Rehab leads to breakout for Mac pair

Fraser Caldwell

Sports Editor

There is an inherent pain and longing involved in rehabilitation. Being unable to perform at a level one has become accustomed to brings with it a host of emotions and a hefty dose of anxiety.

But for two members of the Marauders track program, lengthy layoffs from competition have been followed by unparalleled success. Graham Bowes and Katie Anderson – both enjoying career years on the track this season – have each overcome serious ailments to become leading members of their respective squads.

For his part, Bowes battled various injuries to his legs that prevented him from running for any considerable length of time throughout the summer. The advent of the new track season however has seen Bowes emerge as a nationally ranked distance threat, particularly in the 1500m event where he ran a personal best at the McGill Team Challenge on Jan. 27.

His time of 3:53.86 saw Bowes finish fifth at the Montreal meet and move into ninth in the CIS at the 1500m distance. The results are impressive, and a far cry from the struggles that the fourth-year veteran endured over the summer.

“My legs just basically blew up, and it got to the point where I could only run for 5-10 minutes because it hurt too much,” said Bowes of his injury woes. “I thought that taking a few weeks off and getting a bit of physio would solve it.

“It got to the beginning of July and it wasn’t working. So I started getting physio three or four times a week and getting on the bike – doing anything that wasn’t running just to get back on the team again. Even if I’d been healthy the whole time, my goal was just to be on the racing squad, not to lead the team or anything.”

Bowes believes that his time on the shelf may actually have aided him in his success this season, as he indulged in an unusual amount of cardio work while unable to hit the track.

“What helped was that because of the injury I was doing a lot of extra cardio. I was out on the bike twice a day just trying to do anything to be healthy again. I think that paid dividends in the long run.”

Meanwhile, Katie Anderson was hit with the misfortune of mononucleosis in December 2010, and struggled for months to work herself back into competition shape. Her efforts have finally come to fruition however, as Anderson finds herself among the upper echelon in the country at the 1500m distance.

Garnering a silver medal at the McGill Team Challenge, Anderson is now ranked fourth in that event at the national level, one place behind Marauder teammate Lindsay Carson. Her sudden success surprises the veteran McMaster runner, and vindicates her lengthy efforts toward recovery.

“I was diagnosed with mono in December of last year, and it’s taken me the better part of the year since to get back into the swing of things,” said Anderson. “I didn’t have as much success as I would have liked in cross-country, so I’m very happy with the success that’s come. Am I surprised? Probably, yes.

“What I have learned from this is that hard work does pay off. I spent all summer pounding away at mileages and not seeing results. To have worked this hard for a full year and finally have this success is great. It’s been a long journey, but I’m fired up. I’ve never been so ready to race in my entire life. It’s my last year, I’m finally healthy. Everything seems to be aligning.”

While they have already accomplished career-best results at this early stage of their racing seasons, both Bowes and Anderson believe that they are capable of much more.

“That’s what I find most exciting about this season: I have no idea,” said Anderson of what she is capable of achieving this year. “I’ve felt the strongest that I’ve ever felt in races this year. That gives me a lot of confidence and the feeling that maybe I can run faster. How fast? We’ll see.

“I think I’ve got more confidence now,” Bowes added. “The guys who won that race [at McGill] came through in 3:50, and I don’t see myself as being worse than those guys. In my next few races, I’m going to focus less on time and more on being at the front of the pack.”

Anderson is aided in her quest to improve by the exceptionally strong field of distance runners she finds herself immersed in at McMaster. Alongside the breakout veteran are fellow nationally ranked racers Lindsay Carson, Jillian Wyman, Victoria Coates and Sarah Haliburton.

Such a group can only help Anderson get better, and she argues that the support offered by her teammates has been a pivotal part of her growth as an athlete.

“I think it works in a number of ways,” said Anderson of the benefits of her strong team. “It’s great to have a bunch of people to do workouts with. It’s nice to have someone around who’s at the same level. If you have a bad day, they push you. If they have a bad day, you push them. People assume that track is just an individual sport but the team has a huge impact.”

Both Anderson and Bowes have the opportunity to further demonstrate their progression in coming weeks.

The Marauder tracks teams will be splitting time between meets at Notre Dame and York this weekend. The Meyo Invitational in South Bend, Indiana is slated to run from Feb. 3 to 4, while the York meet will be conducted on Feb. 4.