Remington runner Asher Brown had big plans for his cross country and track and field seasons.
But his body had other plans that led to an agonizing detour along the way.
Heading into the 2A cross country meet last fall, Brown was ranked No. 1 in Class 2A and was the favorite to bring home a state championship.
However, during his preparations the week before, Brown came down with bronchitis and was unable to compete at full strength, which led to a 59th place finish.
“Getting sick the week of state for cross country and then not running well was really disappointing, so it really motivated me to train well for track so I could run well at state,” Brown said.
So he trained throughout the winter so that his track and field season could be much more memorable than cross country.
Then just a week into the season, Brown was diagnosed with stress fracture in his femur that put him on crutches for a month and half.
“When I first found out I had a stress fracture I was disappointed knowing that I wouldn’t be able to run for most the season and maybe not even able to run at all,” Brown said. “It did wear on me a little but I just kept thinking about the possibility of racing at the end of the season to stay positive. When I was first diagnosed with the stress fracture it was really hard to have a good mentality and to stay positive. I knew it was going to be a slow process but I knew that I would eventually be able to run at my best again.”
So he waited, sometimes impatiently, for the green light to begin training again.
Doctors cleared him so late in the season—shortly before regionals on May 21st—there was no expectation of any success, but Brown somehow qualified for the state tournament.
“Both Asher and his coach were unsure as to whether he had the speed or endurance to even qualify for state,” said Bruce Brown, Asher’s dad. “Fortunately, with grit and determination, he did.”
While his body was still not in pristine shape to run at state, Brown entered state week with the mentality to get on the medal stand.
“Going into the state meet I wasn’t really sure what to expect, I knew based off my regional times I was going to be able to compete well, so my goal was just to medal,” Brown said “I definitely thought about winning but I didn’t think I was actually going to be able to do it.”
For most of the 3,200-meter race, Brown was in second place, but with two laps to go, he took the lead, which he never relinquished.
Against so many odds, Brown was a state champion.
“There has been a lot to overcome and it was really hard,” Brown said. “I’d say one of the hardest things was trying to stay in shape while still being on crutches and being limited to what I did. Several times a week I would go work out as best I could to stay in shape. There were a lot more things that I had to overcome but it was all thanks to the help that I got from my family, teammates, coaches, and doctors that got me through this.”
