Neely Spence has been a professional runner for less than a year, but she is quickly learning that to be successful you need to have the right support system.
Rest assured, her foundation is rock solid.
On November 10, the Shippensburg native and eight time NCAA Division II National Champion at Shippensburg University won the HCA Virginia 8K in Richmond in a course record 25 minutes, 22 seconds.
Except she didn’t brave it alone.
Taking in the moment for the first three miles of the race was Shippensburg University cross country coach Steve Spence, also her father and a former 1991 bronze medalist in the marathon World Championships.
“I have never raced this distance, so my goal was to realistically break 26,“ said Spence, whose father finished 23 seconds later in 25:45. “I am so proud of him [my father], and running has definitely created a special bond between us.”
It was a poignant moment in Spence’s early pro career, one which began in April when she forewent her spring track season with the Red Raiders and signed with Michigan-based Hanson-Brooks, a professional running group that has cultivated one of the top women’s marathoners in the nation, Desi Davila.
While her family remains close in many ways, the literal distance apart has been evident. A chance like this -- to run with her father and to see her mother and brother -- wasn’t going to be missed.
“It was the weekend between [NCAA] Regionals and [Division II] Cross Country Nationals, and thus, my dad was free,“ she added. “He ran an 8k cross country race three weeks prior in 26:50, so he felt 26-flat was realistic for him.”
“I called them up,“ she said, “and things worked out perfectly.”
Since August, when she made her official debut for Hanson-Brooks in the Falmouth 7-mile run in Massachusetts, her career has gone nowhere but up. Spence has been hard at work, traveling across the country, churning out impressive times and scoring significant results.
She finished in 11th at Falmouth in a crowded field, then followed with a runner-up performance a month later in the USA 5K Road Running Championships in Providence, R.I. She has since run in two more races, including Richmond’s record setting performance.
It’s all been a whirlwind few months for the 22-year-old, who was named USATF’s Athlete of the Week just four days after scoring the first big win of her pro career. Next week, she’ll travel to Japan with Team USA to take part in a road race.
All this action could ultimately take its toll, but Spence leans on her family to provide support. She talks to her mother every day, emails her father frequently, texts her siblings a few times a week and communicates with her fiancé in Shippensburg daily.
“They are a huge part of my life and my top support system even from afar,” she said.
In the end, this is where she envisioned herself when she signed with Hanson. The Michigan-based group was exactly the type of support system she needed.
“My teammates have so much to teach me about training, racing, and life,” she said. “Most of them are later in their 20s and early 30s, some own houses, some are married, some have kids.”
She has focused mostly on 5K and 10K races, though someday down the road, she says, she may run the marathon just like her father. That day isn’t here yet, but Spence is excited for the opportunity to continue to grow.
As she trains in and around Detroit, she logs 70 to 80 miles per week, with long runs reaching as high as 16.5 miles.
The urban setting is a stark change from central Pennsylvania, Spence says, where in a small town like Shippensburg, she said she knew “every road and never got lost.”
But in Michigan, it’s a bit different.
“There is rush hour traffic, tons of highways, and lots and lots of strangers,” Spence said. “The running community has been very welcoming, and in general, the people here are friendly, but it is tough being away from the comfort of home. Plus, I hate getting lost and it takes me forever to get anywhere here because I never can figure out where I am going.”
Fortunately enough, runners always find a way home. And in Spence’s case, there’s more than meets the eye with the urban sprawl of Detroit. Just a few miles outside the city lies beautiful running trails.
“The dirt roads that we have access to here are incredible,” she said. “We do 90 percent of our runs on dirt and trails and the options for loops seem endless.”
In some ways, it’s undeniably different. But in other ways, it reminds Spence that no matter how far she’s traveled, she’s still just a phone call away.
To a place called home.
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Cory Mull writes the Pennsylvania Running Blog for Pennlive.com.
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