Top Runner Out Of The Blocks After Illness
The Age
Thursday March 26, 1998
A month before last Christmas, Kate Anderson was in the form of her life - a 5000 metres finalist at the world championships, a runaway winner of the Australian cross-country title, course record at the Burnie 10 road race, more road race wins at Noosa and the Olympic Dream, a record leg in the Chiba Ekiden relay.
Within a few days of returning from Japan at the end of November, however, Anderson was flat on her back in hospital, bloated and feeling terrible, with tubes draining excess fluid out of her body.
Somehow, Anderson had picked up a severe kidney infection and was in considerable pain from nephritis, the resulting inflammation.
"It got pretty bad. I could barely walk," she said this week. "I couldn't get rid of any fluids. I put on 10 kilograms. I looked and felt like the Michelin Man."
Tests failed to uncover the cause of the infection. "It turned out to be non-specific," Anderson said.
Perhaps dehydration - sometimes a hazard with endurance athletes - was the cause, or perhaps horrible misfortune.
Whatever the reason, the impact was devastating. Anderson resumed light running in January, but her domestic track season was over before it began.
Now, she will resume competition in the Sussan Women's Classic on Sunday. Fittingly, one of the aims of the race, now in its 15th year, is to encourage participation by women in fun and fitness activities. It also has a long tradition of inviting Australia's best female runners.
Anderson said she will be in it strictly for the participation. "I haven't got any expectations," she said. She may be playing it a little low-key - reports are that she has run a lap of the 3.8-kilometre Tan track within about 20 seconds of her best - but the classic is an ideal vehicle for a comeback run.
She is still experiencing the aftershock of the illness. Now 24, Anderson has been winning for more than 10 years, setting a string of state age- group records at 800 metres. She has had her share of stress fractures, but this was different.
"With an injury, you feel fine once it's healed," Anderson said. "This knocked my body around. I would run and feel totally exhausted. The effort was killing me. I'm still at a stage where I'll have a couple of good days, and then a shocker."
Anderson hopes the Sussan race will be the first step back towards making the Commonwealth Games team later this year. Provided she has no further setbacks, her plan is to go to the United States for a period of altitude training, and then to Europe for competition before returning for the selection trials in Sydney at the beginning of August.
On Sunday, world triathlon champion Emma Carney is to make a rare race appearance in one of her sport's constituent disciplines. Carney is a former state champion over the 10-kilometre road distance.
Last year's winner, Elena Viazova of Ukraine, is back to defend her title and there will also be a strong challenge from Melody Fairchild of the US, who easily won the Auckland Sussan race last weekend. Liz Miller, who won last year's Sydney City-to-Surf, is also racing.
Anne Cross will be as hard to beat as anyone. Cross, who resumed racing this season after the birth of her second child, won the 5000 metres at the Australian championships two weeks ago, breaking the Commonwealth Games qualifying standard in a solo run, then ran a personal best for 1500 in Brisbane last weekend.
© 1998 The Age
