September 1, 2009
SEATTLE – A summer day camp. A Bible camp. Teaching preschool and English classes.
Along with a group of her Seattle Pacific classmates, Suzie Strickler was trying to do all the good she could during a mission trip to the Dominican Republic in the summer of 2008, living with the people and building relationships with them.
Having to rebuild her left foot – and her Falcon running career – wasn't part of the plan.
But that was Strickler's situation after her foot got caught in the wheel of a motor bike on which she was a passenger. So after losing approximately 25 percent of her Achilles and being forced to sit on the sidelines for about nine months, Strickler is now eager – if not a little anxious – for her delayed senior season on the cross country trails this fall.
“I didn't officially decide until spring quarter that I was going to try to do it,” said Strickler, an exercise science major from Richland, Wash., who saved one credit of internship in order to compete this fall. “I figured I might – it really depended on my foot and how it was doing. I wasn't sure it would be ready by fall quarter for me to be able to run cross country.
The foot is ready. And so is Strickler, whose return figures to make an already talent- and depth-laden Seattle Pacific squad even stronger in pursuit of a third straight NCAA trophy and a run at the national championship. The Falcons are No. 1 in the West Region and No. 3 nationally in the preseason rankings.
“It's quite amazing to see. We believed she would run one day – but weren't sure when that one day would be” SPU coach Erika Daligcon said. “We've all been really surprised and really pleased with how much she has progressed once the injury was able to close and stay closed.
Her teammates are just as delighted as Daligcon is to have her back in action, although Strickler certainly wasn't a stranger to them while she was injured last year. Matter of fact, she was so much a part of the Falcons that they voted her as winner of the team's Most Inspirational award and dedicated last year's NCAA nationals to her.
“Suzie is an incredible person. Having her faithfully come to workouts and races reminded all of us what a gift it is to be able to run,” said Jessica Pixler, the two-time defending NCAA cross country champion who herself came back last fall from an injury that sidelined her for the 2008 outdoor track season. “I have had a tough injury before, but I cannot even imagine going through what she did.”
This isn't just some average athlete coming back off a medical redshirt. During her first three seasons at SPU, Strickler clearly established herself as one of the team's front runners. She was the No. 3 Falcon behind Pixler and Jane Larson in all three 2007 posteason meets, the last of which was a second-place team finish at the NCAA Division II championships in Joplin, Mo.
In 2006, Strickler ran No. 4 for Seattle Pacific at regionals and nationals. And as a freshman in 2005, she was part of SPU's scoring pack at the Great Northwest Athletic Conference championships and again at NCAA West Regionals.
“She has such a love for running – and just as much of a love for being part of the team,” Daligcon said.
LONG TIME TO HEAL
In the Dominican Republic, motor bikes are a regular source of transportation. So on that mid-July day in 2008, Strickler wasn't just out for a joy ride when her foot got caught and, as she tells it, “got mangled up.”
A trip to the nearby mission base allowed doctors to stitch up her injury as best they could. (Strickler said it took about 30 stitches.) She returned home a couple days afterward, cutting her trip short by about three weeks.
The word from her doctor wasn't pleasant: The foot was infected, and Strickler needed surgery immediately.
“Apparently, the infection liquefied 25 percent of my Achilles,” Strickler said. “The doctor said I had a lot of exotic bacteria in there.”
She was left with a hole in her foot about the size of a silver dollar with jagged edges. It didn't fully close until December – some five months after the accident. In January, Strickler was able to get on an unweighted treadmill as part of her physical therapy – “which is really, really weird running with 20 to 30 percent of your body weight,” she said with a laugh.
Finally in March, during spring break, the moment arrived: She was ready to try running again – albeit it briefly.
Very briefly.
“I ran five minutes – that was as far as I could go,” Strickler said. “That's what it was for quite a while, five or six minutes.”
Even so, that was five or six minutes more than she'd been able to go for almost a year. And in Strickler's mind, the down time seemed much longer than that.
“There were times when I definitely got very antsy and frustrated – I just wanted to run,” Strickler said. “Those were also the times when I was focusing on my situation and everything that had gone wrong.”
So Strickler changed her mindset.
“It was focusing on God and on scriptures and praying,” she said. “It brought more peace and joy to do that.”
ONE MORE RUN IN MAROON
The cross country season likely will be Strickler's final appearance in an SPU uniform. She's eligible for another season of indoor track and outdoor track because of the medical redshirt, “but I don't really have any other classes that I have to take, and I don't want to pay tuition for two more quarters,” she said.
So she's planning to make the best of it – and help the Falcons do the same while Pixler, fellow All-American runner Jane Larson and top-7 regular Katie Harline are still here.
“I think we should have a really good team this year and have a lot of potential,” Strickler said. “I'm just hoping I can get back into it and get going again. Taking a year off definitely puts me behind where I normally would be,” she added, estimating that her foot is a “maybe about 80 percent.”
Pixler is pulling hard for Strickler to reap the rewards of her comeback effort.
“Many people view injuries as time off. But the reality is that to come back from a major injury, you have to work twice as hard,” Pixler said. “While she's not a huge fan of biking, Suzie was dedicated to training hard on the bike every day to stay in shape.”
If everything feels right, the first competitive test for Strickler's refurbished foot will be Sept. 5 at the Lake Padden Relays in Bellingham. And if not (she recently has been dealing with a stress fracture), she'll just take it day by day. With nine regular-season meets on the schedule, she'll have plenty of opportunities to race.
“She'll be ready when it counts,” Daligcon said. “She has worked so hard to be back here, I have no doubt she will give it 110 percent."
“It'll never be like it was before,” Strickler said of her left foot. “But (the doctors) didn't think running would be too much of a problem. I just wouldn't be able to sprint or do a marathon.”
That's OK. Nearly two years after her last cross country race, a nice run on the trails of autumn will suit Suzie Strickler just fine.
