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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Katie Thronson makes big change to remain competitive

Katie Thronson, a Lewis and Clark sophomore standout in cross country, finished 17th at state as a freshman. Last December she noticed pain when running. After seeing a specialist, Thronson was told the only way she'd be able to run again was to re-train herself because her running form was not serving her well. (Colin Mulvany / The Spokesman-Review)

Katie Thronson of Lewis and Clark had taken two weeks off from her freshman cross country season late last fall before starting her winter conditioning.

When she tried to run again, she felt pain on the outside of her right knee.

So Thronson took another week off.

“Things digressed,” Thronson said. “I couldn’t run a half mile without pain.”

She saw a physical therapist. She had an MRI. No reason for the pain was discovered.

Thronson tried to run again.

“I couldn’t run two blocks,” she said.

Frightened and frustrated, Thronson called LC coach Kevin Swaim. He advised her to ice, stretch and keep seeing a physical therapist.

Further tests were done. Slight swelling was found in the iliotibial band that attaches at the top of the hip and stretches down across the knee and connects to the tibia.

“It’s a pretty common ailment, especially among young females,” Swaim said. “It often can become inflamed as kids’ bodies grow and develop.”

Thronson ended up seeing a physical therapist that specialized in running. It was discovered that her feet were turning inward toward each other as she ran.

She was told she could fix the problem, but that would require learning how to run again.

“What makes her story such a triumph is I’ve seen plenty of athletes who have thought that’s the end of my running career,” Swaim said. “To figure out a solution requires an incredible amount of patience and discipline because you have to re-train muscles and habits.”

Thronson decided to meet the challenge head on.

“I had doubts every day but if I wanted to keep running I had to do everything in my power to do whatever I could to run again,” she said.

The process, which ended up being six months, began with her learning to run on her toes and not on her heels.

Thronson, who took 17th in her first State 4A cross country meet, had to give up her first track season.

“It took about six months before I could run five miles without any pain,” Thronson said. “I went through tons of ice every day.”

Her first run using the new approach in early January was an episode of stops and starts – mostly stops.

“I could only run about 10 to 15 seconds before I’d feel pain,” she said. “A friend decided to go with me the first time and it took us about three hours to go five miles.”

Thronson downloaded a metronome app to her cell phone. It made a clicking sound and she had to try to run in cadence with the click.

“When you run on your heels, the shock goes to your knees,” Thronson said. “When you run on your toes, the shock is more absorbed and protects your knees and hips. I had been a heel striker.”

Swaim remembers almost being tackled in the hallway at school by Thronson late last winter.

“Katie said, ‘Coach Swaim, guess what? I ran one lap on the track yesterday’,” Swaim said.

Every small victory was worth celebrating.

Even now, when she gets a little fatigued in a race, she’ll revert to her old habit.

“Your form deteriorates when you’re tired,” she said.

Thronson took baby steps initially.

“We definitely played it safe,” she said.

By summer, she was running with her team, preparing for the fall. But she noticed something when the preseason practices began in late August.

“My conditioning wasn’t as good as the same time last year,” Thronson said.

Early season races were a mental struggle. Then she had a breakthrough at a race in Missoula last month.

“It’s the first race I actually felt like I competed,” Thronson said.

It was the first race she beat teammate and best friend Abby Smith, also a sophomore. She finished 28th at state last year.

Thronson and Smith consider themselves 1a and 1b. Swaim says his team has two No. 1 runners.

“She’s built herself back up,” Swaim said. “She’s a force in the league, if not the force in the league, which I think is commendable.”

By October, Thronson was running times comparable to last year.

“I’m as fast as last year if not a little faster,” Thronson said. “It’s not something I expected back in January.”

Thronson is grateful for Swaim’s inspiration.

“He’s helped me a lot with advice and keeping me positive,” Thronson said. “I wouldn’t want anybody else with me through the injury and this season. He knows what he’s talking about.”

And she’s thankful that some of the best competition comes directly from her friend.

They both want to win each time they race. But they keep things healthy.

“We’ve talked about it and we can be friends outside of running,” Thronson said. “There is a competition. We want to beat each other but it makes us better because it is a competition. We carry our friendship into races, but I’d say from the half mile on the friendship goes into the dust.”

Swaim shakes his head when he thinks about where Thronson was 10 months ago.

“She overcame a fairly common but often career-ending injury,” he said. “It’s a great testimony what the right mindset will do for you.”