Last chance for gold

DES MOINES - A 9-year-old Ashley Miller made short work of the distance. One-mile fun run. Mile-wide competitive streak.

“I was beating all the 14-year-olds and it was kind of a shock to me,” said the decorated former Tipton star turned Nebraska standout, who competes in her last Drake Relays this weekend. “And I think I kind of shocked everybody else. I was just out there running as fast as I could. Everybody probably thought I was going to die, but I guess I never did.”

No kidding.

Now a senior Cornhusker, Miller won a peerless 15 state track and field titles. She churned up three golds in the 800 meters at the Drake Relays in high school but seeks her first first-place effort as a collegian.

Miller's entered in three university division events: Friday's 3,200-meter relay and distance medley, and Saturday's 1,500-meter run.

“She's kind of flying in under the radar,” said Ashley's father, Darren.

Not that she hasn't made a name for herself - home and away. Miller finished fourth in last weekend's elite 1,500-meter run at the Mt. SAC Relays. She may have climbed higher if not for a late-race mishap.

“I was really moving up with 500 to go, and right as I was starting to make the move some girl comes back and clips my foot,” Miller said. “She falls down and I almost fall down and people are avoiding her. So it cost me a few seconds, I think, but it was still fourth and a personal best (4:14.53), so I was really happy with it. But my goals are to run faster, too.”

Miller's goal growing up centered on winning, but flowered in a variety of venues. Her love - and acumen - of all sports led to a well-rounded competitive education. The now well-established trend toward specialization was one she and her family consciously bucked.

“You can almost pick out those kids - it seems like their parents have almost chosen their path for them and they're kind of almost living through their kids,” said Ashley's mother, Ann. “Darren and I have never felt that we needed to do that. We've always let our kids do their own thing, live their life, and we've just supported them.”

Ashley appreciated the process of self-discovery. Largely unscripted. Wholly fulfilling.

“By my junior-senior years (in high school) I knew I wanted to run in college,” she said. “But I really didn't want to stop my other sports, because I loved them so much in different ways. I miss the other sports sometimes and I want to go play them. I still shoot around sometimes, play catch sometimes.”

Nothing serious, though. Those are hobbies now.

“You go through a process of maturation,” said Miller, recently named Nebraska's female athlete of the year. “The more you immerse yourself in the sport the more you're going to learn. Now I am a full-time student-athlete, so it's almost like a job to me. I learn all the little things that make me a better runner and I feel like I'm a lot more serious about it now.”

That means eating clean, sleeping soundly and striding fast, strong and smart. No limits, full tank.

“I still love running,” Miller said. “I'm not burned out by it and I don't think I ever will be.”

Same goes for the Relays - for Miller and, she hopes, a lot of current 9-year-olds.

“Maybe there's some little girl out in the crowd that was like me when I was a little girl,” she said. “(Someone) who wants to be a runner - a successful runner. It would mean a lot if I inspired her in some way.”