To say Bethany Sachtleben had a successful collegiate running career would be a major understatement.
She holds the George Mason school record in the 10,000-meter run and ranks in the top 10 program history in history in five different indoor and outdoor track events. She also won four Atlantic 10 Conference championships (in cross country and indoor and outdoor track) and captured two ECAC cross country championships.
Yet, Sachtleben always felt like she was just on the outside looking in at larger goals. Mainly, that she never reached the NCAA Championships in indoor or outdoor track.
A year after graduating from Mason and closing the book on her collegiate career, the 24-year-old has achieved a goal few can stake claim to – earning a spot on Team USA.
Sachtleben will be wearing the U-S-A across her chest this Sunday when she competes for her country in the World Mountain Running Championships in Bulgaria. She qualified for the world championships in July when she won silver at the USATF Mountain Running Championships in Lincoln, N.H.
“My goal was to get that USA singlet and go to Worlds. That is what I wanted,” said Sachtleben, a 2015 George Mason grad. “It was so cool to finally achieve a goal like that. I’ve done well in college but I was always maybe just one spot out. A couple spots from making it to nationals. I finished second place a lot of times. It was cool to finally be like I want to go to Worlds then go race and actually hit that goal and have my family be there and my coach be there.”
Making the accomplishment even more impressive was that Sachtleben had never competed in a mountain running race before.
The Manassas, Va., native had racked up the miles on the track and on the road. In January, she finished just 30 seconds out of qualifying for the U.S. Olympic Trials for a full marathon. In April, she took 11th at the USA Half Marathon Championships in Columbus, Ohio, with a stifling time of 1:15.55.
Looking for a change of pace – or change of terrain – Sachtleben consulted with George Mason track and field and cross country coach Andrew Gerard. Together, they searched the internet and stumbled upon the USATF Mountain Running Championships at the Loon Mountain Resort, a ski resort in New Hampshire. Anyone could compete in the race – no qualifying time necessary – and the top four women finishers would represent the United States at the World Mountain Running Championships.
“We ended up doing it because it was something new and different,” Sachtleben said. “I thought it would be cool to make a world team so I thought I’d take a crack at it.”
Sachtleben, who works in Alexandria as an accountant for the National Society of Accountants, didn’t have to go far to train. She headed over to near Gerard’s property in Chester Gap, Va., in Rappahannock County.
Every couple of weeks, Sachtleben would start in town in Front Royal and run up to Compton Gap, which actually connects to the Appalachian Trail. Sachtleben stayed on the road but an elevation change of 2,500 feet over six miles helped prepare her for steep grades she would see in New Hampshire.
“I do think that helped,” Gerard said. “It is just changing a little bit of your technique in terms of the running. It is not changing the fundamental cardiovascular background that you need. You just shorten your stride a little bit, you move your arms a little differently, you don’t try to over stride. You make some small adjustments and you should be good.”
Sachtleben arrived at Loon Mountain Resort admittedly nervous for her first mountain running race. But she stuck to her plan of getting out fast – and it paid off. She led the 10,000-meter race for more than halfway through before finishing second in a time of 58:16.4. Since she is still taking classes at Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA), she was considered a collegiate runner and took the crown as the Collegiate National Champion.
“I felt really good the whole time. I just felt really confident because I was ignorant and had no idea what was going to happen. I was like, ‘Well, if I feel good I am going to keep running fast.’ I thought I had gone the wrong way at one point because I didn’t hear anyone behind me… I figured if I could get far enough ahead of them that maybe I could keep them off for longer. And it worked.”
Mountain running for the first time, Sachtleben said the hardest part was knowing when to hold back. On several occasions, she found herself with her hands on her knees and walking up a course that had a vertical gain of 2,200 feet with an average grade of 10 percent and some areas as steep as 40 percent.
“It was so weird. In a race, you’re walking?” she said. “I’ve never done that before. It felt bad. But there was no choice… Mountain running, you can’t really push yourself. Once you’re at your limit, you’re at the same speed you are going to be going. You can’t really decide I’m going to make a burst and run up the mountain because it doesn’t work. It is weird to be running so slow and feel like your effort is so high. I’ve had to adjust my expectations and my strategy a little bit to not go too over the edge.”
Sachtleben’s race plan proved successful as she finished less than a minute behind 29-year-old champion Addie Bracy, a former cross country standout at the University of North Carolina. In fact, Sachtleben finished more than two minutes ahead of 2011 World Mountain Running champion Kasie Enman, who finished sixth.
Four years ago, knocking off a world champion would have seemed improbable for Sachtleben. She joined George Mason’s cross country team in 2012 with minimal but promising running experience. In March of 2012, at just 20 years old, she ran in the Rock ‘n’ Roll USA Marathon in Washington, D.C., and impressed many when she took second place.
Later that year, she enrolled at George Mason after spending the two previous years taking classes at NOVA. Wanting a chance to run, she reached out to Gerard and the coaching staff to see if she could walk on to the team.
“Within a couple weeks she was basically our No. 1 runner,” Gerard said. “She didn’t run in high school. She didn’t run at NOVA. She ran a little bit on her own and said, ‘Hey, I think I like this.’ We’re obviously the recipient of some good luck just by stumbling onto her. At the same time, she obviously has a lot of aptitude for it.”
On the verge of her competing in her first world championship, Sachtleben isn’t just content with being there. She wants to help the United States finish in the top three as a team. And she would love to end up on the podium as an individual, too.
“It might be a crazy goal, but I would like to medal,” she said. “Americans have medaled before so it is definitely possible.”
The 32nd World Mountain Running Championships are taking place in Sapareva Banya, Bulgaria, with athletes from 33 countries. Sachtleben arrived in Bulgaria on Wednesday and is joined by her father, Doug. This is only the second time she has ventured out of the United States aside from a missions trip to Haiti.
So she plans to soak in the whole experience, especially the opportunity to represent her country on an international stage.
“It is so exciting to say I am going to the world championships,” she said. “I think that is so cool that the thing I love the most is allowing me to do some cool stuff I would never do otherwise. I’m excited about it.”
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