Track and field is a demanding sport and a daily grind, but the athletes that can conceal the pain and run through discomfort always prosper. In a sport where perseverance through pain is placed at a premium, the fastest runners are generally the smoothest.

It’s hard to imagine that senior Monica Kinney’s career as a member of the Grand Valley State University track and field team could have possibly gotten off to a smoother start.

As a freshman, Kinney took first in both the 800-meter and distance medley relay GLIAC finals, and finished third at the indoor nationals with a time of 4 minutes, 48.98 seconds in the mile. She followed that up with a GLIAC indoor championship in the mile (4:57.30) and DMR in her sophomore season.

Not to be outdone, Kinney’s junior indoor season was one for the ages. She finished 2011 with seven first place finishes, won two individual national titles at the Division II Indoor Championships, finishing first in both the mile (4:44.41) and 5,000-meter (16.26.02) distances and was a named a three-event All-American.

Her outdoor track resume through three seasons is equally impressive and her value to the program cannot be understated. In 2011, the GVSU women became the first program to sweep the national championship circuit with titles in cross-country, indoor track and outdoor track in a calendar year and Kinney’s contributions were integral to accomplishing the feat. Along the way, she broke two school records, the mile (4.43.24) and 3,000-meter run (9.22.75), records she still holds today.

Kinney made it all look effortless, but in what was to be her senior season, the daily grind finally got the better of her. A nagging right knee injury endured during cross-country developed into stress fractures, forcing her to declare a medical redshirt. For Kinney, it was time to demonstrate her capability to persist. Earlier this season, she re-aggravated the same knee with a fresh bout of stress reactions. However, Kinney was determined to stick around to finish.

“She’s very stubborn,” said GVSU head coach Jerry Baltes. “She’s stubborn when the gun goes off and she’s going to give it her all to compete to the best of her ability.”

It took almost a month without running, and a steady regiment of cross-training which included cycling, jaunts on an anti-gravity treadmill and regular pool sessions with older sister Erin, a former distance swimmer with the GVSU swim and dive program. Kinney, a former high school swimmer herself, never wavered in her commitment to the training, even when forced to pursue unconventional methods that required great amounts of self-discipline.

“She’s really driven, really motivated and she’s able to cross-train at a really high level,” said GVSU distance coach Nick Polk. “She’s able to do stuff on her own on a really high level without coaches having to be there to push her to do it. That’s the drive that made her good. That’s what makes good at getting back to being healthy.”

In her first meet back this year, the GVSU Tune Up, Kinney was slated to run in what had become her signature event, the mile, and wasn’t sure what to expect.

“Oh my gosh, I was nervous,” she said. “I had only run like 15 minutes for the past five days. I was in tears on the line and was like, ‘I don’t know if I’m going to finish.’”

Not only did Kinney finish, she finished with a vengeance, taking second place in the event. With her provisional qualifying mark secure, the Lakers took home their 14th consecutive GLIAC Championship and Kinney nabbed an individual GLIAC title in the mile (4.55.08).

Kinney, a nursing major, wouldn’t mind hanging around the program as a graduate assistant to continue recouping lost time. The next stop along Kinney’s road to recovery will be Birmingham, Ala. for the Division II Indoor National Meet. A meet that will provide Kinney one more chance to do what she does best – continue to run.

“I’m just happy for her and happy for the team and I’m excited to see what she can hopefully do the next two weeks,” Baltes said. “I’m not surprised. She’s talented, she works hard and does the right things. I’m not going to put any pressure on her and say she’s got to do one thing or another. Just get in there and compete, make the finals and see what she can do. If we can have another ten days of good training, I think she can drop some more time and score well at the national meet.”
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