May 31, 2001

Darnell Dickson
The Provo Daily Herald

PROVO, Utah - BYU track star Elizabeth Jackson almost became a ballerina.

Instead, she's the best female steeplechase runner in the country.

Go figure.

Jackson is the U.S. recordholder in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, a mark (9:55.63) she set at the Mountain West Conference meet in Colorado Springs, Colo., last week.

BYU women's track coach Patrick Shane looks for specific attributes in his steeplechasers, and Jackson fits the bill perfectly.

"Not everybody that's a good distance runner is good in the steeplechase," Shane said. "We have to determine if they have good motor skills and coordination. Those girls that were in ballet, soccer, basketball or dance as a youngster can be good steeplechase runners, almost without exception."

"At one time, Elizabeth's parents were considering sending her to San Francisco to a private school to study ballet."

About that same time, Jackson was encouraged by a friend to try out for the East High track team. After her junior year, Jackson attended a cross country camp at BYU and approached Shane.

"She asked me what she had to do to get a scholarship to run for BYU," Shane recalled. "She wasn't running even close to good enough É she was miles away. But I told her if she worked hard she could probably walk on and run somewhere."

A year later, Shane was in the Jackson home, offering Elizabeth a scholarship.

As a senior at East, Jackson won the state cross country championship in the fall and was a dual winner (800 meters, 1500 meters) in the spring.

Jackson has been a key performer on the BYU cross country team, helping the Cougars to two national championships in the past three years. In fact, Jackson is the only athlete in BYU cross country history to earn four All-American honors.

Jackson began running the steeplechase during her freshman year.

"I thought it would be more interesting than just running around in circles," she said. Shane noticed right away that Jackson had the makeup to be a great steeplechaser.

"To be good in the steeplechase, you have to have no fear," Shane said. "Some athletes, especially girls, have great anxiety when they have to run and jump over something.

"Then you look at her flexibility, especially in the hamstring and the outer hip. Finally, you have to have a little grit and be willing to take a risk."

Running 3,000 meters (seven laps) is difficult enough. Now throw in 35 barriers, including seven water jumps, 30 inches high.

"And remember, these are barriers, not hurdles," Shane said. "You hit a hurdle and it falls down. You hit a barrier, and you fall down."

The technique of the race is unlike any other long-distance race, especially on the water barrier. Runners must actually step on the barrier and leap into the 12-foot long pit of water, preferably with one foot landing in the water and the other on the track.

"It's actually a beautiful event," Shane said. "Photographers all line up to shoot it."

Jackson compares the steeplechase to running a much longer race.

"The first few laps your form is great and your legs feel good," Jackson said. "But then your legs start feeling heavy a lot sooner than in a regular 3,000 meters. It's really comparable to the 10K in the toll it takes on your body. You have to accelerate through the jumps or you waste even more energy."

Jackson is running the steeplechase at the NCAA meet in Eugene, Ore., this week. BYU teammates Courtney Meldrum, Nan Evans, Tara Haynes and Katie Marin are also there. It's the first year that the steeplechase will be a scoring event in a national meet.

"It's all about how it goes on that day," Jackson said. "You just have to keep your concentration throughout the whole race. There are three or four girls that can win it."

Jackson and her teammates signed a contract with Shane to prepare themselves the right way for the national meet.

"I have to make sure my iron is up and that I'm not dehydrated," Jackson said. "And it's important to get my sleep."

Jackson's steeplechase days are really just beginning. She'll run in the U.S. Championships two weeks after the NCAA meet. After her eligibility is up at BYU, Jackson plans on running professionally with an eye toward the 2004 Olympics.

"The women's steeplechase will be competed at the 2003 World Championships," said Shane, who coached BYU men's steeplechase champions Henry Marsh and Gary Cramer. "The protocol is in place to have the steeplechase in the 2004 Olympics."

Jackson, who will run several races in Europe this summer, will probably never join the London Ballet Company.

Winning a national title, and then a gold medal in the steeplechase in the 2004 Olympics in Greece, may have to do.