Zeis making fast progress as a marathoner – Bismarck Tribune

Based on her career at the University of Mary, it’s not much of a surprise.

The 12-time All-American in cross country and track and field for the Marauders run in the U.S. Marathon Olympic Trials in Atlanta, Ga., on Feb. 29.

Zeis, a Bismarck High graduate, qualified for the trials at the Grandma’s Half Marathon in Duluth last June.

“It’s been a big challenge, but it’s been really fun to see what more I can do,” said Zeis, who lives and trains in Boulder, Colo. “It’s something I felt I could transition to fairly well. It’s been fun to learn new things and push myself to see what’s possible.”

Zeis moved to Boulder, one of the four hubs of marathon training in the U.S., in the fall of 2018. She runs with a team called the Roots Running Project under the direction of coach Dr. Richard Hansen.

“My coach learned from the best (Dr. Joe Vigil),” Zeis said. “I’m very fortunate to have great coaches and an amazing team to train with. In a lot of ways, it’s like what we had at the University of Mary.”

Zeis has made major headway in a short amount of time.

At the Grandma’s Marathon in June, she finished third overall in a time of 1:12.42, less than two seconds behind the race winner.

Fast forward to the Chevron Houston Marathon on Jan. 19 and Zeis ran a new PR of 1:11.31, ranking her 32nd out of 7,445 women and 152nd out of 13,433 total runners.

“That was a huge race just in terms of how many people were running,” Zeis said. “Normally, my time would have been in the top 5 for Americans, or right around there, but I ended up being 18th (among Americans). I was pretty happy with it.”

A normal week of training consists of between 70 to 75 miles, plus extensive cross training and aqua jogging. On Super Bowl Sunday, the Root Running Project squad turned in a 21-mile run, Zeis’ longest ever, along Magnolia Road, a renowned path for distance runners approximately 8,000 feet of elevation in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains.

“I always wanted to be closer to the mountains,” she said. “That’s kind of why I chose Boulder.”

To “help pay the bills” Zeis works for Boulder Parks and Recreation. Her work schedule jives nicely with her demanding training schedule. Zeis majored in athletic training at U-Mary.

“We practice in the mornings. … It’s been fun to get to know my teammates and hang out with them, and I have my dog,” Zeis said. “It’s nice to live in the mountains. There’s always something to do.”

Zeis will meet up with her family in Atlanta prior to the race. Only the top three finishers advance to Tokyo for the Summer Olympics July 24-Aug. 9. The race on Saturday will feature the 500 top marathoners in the country.

“The course is going to be one of the toughest set ups possible,” Zeis said. “It’s basically like three loops of 8K and another small hoop with a huge hill. It’s not flat at all. It’s going to be tough.”

Zeis said times are essentially irrelevant.

“The times are kind of thrown out,” she said. “I’m just going there to have fun and run as well as I can. I’ve never been to an Olympic Trial. I’m pretty excited to be in that atmosphere.”

No matter the result, Zeis knows she has plenty of backing.

“I just want to thank all the people in North Dakota that supported me when I was at the University of Mary and have continued to pay attention,” Zeis said. “To know you have that support back home is awesome.”