When Kristina Miner returned to the track team last winter, less than a year after she was severely injured in a car accident, her return itself was considered a major victory. But even as people congratulated her on her return to competitive racing, the Trinity senior knew she had a long way to go.
What Miner wanted was to return to the form that had made her an All-American in indoor track and an All-NESCAC selection in cross country. And if her performance in Saturday's Trinity Invitational is any indication, she may be ready to race at that level again.
Competing in her first cross country event since a near-fatal accident broke both her legs and left doubt that she would ever race again, Miner finished second at the Bantams' host event. Her time of 16:37, just six seconds behind the leader, Tufts senior Katy O'Brien, keyed Trinity's second-place showing in its first race of the season.
"Kristina is a miracle," Trinity coach George Suitor said. "Her injuries were really, really serious. Who knows if she'll ever be as good as she was before, but if anybody can do it, it'll be her."
It has been a long road back for the Bantams' tri-captain, whose burgeoning running career was derailed when she was hit by a car while jogging near her Suffield, Conn. home on Dec. 22, 2005. The accident left her with two broken legs, a broken collarbone, facial fractures, and a traumatic head injury. Whether she would ever suit up again for Trinity was uncertain, but was the least of the immediate concerns with such serious injuries.
But from the beginning of her recovery, Miner was committed not only to rejoining the Bantams' cross country and track teams, but also to regaining her status as one of the NESCAC's top runners.
"Some doctors didn't think that I'd go back to running, but they started to learn my personality and how much it meant to me," Miner said. "I was annoying the doctors enough with my questions and insistence that they let me start lifting in the rehab hospital. I was in a wheelchair, so I could only use a Bowflex. But I did that kind of training, and by March [2006] they let me jog 10 minutes a few times a week."
It wouldn't be the only time Miner would convince doctors to expedite her recovery process. Though her surgeon wanted to wait until the first week of May 2006 before clearing her to run independently, Miner persuaded him to push the date up a week to coincide with her 21st birthday.
"She's a stubborn person," Suitor said. "She wants to be as good as she can be. That's just her make-up; that's her nature. She was very determined and she just kept on working."
Despite her rapid progress, Miner faced many hurdles while attempting to return to running. The initial stages of her rehabilitation were particularly painful as she tried to regain strength in her shattered legs.
"I'll never forget how badly it hurt the very first time they put me on the treadmill for 10 minutes," Miner said. "I think they stopped it after four minutes because I was compensating too much."
But worse than Miner's physical pain was her frustration at being unable to perform at her pre-accident level. Competing in the Yale Relays on Dec. 9, her first indoor race since being injured, she posted a time of 2:27.67 in the 800-meter run, slower than even her high school times. An 11th-place finish in the same event at the Feb. 3 Tufts Stampede forced Miner to consider ending her comeback bid, but a conversation she had with then-Jumbo tri-captain Sarah Crispin convinced her to persevere.
"After the Tufts Invite, I was really upset with my 800-meter time, and Sarah Crispin could tell that," Miner said. "I was frustrated and I talked to her, and that helped me put my mind back on track and knock the quitting stuff out. She told me about how my story inspired her and other people as well. It was really encouraging."
The Bantams are certainly glad Miner persisted through the disappointments of the winter and spring seasons. Saturday's outcome was an encouraging sign that she is ready to help Trinity compete in the cutthroat NESCAC this season.
"That's the longest race I've run since the accident," Miner said. "It's encouraging to know my physical fitness level was a little bit better than I expected. It's nice to know that my legs could handle it."
