One year has made quite a difference for Lianne Farber.
At the end of the 2011 fall season, Farber, then a redshirt freshman, had completed her first full season as a member of the North Carolina cross country team.
Although she did not make it past the NCAA regional meet last year, upon returning to action in the spring Farber believed that making it to the next level and ultimately being named an All-American was not far off.
And after taking the first step last week by earning All-Region honors and the opportunity to compete at the 2012 NCAA National Championships, Farber has finally accomplished what she’s been dreaming for the longest.
In her first trip to the national championships on Saturday, the redshirt sophomore finished the 6K in 40th place out of 253 runners, running a time of 20:18 en route to being deemed an All-American.
“If someone were to have told me at the beginning of last year that I’d be where I am, I would have thought he or she was crazy,” Farber said. “But I’ve been thinking about it since the spring and at the beginning of the fall felt like being an All-American wasn’t really that out of reach for me.”
Despite being in 22nd place a mile through the race, Farber slowed her pace relative to the competitive field of runners. But she said she was able to remain focused as her coaches, especially head coach Mark VanAlstyne, cheered her on from the sideline.
“The competition was unbelievable. I had never been in a race before with so many great runners. But it helped a lot having coach VanAlstyne there,” Farber said. “Some people would think that running at the national championships would be something crazy, but he helped me see that it was just another race.
“I could hear them screaming that I was right there. So I knew I was not far off. That kept me focused throughout the race.”
