Ashley Shea is aiming for a great junior season with the 2023 War Hawks cross country team after overcoming a serious foot condition.

Unable to run at full strength for almost 10 months, Shea showed flashes of her potential in the spring when she set three personal records while competing in track.

Shea, a two-time high school state qualifier and three-time regional qualifier, arrived on campus in 2021 with high hopes of replicating her success on the college level.

She started on fire, finishing sixth in McMurry's first cross country meet of 2021 at LeTourneau. She had respectful finishes in the next three meets and an eighth-place finish in the American Southwest Conference Championship.
"My freshman cross country season was amazing," she said. "I was running good, and all my times were good."

In February 2022, she began experiencing sharp pain in her feet when she got out of bed and walked. She said her feet looked normal, but the bottom felt crunchy when rubbed. Although both feet had the same problem, one foot eventually became worse than the other.

Shea dismissed the pain as a usual problem runners must deal with.

"I just pushed it off," she said.

While the issue affected walking in general, it also affected her running during workouts. With track season approaching, she chose to remain tight-lipped "mostly because I was stubborn and didn't want to tell anybody."

As the 2022 track season progressed, she discovered her times to finish races were slower than she expected.

"That is when I noticed something was up," she said.

Going home for a break last summer, she went to her doctor who ordered an x-ray which didn't reveal anything. An MRI was also done and that led to the diagnosis of plantar fasciosis, which affects the heel and is common for runners.

Upon hearing the diagnosis, Shea realized that what she was coping with was different than the previous foot injury she had during her high school sophomore year.

The doctor told her she could still run but be careful. She needed to stop what she was doing if the foot consistently bothered her.

She said being barefoot really caused the condition to flare up. Upon waking, she would put on supportive shoes.

Returning to Abilene, she began a rigorous rehabilitation process that included a lot of physical therapy, heating the area three times a day and stretching the muscles.

"I realized my legs being loose really helped keep the pain off my foot," she said.

She rode a stationary bike starting in August 2022 and added running in October. Not wanting to push the envelope while she recovered, she competed in just two cross country meets plus the conference meet in 2022.

Head coach Rexi Parcells said she and Shea communicated a lot to ensure Shea worked hard but didn't overdo things.

"It was inspiring to see she can go into those races knowing she wouldn't be where she needed to be, but she still wanted to participate to be an active member of the team," Parcells said.

Parcells said Shea takes her training very seriously.

"As long as she's healthy, you know she's going to do what she needs to do to improve," Parcells said. "Even when she was hurt, she was so dedicated to the rehab."

"Sometimes when you're injured, you have the mindset that this is going to take a long time," Shea said. "It shuts you down from doing what you love."

She is glad she still had the drive in 2022.

"When you see your teammates competing, that motivates you to want to get back," she said.

By December 2022, the pain was almost gone from the foot most seriously affected by the condition, and she returned to training six days a week.

She was completely pain free in February 2023, a year after her problems started.

"It's one thing to be hurt for a couple of weeks, but to be out that many months and come back is hard to do," Parcells said. "It shows her dedication to the sport and the team."

Parcells said she, assistant coach Corey Koch and Shea were all rewarded last spring when Shea got personal-best times in every event she competed.

"That was kind of her light at the end of the tunnel to see all her hard work pay off," Parcells said.

"I definitely came back stronger," Shea said.

She helped the women's track and field team win the conference title by finishing fourth in the 10,000-meter run and seventh in the 5,000.

She said the lesson she learned from the comeback is "you have to be determined and driven to definitely want it."

Shea, a graduate of Smithson Valley High School in Spring Branch, is majoring in business administration-entrepreneurship. She wants to start a doggy daycare and kennel business.

The season starts Friday, Sept. 1 with the McMurry University Big Country Festival. See the full schedule at mcmurrysports.com.