Herrick takes break, inducted into high schools Wall of Fame

Published: May 28, 2013

By NICHOLAS DETTMANN
Daily News Sports Editor

Even an elite athlete needs a break from time-to-time. That's what West Bend's Megan Herrick, formerly Duwell, is doing.
Riddled with foot injury problems the past couple of years, Herrick is taking a break from competitive running as she recently had her sixth stress fracture, three on both feet.
"It was kind of the straw that broke my back," Herrick said.
Herrick, a 2005 West Bend West graduate, was in West Bend on Wednesday night as she was one of three former West Bend high schools student-atheltes to be inducted into the Wall of Fame. Joining her was Cathy (Johnson) Spies, Janet (Koenig) Montgomery and Carl Kuss.
"It means so much," Herrick said about the honor. "This is really where it all began; so to be able to come back my roots and see all the coaches and important people (in my life) and be able to thank you.
"It's really as much of an honor for me as it is for them."
At West, Herrick earned 12 varsity letters in cross-country, basketball and track and field. She was a four-time All-Conference performer and state qualifier. She was also a four-year starter in basketball, helping lead the Spartans to a conference championship in the 2004-05 season.
In track, Herrick won two state titles in the 800-meter run (2003 and 2004).
After a decorated career at the University of Minnesota, where she was a two-time Big Ten Conference champion and an All-American, Herrick turned pro, joining McMillian Elite, an Adidas Olympic-training team in Flagstaff, Ariz.
In 2011, she qualified for the North America Central America and Carribean Athletic Association Championship in Trinidad. There she won a silver medal and helped lead the United States to a gold medal.
Her training regiment had her running about 80-90 miles per week.
Foot injuries have always been around for Herrick, who in 2011 worked with a performance lab to try and correct her nagging foot problems. After those tests, she said she believed she was a different runner, a stronger one. But that was until those recurring foot injuries came back. So before the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials, she decided to put off her Olympic dream, get some rest and focus on the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro.
She was diagnosed with her latest stress fracture in October.
"I was doing everything in my power (to stay healthy) and nothing was working," Herrick said.
In the past couple of months, Herrick has gone through a lot of changes away from running as well.
She recently moved to Madison with her husband Paul and began to be more active with her profession, not running. She was also glad to move back closer to home after spending the past three years in Arizona.
"I kind of needed a change for a while," Herrick said. "It was just a smart move for now to kind of distance myself and take that mental break for a little bit."
Herrick works at CUNA Mutual Group in Madison, where she specializes in sourcing and vendor management.
"I'm advancing my business career which is great," Herrick said. "It's something I've always wanted to do, while in the meantime running is still a huge part of my life."
Herrick can't give up running. She won't give up running. She still dreams of competing in the Olympics, but 2016 may be her only shot, which is why it is so important to her that she's at full strength.
If she likes where her health and training is going by the end of 2014, she will go for the Olympics.
"Whatever happens will happen naturally," Herrick said.
"You never know what can happen," she added, still hopeful to make the Olympics. "I'm not closing out that opportunity. I'm keeping an open mind about it. If it happens, I'll ride that wave and go for it. If it's not there, I have my business career, my family."
And the way she plans to find out if she'll be ready to pursue the Olympics is she'll compete in local races as test runs. For now, she still runs about 40-50 miles per week, just to stay in shape.
"If my feet can stay healthy, that'll be a huge indicator," Herrick said.