Pain is often associated with running. Not many people voluntarily put themselves through grueling races and head-spinning workouts, but senior cross-country runner Leanne Fogg has overcome much more than a tough race.
“I believe I can put myself through more pain than anyone else,” Fogg said. “I’m willing to hurt more than anyone else standing next to me on the line.”
Her sophomore year of high school, Fogg was a top runner for Maria Carillo High School’s cross country and track teams in Santa Rosa, Calif. By the beginning of track season in the spring, Fogg noticed a significant difference in her ability to run at a high level.
She would get winded going up a flight of stairs, she had a rapid heart rate, her fingernails began to fall off and her hair fell out with increasing frequency.
The initial diagnosis was a possible collapsed lung; she was also given an inhaler for asthma and medication for heart problems.
After two months, Fogg was finally diagnosed with Graves’ Disease, an autoimmune disorder marked by an overactive thyroid, resulting in excessive amounts of thyroid hormone. She took a radioactive iodine pill, which harmed her thyroid, and now she manages her condition by taking a daily supplement.
In 2006, at the end of her junior year of high school, Fogg’s life took another turn for the worse. Her only sibling Garrett Fogg was unexpectedly hospitalized after complaining of headaches that May. Following several misdiagnoses, his condition dramatically worsened over a short stretch of time, and he died of bacterial meningitis that July at the age of 15.
Fogg said following her brother’s death, running became a form of therapy for her.
“When (Garrett) was in the hospital, running became this therapeutic outlet for me, where I could just go and let out all my frustrations and sorrow and whatever else on a run,” Fogg said.
She said thinking of the tribulations she’s gone through adds fuel to the proverbial fire. She uses it as motivation on race day.
Fogg credits her family in helping her cope with the pressures of being an athlete, and said they have helped her persevere through the tough times she’s faced.
“My parents tried to keep me focused on running and school because it was near the end of the school year,” Fogg said. “They didn’t want me to worry about all the stuff they were going through. They kind of cleaned (Garrett’s situation) up for me when I would ask. It helps to have them there because they can relate to some of the struggles I’ve been through.”
Fogg is known to be a quiet leader — perhaps a testament to the adversity she was, and still is, forced to overcome throughout her career as a competitive runner, head coach Mark Conover said.
“Leanne is somebody who came in five years ago and epitomized the qualities of what sport, life and development in college are all about,” Conover said. “She has overcome hurdles and obstacles, and she has made a nice leap forward with her running in the last few years. She has done it all through perseverance and remained even-keeled.”
Her father, Greg, is currently the head coach of Maria Carillo High School’s cross country and track teams. He also co-owns a running store in Santa Rosa, Calif., with Fogg’s high school running coach and has set up a scholarship in her brother’s name — The Garrett Fogg Memorial Scholarship Fund.
Fogg’s career in high school was plagued by her diagnosis of a rare disease and her brother’s death, and her collegiate running career hasn’t gone without strife.
Fogg redshirted her junior year of cross country due to the onset of both mononucleosis and streptococcal pharyngitis — strep throat — during the season. She also suffered a leg injury on the final lap of the 3,000 meter steeplechase during the 2011 Big West Conference Track and Field Championships.
Her senior cross country season has been quite different. Fogg placed in the top 10 of every meet she’s participated in, highlighted by a third place finish at the Big West Conference championships on Saturday where she covered the six-kilometer course in 20:41.
Fogg’s running has dramatically improved over the course of her five years at Cal Poly, Conover said.
“She’s somebody who had some issues coming in related to her health,” Conover said. “Over time, everything just started to click for her. She’s become a team leader this year in cross country, and she has set a fine example of someone who is focused and disciplined in all areas of their life.”
In 2011, Fogg broke the Cal Poly school record in the 3,000 meter steeplechase,
a long distance event which requires jumping over steeples, hurdles and water obstacles, en route to a Big West Conference individual championship. She also captured first in the 1,500 meters in the same meet.
Fellow senior and teammate Courtney Kostrikin echoed Conover’s thoughts about Fogg’s ability to rally the team.
“Leanne is very quiet, she leads by example,” Kostrikin said. “She’s very talented, she channels her positive energy into the rest of the team and instills teamwork into the team.”
Fogg told a story of how she narrowly escaped getting her foot torn off by a lawnmower in fourth grade. She mentioned how this pales in comparison to the other adversity she has faced, but that it leaves her appreciative of the little things in life.
“I’m thankful everyday for being healthy and being able to run,” she said. “All that has happened wakens me up to the reality of life. To know that there are greater hardships and struggles outside of running humbles me.”