Corey Conner | Class of 2013 | Women's Track & Field/Cross Country

• First University of Maine women's track athlete to compete in seven NCAA Championship events
• Won 10 America East Conference titles in her career.
• Holds four outdoor and three indoor track records at Maine from the 1500-meter run to the 10,000 meter run.
• Two-time Penn Relays 5000m champion

Corey Conner didn't imagine herself as a distance runner at first. At her high school in Massachusetts she competed in other sports. Corey's older sister, Allie, was a runner and Corey found herself paying more attention to her.

"Allie inspired me," says Conner. Her sister's work ethic and competiveness set an example. When Allie Conner enrolled at Maine and competed in cross country and track, Corey soon followed. Relatively new to competitive running, at first Corey stuck to shorter distances. The mile and 1500 meters were good events for her. By Corey's junior year, her confidence caught up with the abilities honed by her work ethic. She trained for longer races.

"It was a metamorphosis," says Mark Lech, the longtime cross country and track coach. He believes Corey Conner may be the finest female runner he's coached at Maine in his nearly 20 years on campus. Conner had a quiet, but determined personality. She was nicknamed "The Metronome" for the pace she set and very rarely deviated from.

Conner always seemed to be prepared and looked after the details, large or small. Tricia Lech sometime drove Conner to national meets held in New York, for instance, while her husband Mark coached the track team elsewhere. As they approached New York City, Tricia Lech wondered where they would stop and eat. She didn't know Conner had prepared sandwiches before their trip.

Conner will admit that early in her college career, representing a small Division I school at national events might have been a little daunting. She turned that into her challenge. Throw in the relative isolation of Orono and the long, sometimes harsh winters for a distance runner needing to run the plowed roads outside – it was a transition Conner had to make.

"All the things that made competing at UMaine challenging ended up making me into this strong, hardworking athlete that was super adaptable," says Conner. "I wasn't coddled and I was treated like a normal person, not some celebrity college athlete.

"Orono is very isolating and if you don't have a great support system there or solid friendships with teammates or peers it can be a super lonely place. Mentally you have to stay really positive and just see the winters through because the summers there definitely make up for it."

Like many elite athletes, Conner didn't need the material rewards of trophies and awards or mementos. She values memories of her teammates more. Although Conner walked away after graduation with her degree in nursing; summa cum laude, in fact.

Running is perceived to be an individual sport but Conner's fondest memory is about her outdoor team and their goal, one year, to win the America East Conference championship. The sprinters, distance runners, hurdlers, jumpers, and throwers got together before the competition started.

"Collectively we believed in ourselves enough to try and get the conference team title, something that for years had been well out of reach," says Conner. "Each of us doubled, even tripled in events to try to do everything we could to get as many team points as possible.

"Everyone was cheering (teammates) on during every race in a way we had never done before. It was this amazing, hyped-up collective atmosphere that led to everyone producing fantastic performances."

Maine finished second in the team scoring but the impact of that meet has not left Conner. It was an example of what a unified, supportive group of teammates could accomplish even if they fell just short of the goal.

"It's pretty easy for me to say that (personal) goals and expectations were exceeded during my time at UMaine," says Conner. "I ended up doing things athletically I never thought was possible. I ran times I didn't know I was capable of running, achieved things I'd only dreamed of.

"I had an exceptional experience and I'm so thankful for that."

Today, Conner still runs, although she is quick to say running does not define who she is. She is a mountain/ultra/trail runner sponsored by Nike. This summer she competed with the US women's team in the 2019 Trail World Championships in Portugal.

"I had an amazing time out there but the course was the most challenging I've ever seen. European (trail) racing is a whole different ballgame!"

Now living in Colorado, Conner has started a company called OUTrun, which "promotes inclusivity and diversity in running communities. My life is filled with traveling, adventuring and connecting with people. I love everything about it."

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The University of Maine Sports Hall of Fame will induct an eight member class this fall on Friday, Sept. 13 at 5:30 p.m. at an induction dinner and ceremony held at Jeff's Catering in Brewer, Maine. To register for the 2019 UMaine Sports Hall of Fame ceremony, please click HERE. For more information, please contact Aysha Vear at 207.581.1146 or by email at aysha.vear@maine.edu