Staying Mentally Strong Helps Stoddard Bounce Back from Injury
Watching her teammates run while she recovered from a broken foot had a huge impact on Anna Kathryn Stoddard’s career. The South Carolina cross country/track & field senior put together a couple of good seasons to start her college career, but she had to overcome some physical and psychological hurdles and start from scratch last year after having surgery to have pins placed in her foot in March of 2018.
“It was incredibly difficult because I wasn’t able to run until mid-June,” said Stoddard, who is studying advertising. “I had to come back and cross-train for another month or two. When I first started back, I was only running about a half mile at a time, which was a long shot from where I wanted to be.”
As a freshman, Stoddard was South Carolina’s second finisher in all but one of the races she competed, and as a sophomore, she was the team’s top finisher in every race. After surgery in the spring of her second year, Stoddard slowly progressed back to the level she had been. The physical effort in coming back was tough, and so was dealing with the psychological battle in recovery.
“By the time school started again last fall, I was only at about 75 percent of what I used to do,” Stoddard said. “It took so much mental patience to hang in there and keep going. I had to be patient for the fitness to finally come back so the results would show.
“It kind of stinks being injured. It was not fun. I was just thinking about getting back with my teammates and trying to be there for them without mentally checking out. I wanted to hold myself accountable so I could come back and help them. That’s what helped me pushed through it.”
“If you’re working hard every day, it inspires others to do the same thing.”
– Anna Kathryn Stoddard
By the end of last fall’s cross country season, Stoddard had worked her way back to being South Carolina’s No. 1 runner and was the team’s top finisher at the NCAA Southeast Regional, finishing with a career-best time of 21:08.5 in the 6K event, which was the 11th-best time in program history. Last spring, she anchored the Gamecocks’ middle-distance runners and had a tremendous performance at the prestigious Penn Relays.
“That was a big deal because it’s such a huge meet,” Stoddard said. “There is always a big crowd for that. I had a good race there my freshman year, too, and I missed it my sophomore year, so it was special to have another good race there last year.”
“She has made dramatic improvement, in large part because of the discipline and the hardworking person that she is,” said Andrew Allden, assistant coach for distances “She is also a really good competitor. She is really good at being in the moment. She is also a kind and very positive person; the kind of person you want to have on your team.”
The mental aspect of her performance has been a key throughout her career.
“What I love about running is the mental concentration you have to have. It’s different than any other sport,” Stoddard said. “I’m a lot tougher mentally than I used to be. In high school, if there was a day that I didn’t feel like going, then I didn’t go for a run. In high school, I was the big fish in the small pond and was always out in front. Coming into college, I had to get used to others starting out really fast and running with a big crowd around me. I still have to work on that today.
“There are higher stakes here. Everyone else is counting on you, and your teammates need you. They need to be pushed and inspired, too. If you do that, and if you’re working hard every day, it inspires others to do the same thing.”
As she enters her senior year at full strength, Stoddard is determined to get back in front.
“I’d like to finish in the top 25 in the SEC and make it back to the NCAA Regionals,” said Stoddard. “Most of all, as a senior, I’d like to be a good team leader and focus on creating good relationships. That’s important, too.”
