Long-distance runner Elyse Braner has compiled a list of impressive accomplishments for a 25-year-old.
Braner worked under the top Republican dogs:Karl Rove, Newt Gingrich and finally, President George W. Bush.
But it wasn’t until the changing of the guard at the White House that the D.C. resident was able to turn her favorite hobby into a full-time career.
“I consider myself really fortunate that I [could pursue] this opportunity,” Braner said of long-distance running. “I don’t know if I would have quit a steady job to do this, it’s just that my job ended.”
Braner has a hand in almost every part of the Washington running community: marketing outreach for an athletic apparel company, coaching for the upcoming North Face endurance challenge, heading up the Washington Running Club, writing for various running blogs, and of course, competing.
The northern New Jersey native began running in her freshman year of high school after her newspaper editor, who was also the school’s running coach, convinced her to join.
At first, she couldn’t even runa lap around the track. “I thought to myself, I’m not good at this, but, I know this is what I want to do,” she said.
But she excelled quickly, and continued running at Smith College, where she was captain of the cross-country team for two years.
Braner’s high school coach, who recently died, saw great potential in her, and he left Braner with a powerful message that sticks with her as she crosses the finish line: “We have not heard the last of Elyse Braner.”
Indeed, the running community had not.
She has run four marathons. Because female long-distance runners reach their athletic peak between the ages of 30-35, Braner has a few years to go before she can hit her optimal marathon time. When that day comes, she will attempt to qualify for Olympic Trials.
But training for marathons is tricky. She cannot overexert herself if she wants to have enough energy for marathon day, so she adheres to a strict plan her coach gives her.
“I think even coaches need an adviser,” Braner said, laughing. “Someone who will keep them disciplined. For me, [my coach] keeps me from overtraining, because I ***. shouldn’t do any more than what’s written on the plan.”
Braner said her hardest days are actuallyher rest days when she doesn’t do any running at all.
With a rigorous training schedule in addition to her many running-related activities, Braner is busy, but she doesn’t let running get in the way of her social life — instead, running facilitates it.
“It’s a huge social outlet for me,” Braner said. I’ve met all of my best friends through training.”
And it’s a way for Braner to stay close with family members — her 21-year-old sister recently competed with her in a 197-mile relay race in which team members take turns running 18 miles at a time.
Braner is interested in running all distances, from dashes, to 10-kilometer races, to marathons, to long relays. But she primarily runs marathons, and her personal best is 3 hours and 14 minutes.
For now, Braner is looking forward to the Army 10-Miler Oct. 4, followed by the Philadelphia Marathon at the end of November. In April, she hopes to run in the Boston Marathon, which she had to forego the past two years because of injuries.
