Sara Schaaf is always on the move – to teach high school students, to run at track practice and to eat dinner.
Between training as an Oregon athlete and teaching high-school students, Schaaf is lucky to find a few moments to herself.
“My days are completely filled – minute to minute,” said Schaaf, a fifth-year senior and middle distance runner on the Oregon women’s track team.
Schaaf teaches three classes at South
Eugene High School as part of her master’s program. In the fall and winter, she taught part-time and observed, making this spring the first time she has been fully immersed in teaching.
Schaaf initially worked with younger children then switched to older children to teach in the classroom more and to help her pursue coaching in the future.
“It wasn’t too long ago that I remember being in high school,” Schaaf said. “That’s what I was afraid of, but you do realize what you’ve been through and that you’ve had a lot of experiences since you were their age.”
The 5-foot-4 Klamath Falls native has the look of a younger student and high school teachers have occasionally mistaken her for a student.
Accustomed to competing in front of thousands at Oregon track meets, Schaaf is responsible for teaching teenagers the ins and outs of mathematics.
“I’ve never been somebody who’s had great ease talking in front of a large group of people so obviously I was a little nervous going into the program but really, once you are in there for a little bit, you settle in (and) you build a relationship with the students,” Schaaf said. “It’s become second nature to me now.”
Students read about Schaaf in the papers and have populated the Hayward Field stands.
Schaaf occasionally runs in the morning
before heading to South Eugene High where she stays from 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. She then runs to the University, where she practices with the track team from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Dinner is from 6 p.m. to 7p.m. From 7 p.m. until bedtime, Schaaf grades papers and creates lesson plans. On the rare occasion she has free time, Schaaf hangs out with friends.
With coach Vin Lananna’s arrival last summer, Schaaf has found herself straying from the norm – 800 meters – and occasionally running the 1,500 this season.
She’s experienced highs – third (2 minutes, 7.88 seconds) at Pacific-10 Conference Championships in the 800 – and lows
– placing 10th (4:31.79) in 1,500 at the Oregon Twilight.
“I think that she grew up as an athlete,” Lananna said. “Sometimes adversity or a crummy performance gets you to really take stock of what you’re doing.”
Up until this season, Schaaf had always fallen short of the NCAA Championships. She changed that two weeks ago in the Western Regionals when she placed fourth (2:09.23) in the 800 and earned an automatic berth.
Five minutes prior to the race it hit Schaaf that it could be her final race in an Oregon uniform. She spoke quickly to her coach, who told her to be confident and run a smart race.
“I knew that all but just hearing it again is like ‘I know I can do this,’” Schaaf said.
Sacramento, where the NCAAs are held this year, presents a new challenge with two preliminary races and a potential final awaiting Schaaf on Saturday. Schaaf made it past the first round Wednesday afternoon, running third (2:06.36) in the first of four heats. She advances to the semifinals today at 4:50 p.m.
“We’ll see,” Lananna said of reaching the final. “She certainly has momentum on her side.”
The challenge is welcome, Schaaf said. She missed the West Regional final at Hayward Field last spring by one place and .96 seconds in preliminaries (ninth, 2:08.61). As a sophomore, Schaaf advanced to the Regional final, but placed eighth (2:10.46) and short of the necessary top-five finish to reach the NCAA Championships.
“I didn’t really let it bother me,” Schaaf said. “Last year, even when I didn’t make it, I knew I would have been capable of it. I just didn’t do it.”
She raced a then-personal record of 2:12.87 as a redshirt freshman. She spent her freshman season in 2001-02 recovering from a femur stress fracture she suffered at the end of the cross country season.
Schaaf gained a 800 training partner for the first time this season with freshman Rebekah Noble’s addition to the program. While Noble has taken headline after headline this spring, Schaaf found herself inspired by the Spokane, Wash., native, who continues to push to break the two-minute barrier.
“We are natural competitors, but it’s never translated into anything negative or stressful,” Schaaf said. “It’s always benefited all of us because we push each other.”
The two don’t make a conscious effort to work together in races, but when Schaaf pushed the pace at the Pac-10 Championships, it helped propel Noble into first place (2:05.81).
Entering the final 300 meters, Noble ran in third place behind leader Alysia Johnson of California. Schaaf sprinted from fifth to first place and Noble soon followed, speeding past Schaaf and Johnson for the win. Schaaf placed third with her time of 2:07.88.
“She’s inspiring for myself and teammates and anyone who watches her run,” Schaaf said.
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