District champion of the 3200- and 1600-meter races. Conference-record holder in the 3200 meters. A fifth-place finisher at the State Cross Country Championships. These are just a few of the ways to describe senior Elise Marker. The 18-year-old runs for Villa Duchesne throughout the year, cross country in the fall and track in the spring.
Marker has been running since third grade, when she got involved with the Girls on the Run program. “I’ve loved it ever since,” she says. “The great thing about running a race is that you can test yourself. You learn how tough you are, how strong and fast you are capable of being every race. The best races are the ones when you’re better than you thought you were.”
This competitive spirit makes Marker strive for excellence. “I want my team to win our district and come home with a trophy at state this year,” she says. “And I really want to be an All-State runner, which means I would finish in the top 25 individually at the state meet.”
She stresses the importance of positivity. “One of the best days I had was during state my sophomore year,” she recalls. “I had taken five weeks off mid-season due to a stress fracture, so I had missed a lot of training. I didn’t feel the best, but at mile two, my coach told me to pull through for my team. We brought home the first state trophy the school had gotten in 10 years. I barely remember the race, but I remember hugging my teammates at the end, feeling so accomplished.”
It is moments like these that make Marker want to continue running competitively in college. “It’s been such an amazing part of my life these past four years,” she says. “I can’t imagine not having the community of a team.”