Don Aaberg ’66 once held the record at Lewis & Clark for the fastest 1500 meter run since 1966. That changed in May of 2021 when Frankie Reid ’24 broke the 54-year long record with a time of three minutes and 48 seconds at the National Collegiate Athletic Association qualifier event hosted at George Fox University.
Reid has been running since he was in elementary school.
“My dad was a runner, and my brother’s a runner, so they influenced me,” Reid said. “My mom and my dad run every morning. I used to just ride my bike with them every morning, and then as I started getting older, I was like, ‘Oh, I think I could start running with them.’”
This was the start of the journey that led Reid to third in the nation for the 1500 meter run. Reid followed these bike rides by joining his middle school cross country team.
“The 1500 was really new to me … I think this year is the first time I’ve ever even raced (it)” Reid said.
Previously, in high school, Reid raced the 2-mile run, which is roughly 3200 meters. While they are both classified as distance races, the difference between eight and roughly four laps around a track is massive.
“I’d say there’s more strategy involved in the 1500,” Reid said. “Your placement and who you’re running behind needs to be more organized.”
Along with the record-breaking and national ranking Reid, to his own surprise, was recognized as the West Region Track Athlete of the Year from the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.
“All of a sudden, everything was thrown at me,” Reid said. “It was kind of a blur. In February, when we got back to campus and started training. That wasn’t even looked at as a goal that was feasible at that point. So yeah, it was a huge honor and I was honestly more surprised than anything.”
Reid runs 70 miles a week on average and lifts for one hour a week. In addition to his training, he also participates in ice baths, stretching and Saturday races. To navigate the time commitments of sports and academics Reid stresses the importance of sleep. When the workload of both pile up to the point where he has to stay up late to complete them, he finds solace in naps.
Reid has also managed to start a podcast over quarantine with some friends back home in Palos Verdes Estates, California. The podcast, “Zoom Sports Talk,” is available on Spotify.
“We sit and talk about sports anyway,” Reid said. “So we’re just like, why don’t we record it and start posting it. We’ve done 12 episodes so far.”
Reid describes his personal goal to run his best is going to naturally blossom from his team’s goal.
“For this season, the goal is to, as a team, win the conference… and get to the national championship,” Reid said.
The LC Cross Country team will be competing against Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma Washington on Saturday Sept. 18.
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