Cinderella Story; kid out of nowhere.
When Jess Kaiser slipped on the running shoes, they fit perfectly.
The Cochrane resident is off to the World Mountain Running championships starting Sept. 14 in Pisa, Italy.
Coached by St. Timothy High school cross-country coach and accomplished mountain-runner Travis Cummings, the 27-year-old intensive-care-unit nurse has gone from zero to world-championship appearance in 18 months.
She’s a natural.
Kaiser qualified June 29 at the Canadian Trail and Mountain Running Association national meet at Kicking Horse in Golden, B.C.
“I didn’t out-rightly qualify at Kicking Horse,” Kaiser admitted. “What happened is a couple of girls declined their (world) spots. Then I was contacted and asked if I would step in.”
She finished the eight-kilometre climb, with an average 10-per-cent grade, in one hour, five minutes, 59 seconds. The seventh-place national showing was enough to earn an alternate spot that paid off when higher Canadian qualifiers booked out of worlds. The elevation gain on the Kicking Horse course was 1,000 metres vertical.
“I had a great race. I was really happy how nationals at Kicking Horse went,” Kaiser related. “It was a super-tough course. All the girls who beat me have raced at national and world championships before.
Lucky me, I’m alternate and get to go.”
She’s one of four Canadians headed for Italy next month.
“Never been to Italy. I’ve no idea what to expect,” she admitted. “It’s very overwhelming. I’m not sure I’ve quite wrapped my head around it yet.”
So it’s shoes to the trail in preparation to race against the world’s top mountain-racing women.
“I’ve talked to Travis and he says we should keep doing what we’ve been doing,” she said of her training ahead of worlds. “This summer while on vacation, I just bumped up my mileage and did a lot of speed work and got off the mountain for a bit. I have a little bit of speed now. So maybe I have strength and speed for when I get there.”
And when she gets there?
“I feel like I’m going to give it all I’ve got and see what happens.”
She leaves Sept. 9.
