Local distance runner Addi Zerrenner has always had that drive to succeed.
At Dos Pueblos, she twice advanced to the CIF State Track & Field Championships in the 3200 and placed third in her senior year.
She ran four years at the University of Arizona and continually improved her times in the 5,000 and 10,000 meters.
But all along she really wanted to be a marathoner.
Last Saturday, she officially became one.
Zerrenner, 23, made her debut at Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth, Minn., and completed the 26.2 miles in 2 hours, 37 minutes, 51 seconds. The time met the qualifying standard (2:45) for the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. It also was the ninth fastest time in the women’s field finisher and the 145th overall.
But more than anything else, the race established her as a marathoner.
“It’s been a long time coming,” she said. “I always wanted to be a marathoner since high school.”
She used to tell people she was a marathoner and the first thing she’d be asked was what was her best time. Sheepishly, she’d reply, “Well, I’ve never run one.”
That all changed when she crossed the finish line at Grandma’s.
“It was like the day was finally here. I’m finally the person who I always thought of myself as.” she said.
Zerrenner expected to run close to 2:45, “but I was also going into the race with no expectations because I heard so much about the marathon and that you can never underestimate it. I went through every different type of emotion in the race.”
Her coach, Terry Howell of Santa Barbara, saw Zerrenner’s potential as a marathon runner.
“I definitely saw her potential fairly quickly, not only her physical potential but her mental toughness. Addi is super focused and when she gets locked in on a task or goal she just gets it done,” he said.
“The plan all along was to move her up to the marathon distance,” he said of her training. “But I thought it might take us 12-18 months of training before we even thought about running one. Her training, however, accelerated fairly quickly and she responded well to the added distance and harder training sessions.”
He credits local runners like Ramon “Curly” Guillen (also a U.S. Olympics Marathon Trials qualifier) “and several other speedy ladies in town” in helping her get ready for her first marathon.
Those speedy women include world-class trail runner Dani Moreno and marathoners Mattie Webb and Jill Deering.
“As a group, they are able to push and pull each other to better performances in both training and racing,” said Howell.
Zerrenner added that Brendan Morrow-Jones, her boyfriend, is also part of the training group and has helped her immensely.
The training helped her run a 1:14.17 half marathon earlier in the year.
At that point, “I knew she was going to be ready to run a marathon much sooner than expected,” said Howell, who originally entered her in the half marathon at Grandma’s.
“Addi and I met about two months ago at a local coffee shop and she asked if it might be possible for her to switch to the full marathon distance at Grandma’s. I said yes, and then we set about getting her ready.
“To be honest, Saturday’s race was not as fast as she could have gone. We had a plan going into the race to run at a pace that would be fast but also comfortable for her. We wanted to make sure she had a great experience.”
The conditions were ideal in Duluth. It was 50 degrees on race day.
“The course runs along Lake Superior basically the whole time,” Zerrenner said. “So I kind of imagined I was running along the coast of Santa Barbara . It was awesome.”
There was an added significance to Zerrenner’s first marathon. She used the race to raise money for cancer research following the passing of American professional middle-distance runner Gabe Grunewald after a decade-long battle with cancer. She was 32.
“I really want to get the message out about Gabe Grunewald,” she said. “I was sitting one night and was really emotional about it. She’s been one of my inspirations and I just thought, my mom is a cancer survivor.”
She said Chip Gaines of the TV show “Fixer Uppers” raised money in her honor through Saint Jude’s Hospital, “so I took that same platform and did a “gofundme” account for Facebook and Instagram.”
The money raised went to Saint Jude’s Hospital for cancer research.
“I thought about her every mile of that 26.2,” Zerrenner said Grunewald. “She’s a huge inspiration to me and the whole running community.”
Zerrenner is giving back to her community as a fitness trainer and running coach. She calls her business “A to Z Training.”
“I took my initials — and I went to Arizona — and put my little spin on it,” she said.
Zerrenner doesn’t have any races lined up. She is planning to run in the Semana Nautica Fourth of July 15k trail run at Elings Park.
— Noozhawk Sports Editor Barry Punzal can be reached at bpunzal@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with