love for our team to make it to nationals and I would love to be top 20 as an individual at nationals. That's the major goal for me.

What about your training the past few months has gotten you so psyched?

Actually, I hardly did any running at all. I ran at the Stanford Payton Jordan Invitational and put down a really good time in the 5K, in the third women's heat. I ended up winning it in 16:24. The next day, on my easy run, I ended up getting a stress fracture in my sacrum. That was it all summer, just cross-training my ass off. All I did was cross-train, on the bike like every day. It was insane. I think I learned a lot from it from being injured and being out.

Over the course of two days, you went from one of the higher points in running (winning a big race, setting a big PR) to getting a stress fracture the next day?

I've had a lot of injuries, up and down.

Was it hard to keep cross-training?

Oh, yeah. It was so hard. It was so exhausting, mentally and physically, to see your teammates out there and all you really want to do is run. It makes you appreciate running all that much more. I feel like I learned a lot from that injury and it's been hard.

How long have you been back to normal running?

I just started running probably at the end of July or early August. That's when I picked it back up. Since then it's been pretty consistent.

Where's your mileage been at?

I'm a lower mileage girl. I'd say I'm at like 50. And that's 50 at its highest. Around 40 to 50, I'm usually around there.

Are you considered a “low mileage” runner for your team?

Oh, definitely. I'm definitely considered lower mileage for our team.

Do you plan on tinkering with that at all? What's Coach Hadsell's philosophy on mileage?

They want to keep it lower, but they supplement it with more cross-training. You'll have a girl running 120 minutes of running, and I'll do 70. The longest I've ever run in a given week is 70 minutes. They supplement it with cross-training to get the extra, and I think they'll keep it that way. I don't know if they plan on increasing it, but, for the most part, it's pretty low.

Are you going to stick around the 5K distance or will you bump up to the 10?

Honestly, I think they're training me for the 10K. I'm really good at the long tempo, keeping it long and steady. Once the 10K in track comes...

Do you have a mark in the 10K?

Last year I trained so hard for the 10K. That's what I was gearing up for. And, obviously, I got that injury and never actually got to debut in it. I really don't have any legitimate marks in it.

Is there a time you thought you might have been capable of running?

Well...we don't know for sure, but we were hoping for around...I'm not sure. (Laughs) I don't want to say.

We'll be waiting patiently for outdoor for that one!

Yeah, I can't even wait. It's exciting.

What's the rest of this cross country season looking like?

This week will be Missouri and we'll be flying out for that 5K. Then, obviously, we're going to be at Pre Nats, then our MAC Conference Championships Meet, then regionals and hopefully nationals.

How was your summer?

There was a lot of swimming and a lot of biking. I probably biked 50 miles a day. That's not a joke—not an exaggeration. There was a lot of bike and a lot of swim. I tried to switch it up a little bit.

Are you unintentionally turning yourself into a tri-athlete?

I don't want to be an tri-athlete, but I probably could be one. (Laughs)

Would you say that you're sick of the bike and sick of the pool?

I am kind of sick of it, but it's part of the training. I'm still doing the bike every now and then for hard workout days.

When you're not cross-training, is it a lot of soft surface running?

We do try do it all on the Metro Park Trails, keeping it on the soft. We have some good Metro Parks...two good ones.

You stayed in-state to go to college at Toledo. What worked for you and why did you choose your school?

As soon as I visited—and I'd never visited Toledo—it clicked. The campus is beautiful, the program seemed amazing, Coach Hadsell, he was a very good, down-to-earth guy. It just clicked right away for me. I loved the way he coaches and obviously I loved the academics as well. I was looking at some schools kind of where I lived, but it wasn't anywhere major.

You've got a twin sister on the team? Was it a package deal for you two to go to Toledo?

Yup, an identical twin sister. And it was a two-for-one deal, yeah. We both definitely clicked right away and loved it from the start.

And not too far from hometown?

It's about a three-hour drive.

What are you studying?

Currently I'm studying biology, pre-med. I don't know where I'm going to take that and I'm kind of undecided on that.

Does your dream job stem from what you're studying or what you're training for...if you catch my drift?

All my friends and coaches are all like, “Oh, Ari, you're going to be a coach.” I always look up stats and I know everything about running, so I feel like my future is going to be in coaching...to be honest.

A self-admitted running geek?

Yes, I am. I'm not going to lie to you.

Who are some of your favorite runners?

Paula Radcliffe and Molly Huddle for sure. She killed it this year.

Paula Radcliffe? Are you going to bump up to the marathon as soon as you can?

I'll definitely bump up to the marathon when I'm older. I know that for a fact. I've read all those books: Once a Runner, Running with the Buffaloes and all that stuff.

When you get that rare, free time, what are you doing for fun? Do you live in a track house?

I live with three of my teammates. We all live together and hang out and go out and have fun. Typical college stuff.

Do you have any superstitions with running?

Yes. I always have dark chocolate before a race. A piece of dark chocolate because I think it helps. I have a Powerade, too. And, I'm a big fan of eating mini wheats—frosted mini wheats before a race. I don't know why, but I have to.

I'm not trying to jinx you, but say you remove one of those elements of your pre-race process, what happens then?

Mentally...yeah, I'll probably freak out a little bit, but I'm not going let it stop me from racing well. I just won't. It's not dire that I have it, but I do like to have those things before races. When I race really well after eating these things, that's what triggers it, and I keep going with it and sticking with it.

If you could have one meal, prepared by anybody, what would you have and who would make it?

I think my favorite meal would have to be a steak, a t-bone steak with steak sauce, with a side of sweet potatoes. That would be amazing to me. That's all I need right there. Because I live in a house with teammates, I never really make steak, because it's hard to make. But, when I'm home, I like to have that a lot. When I go out to eat, I'll always order a steak.

Can you share a crazy running-related story?

OK. This happened last year. I was having my “break through”. My freshman and sophomore years were terrible... just awful. I started making a big jump with my abilities. I had just won the MAC cross country championships. We were gearing up for regionals, and Sunday is our usual long run day. The coaches had just gotten done telling us, “you need to stay on the trails. You've got to make an effort to go to the Metro Park to run.” I went in the morning at like 8 a.m. I was running on this trail with a boardwalk and there was this couple walking with a Doberman Pincher. I was like, “on your left”...the typical track. The dog bit me. The dog bit me in the crotch! That was a really awkward place for a bite. That was only a few minutes into my run and I fell over and was bleeding everywhere and it was terrible. This was right before regionals and it was embarrassing and I had to get stitches. I still ended up running.

Did you run well?

It hurt and I thought I was going to tear open my stitches. It was a nice easy run. It was just terrible timing.

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