When Pepperdine Waves long-distance runner Lizzy Crawford races meter after meter, she thinks about more than herself. As she set the Pepperdine indoor track record in the women’s 5,000-meter dash and claimed a first-place finish on the first day of the University of Nevada’s Feb. 7-8 Wolf Pack Classic at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center, Crawford thought of the emergency personnel who battled blazes and helped residents impacted by the Palisades Fire, which tore through Pacific Palisades, Malibu, and surrounding beginning on Jan. 7 and burned for 24 days.
“What helps me get through the pain of racing is thinking about serving others through what I am doing,” she said. “It’s good to get a record, but for me it’s never been about glorifying myself. It’s always been about supporting a cause greater than me and encouraging others in the process.”
Crawford’s first-place time of 17 minutes and 25.81 seconds was also a record time in the 5,000 at the convention center. The 19-year-old sophomore and her Pepperdine teammates also had the wildfire’s victims and first responders on their minds at the beginning of the Waves’ two-month indoor track season. Members of the squad competed with red ribbons in their hair at the Jan. 17-18 UW Preview/Mile City at Washington-Dempsey Indoor in Seattle, Washington. Crawford, who also runs cross country, set a school record of 10:00.95 in the 3,000, which she finished 40th out of over 80 competitors. “I know I would not have been able to race that hard without all of them on my mind,” she said of everyone impacted by the fires and emergency workers. Crawford’s long-distance jaunts aren’t simply about crossing the finish line first.
“My faith is a very important part of my racing,” she explained. “I try to glorify God in my races and be there to do my absolute best for my team. If Jesus can die for me, then I can run a little bit faster for him.”
Crawford said her first-place finish in Nevada was a challenge because she didn’t have pacemaker — an experienced runner who sets pace for time and speed so a runner can focus on running — during the event. “It was mentally challenging to push through 25 laps all alone and to try and get the school record,” she said. “Luckily, I had goals, and I do a lot of training and workouts pacing myself. It felt really good to set a record in the 5,000. I’m grateful to all the people who helped me achieve it.” Crawford, a former youth soccer player, got her running start as a freshman at Horizon High School in Thornton, Colorado. Initially, she competed in cross country to stay in shape for soccer.
However, Crawford caught a runner’s high with the sport. She also thought she was a better distance athlete than a soccer player, so track and cross country became her sports focus in her 10th-grade year. She bounded blazing times. She was an all-conference runner in cross country, and her time of 18:04 in the 5K is the second-best time in Horizon High history. She is also on the all-time top 10 lists for the school in the 1,600 and 3,200. Crawford realized she could compete in college and reached out to Pepperdine head coach Lauren Floris and assistant coach Victor Pataky. After two visits to Pepperdine, Crawford committed to be a Wave. Her freshman year in cross country was standout.
Crawford jaunted the second-fastest 6K time in program history with a 20:52.2 at the Bronco Invitational. She was the top Waves’ runner in all five of the races she scampered in. “The funny thing about me is I’m never ever satisfied with my performances,” she said. “It’s not like I’m actually going to break a world record, but if I ever did break a world record in a race, I still would never be satisfied. I can run faster. It’s not about me being physically good at running. It is about the mental side. I have always had some type of mental connection of pushing myself really hard.”
