Ex-Tar’s comeback nearly up to speed

Barry Faulkner

As a dominant cross country and track and field runner at Newport

Harbor High, Amber Steen believed it was her competitors she was

running into the ground.

But, as a fierce competitor with a tireless approach to training,

her penchant for punishing herself ultimately chased her down and

produced painful consequences.

“She ran herself to death,” said University of Arizona women’s

cross country coach James Li, who helped supervise the former Sailor

standout’s slow recovery from a navicular stress fracture. The injury

not only sidelined her for her first two college cross country

seasons, but, per doctors’ orders, kept her off left foot for six

months.

“It was a crack in the bone above the arch,” Steen said. “To this

day, I don’t know when exactly I got hurt, but by the [track and

field] state meet my senior year, it was pretty much gone.”

Gone also was her ability to run and, subsequently, a fitness

level she had spent a brilliant prep career honing to an elite level.

Two pins were surgically implanted to hold the bone together and

months of recovery and therapy followed.

“I had to learn how to walk again,” she recalled.

For one most comfortable in a loping stride, baby steps were

indeed a cruel reality.

But Steen, recognized as much by those who know her for her

beaming smile and friendly personality as her competitive tenacity

and talent, never doubted she would, one day, resume pursuit of her

athletic dream.

“Everything I’ve done has been a stepping stone to reaching my

goal of being in the Olympics,” she said.

Steps soon led to a jog, then a slow progression toward the times

she expected for herself as a Wildcat.

“I still don’t think my calf muscles are where they were, but I

haven’t felt any pain in my foot for a full year,” she said. “I just

tested my VO2 max (a measure of cardiovascular fitness) and it’s

about where it was in high school.”

Steen also found encouragement from the source that has always

mattered most: the competition.

She finished 34th at the NCAA West regional Nov. 13, helping the

Wildcats finish seventh among 28 teams.

“It was a breakthrough race for her,” Li said. “I think it’s a

really good sign of good things to come from her in the future.”

Steen agreed.

“I can’t wait for track,” she said. “Last year, I ran 4:34 [in her

featured event, the 1,500 meters] without training. I’m really

looking forward to seeing what I can do with training.”

Steen said elite middle-distance runners usually run between 50

and 60 miles per week. After running about 20-25 miles a week last

spring, she is now up to around 40-45.

Steen’s willingness to go the extra mile, however, is something

that actually concerns Li.

“She’s still very competitive and she likes to be the one in

charge,” Li said. “But that can be a double-edged sword. Sometimes,

you need to know when to back off [in training].”

Li forced Steen to rest at least two or three days per week during

the recently concluded cross country season, and he’ll insist on a

cautious approach to her training in the immediate future.

“She has continued to get better,” Li said. “She’s more of a track

runner, anyway, so I think she’s capable of doing a lot more [in the

upcoming track season] since she now has a base [a foundation of

fitness established by months of training].”

Steen is on schedule to earn her secondary teaching degree in

August, but is planning to pursue a master’s degree while finishing

up her athletic eligibility.

“I still have two cross country, two indoor track and three

outdoor track seasons left,” she said.