Many runners, from the novice with tired legs to the expert with strong running form, pursue individual goals: pounds they want to lose, a distance they want to cover or a time they want to beat. And as long as they can drop down one pant size, reach the end of Mulholland Drive or complete the perimeter of campus in a half hour, they will feel accomplished.

But for redshirt junior Katja Goldring, the individual goals have become meaningless. She just wants her cross country team to win.

“We’re a young team, an inexperienced team, and we have a lot of potential,” Goldring said.

Right now, that potential still remains untapped.

For a team that entered the season dominated by a recruiting class of talented freshmen, the learning curve has been steep. After finishing in the bottom tiers of both the Stanford Invitational and last Friday’s Wisconsin Adidas Invitational, the women have been looking to find the confidence that will lead them to success.

In truth, a look down the starting line at any given meet becomes a who’s who of new runners. Freshmen Annie Mooney, Bronte Golick, and Hannah Valenzuela, redshirt freshman Kelsey Smith, sophomore Caitlin Schmitt, and junior transfer Sarah Toberty together have less than two years of college running experience, yet they have been needed to contribute right away.

“A lot of the women are coming from a different level, whether high school or community college. What they’re facing now is a whole new game,” coach Forest Braden said.

The women are being tested, some more than others.

Goldring has led her squad as the No. 1 runner on the team at every meet this season, despite overcoming one giant obstacle: Before entering the season, she had not run competitively in more than two years.

It started back one day in practice during her sophomore year when she felt fatigued, nauseated, more so than usual. Her calves started to ache.

The next day passed, and the pain grew worse and worse Goldring went to visit a doctor, and a simple blood test revealed a complicated issue: Her red blood cell counts were below average. Abnormally below.

Anemia, the doctor said.

“The doctors couldn’t figure out why,” Goldring said. “They couldn’t get me back to regular iron levels for almost four months.”

Eventually a serious of liquid iron prescriptions brought Goldring’s red blood cell count back to the low range of normal, allowing her to begin a long road of rehab.

“There were times I wondered if I would ever run again,” Goldring said. “There were times I wondered if I would ever race again. There were times I wondered if I would ever race well again.”

Goldring gained a rekindled joy for the sport in which she excels, and an understanding for the obstacles her young teammates are experiencing.

“I feel like I can relate to them. I know what they’re going through, because I had to go through that, too. None of us has had an easy road to get here,” Goldring said.

The new guys

A big part of the men’s cross country success this year falls on the contributions made by freshmen Shayne Collins and Lane Werley.

“We have a lot to look forward to on the final stretch of the season, and a big part of that is because of the freshmen,” redshirt senior Kent Morikawa said.

Collins, who spent much of high school rotating between distance running and wrestling, attributes much of his success in staying composed on the race course when competing against older, more experienced, runners.

“You try to run your own race, and don’t want to focus on what other people are doing. You have to keep yourself calm and confident,” Collins said. “Once you lose control, whether it’s your breathing or form, things will start to unravel.”