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Saints runner finds home in outdoor sports
The Advocate
In her middle and high school years, Amanda Faggard tried a variety of sports so she didn’t have to sit around doing nothing at home.
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“During seventh grade, I started to try out sports because I wanted to do something after school. I was tired of sitting at home. I am one of those people who likes to do things,” said Faggard, who this fall was the top runner on the MHCC women’s cross country team. She is also forecast to be one of the top runners on the MHCC track team in the spring.
Faggard, a sophomore, was born in Reno, Nev., and moved to Ocean Park Wash. “I grew up on the beach,” she said. “It would take three hours to get to the city in order to do something.”
At various times, according to Faggard, she tried surfing and basketball and volleyball. She tried out for the swimming team, made it and became the best swimmer in the team. Then she stopped swimming.
After a season in volleyball and basketball, Faggard said she got tired of being inside the gym. She said she needed an outdoor sport.
She first tried out for cross country at Molalla High School, after moving there her sophomore year of high school in 2003. Her coach at Molalla High Schoolpushed Faggard to challenge herself. She ran track and cross country for three years.
After graduating in 2005, Faggard got married, and then things started to change. She got divorced.
“It was a process I had to go through and I discovered myself. I was ready to continue to move and start all over and I am a big believer in the Lord. He guides me,” Faggard said.
Faggard later enrolled at MHCC and tried out for the cross country team. “Amanda has been tough and has worked hard ever since she introduced herself to me last winter,” said Head Coach Matt Hart.
“Amanda has run well all year, but to be good at competitive running you not only have to run well but you also have to be tough mentally,” Hart said. “You have to keep going even though you’re extremely fatigued and she has challenged herself in every meet she completed in.
“Amanda has been our number one woman all season long. We would not have been as successful as a team without her performing so well in our meets,” he said.
Faggard returned the compliment. “The coaches were just awesome. They did a great job and knew what they were doing and they also looked out for me and my teammates,” she said.
In the Southern Region championships Oct. 31 at Clackamas Community College, Faggard led the Saints to a second-place team finish. She finished in third place with a time of 19:44 over the five-kilometer course.
Two weeks later, Faggard again was the first MHCC finisher in the NWAACC championships in Battle Ground, Wash., placing tenth with a time of 19:42.
She said she could have done better but she took a wrong turn in the race. “I could have gotten at least seventh but I took a wrong turn on the course and couldn’t catch up to the girls who passed me,” she said after that meet.
Nevertheless, Faggard said, “I am very proud of myself, and just need to keep pushing myself a little more.”
Faggard said she loves to take walks in the forest and loves the beauty of nature. She said Portland has been an interesting place to live, there are lots of things to do downtown and there is “amazing” food.
One of Faggard’s favorite hobbies is listening to underground music and attending underground shows. “Underground music is really great and most people don’t know about the shows, unlike the overrated stuff,” she said.
With the cross country season complete, Faggard is making the transition to track. “I will miss my cross country girls and all the wonderful moments that we had together as a team,” she said, but she is already training for track. She said she is running at least 50 minutes a day and working out with weights in preparation for the track season.
Hart, who also coaches the track teams, said, “I am excited to see her compete this coming track season. She is more fit and mentally tough than ever and it will be fun to witness her get closer to her true potential.”
After MHCC, Faggard plans on transferring to a university and to major in environmental science. “I am very happy with myself in sports and in school. I am planning to do good in everyway I can,” she said.
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