Carmen went to Roanoke College with the intention to play soccer as that was the sport she was recruited for but she eventually joined the track team after being asked by the coach. As a naturally talented athlete, Carmen was able to pick up new events quickly. While she was a pure track runner, her fall soccer conditioning helped her get into fitness for the track season. Slowly but surely, her coaches kept adding to her training and she found her specialty in the 800.

Carmen quickly rose to prominence at the national level in the 800. She qualified for the national championship in the 800 during her sophomore year. Unfortunately, she finished the dreaded 9th, which meant she was the first one out of the final. This proved to be her motivation as she never missed another 800m final after that.

In her senior year, she wanted to break school records and eventually tried the steeplechase. Her coach saw her natural ability shine through but was put on the back burner as the focus was still the 800.

After college, Carmen pursued running as she wanted to keep the dream alive. She was a quick success in both the 5,000 meters and steeplechase. She brought her 5,000 meter personal best down to 16:09 and her steeplechase personal best to 9:49.

Her love/hate relationship with running has taken her out and brought her back into the sport many times. When the pandemic hit, she decided to give running another shot. She ended up qualifying for the U.S. Olympic Trials this year. A similar story to college, she was the first one out of the final.

As she looks to the big meets in the future, Carmen has a great outlook on running and a nice shiny new personal best of 9:41 for the steeplechase.

Listen now: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

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