While wearing a heavy camouflage uniform, Jaci Smith stood on edge of the high dive platform, terrified. For the cadet, that moment before the jump into the swimming pool was scarier than parachuting out of an airplane.
But she knew she had to jump. So she did.
Conquering that jump was only part of her water survival physical education course, which taught her the techniques that would allow her to save other people’s lives—and her own—in the case of a water emergency.
It’s just one of the skills Smith has learned as part of her training as a cadet in the U.S. Air Force Academy, a grueling program of study made even more challenging since Smith is also a member of the school’s cross-country team, too.
That means a packed schedule: The class of drown-proofing exercises, buddy rescues, and long, exhausting swims goes from 1:45 to 3:00 p.m.
By 3:30, she’s dressed and ready for cross-country practice, where all-out 800-meter repeats are on the agenda for the day, to prepare the runners for the Mountain West Conference Championships.
While many student-athletes would feel intimidated just processing that workout as a stand-alone exercise, Smith—now a senior—didn’t balk. After all, it was just another day at the academy just north of Colorado Springs.
Published: Nov 16, 2018 2:08 PM EST.
“I think it makes us tougher,” Smith told Runner’s World. “You’re not going to go into every race feeling great. You have to know how to perform even when you’re not feeling great. We like to say that we’re really good at just rolling with the punches, so whatever is thrown at us, we can deal with it. It may not be ideal, but we’ll still do our best.”
Beginning Cadet Life
As a high school tennis player and track runner with personal bests of 5:16 in the 1600 meters and 11:11 in the 3200 meters, the Edmond, Oklahoma native wasn’t heavily recruited by college coaches. But after she sent over the Air Force’s cross-country recruit questionnaire, head coach Ryan Cole saw immediate potential.
“People that know what the dynamic is here and choose to come here anyway are pretty determined individuals and that carries over into everything they do,” Cole said. “Jaci is a good example of that academically and athletically. We have a lot of instances of that, but she definitely stands out.”
Like all incoming freshmen, Smith arrived at the academy during the summer for basic training, a rigorous six-week orientation that pushes students to their limits mentally and physically. In addition to learning the customs, courtesies, and history of military topics, they go through intense physical tests to prepare them for life at the academy.
After completing basic training, Smith contracted pneumonia and mononucleosis, which took her out for the majority of the fall cross-country season. She recovered from the illnesses later in the fall, and was excited to train for the indoor season over Christmas break. But she piled on too much mileage too quickly and injured her Achilles tendon in the process.
In March 2016, she regained her health for outdoor track and started to gain momentum. She ended the season with a personal best of 17:08 in the 5K and a debut of 36:58 in the 10K, which scored for the Falcons at the Mountain West Championships.
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Balancing Military Training and Running
In addition to the challenge of competing at the Division I-level in track and cross country, Smith, like every student, goes through the same rigorous structure of A Part of Hearst Digital Media. It’s a lifestyle that Smith says she and her teammates take pride in.
The morning begins with a period of personal time between 5:15 to 6:25 a.m., when cadets get their room in order and dress in the uniform of the day. Military training begins at 6:30 a.m. Breakfast is served between 7:00 to 7:20 am, and then it’s time for classes, which run until 11:23 a.m. Cadets return to their squadron to prepare for the noon meal formation and lunch. They have 28 minutes to eat their meal—and then it’s time for either more military training, Commander’s Calls, briefings or commissioning education, or afternoon classes.
Then comes intercollegiate team practices—in Smith’s case, track and cross country.
Afterwards, it’s time for dinner, followed by more military training. Call to quarters occurs at 7:50 p.m., and the final bugle calls at 11:00 p.m. to end the day.
“This place is not impossible, but it’s extremely hard to get through on your own whether you’re an athlete or a regular cadet,” Cole said. “The idea is that you’re not supposed to make it through here alone so you have to learn how to depend on the people around you. That’s learning how to be part of a team.”
Making Cross-Country History
While maintaining the strict cadet schedule, Smith has not only worked to complete her major in astronautical engineering, but she has also played a key part in making athletic history for the Falcons. In the fall of 2016, the Air Force women’s cross-country team became the first squad of any sport to qualify for the Division I NCAA Championship. The Falcons finished 25th overall, and Smith claimed a 48th-place individual finish.
“We have a really strong leadership element in our program where it gets passed down from generation to generation of distance runners here. They help each other because they all went through it,” Cole said.
Smith returned to the NCAA championship in 2017 with a 66th-place showing. In June 2018, she became an All-American when she finished eighth in the 10K at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships. After three years of intense military training and academics coupled with Division I running—plus the comeback from illness and injury—the athletic honor was a dream come true on a hard-fought journey.
This season, she has clocked two, top-five individual finishes, with a fifth-place finish at the Mountain West Conference Championships and a fourth-place performance at the competitive NCAA Mountain Region Championships. Next, she will compete in her final NCAA Cross Country Championship on Saturday morning in Madison, Wisconsin.
While the challenges of being a student-athlete at the academy seem unfathomable to most, Smith has shown that it can be done with the help of a team and a determined mindset.
“I have a lot of passion for the sport. What I love about it is there are not very many things you can do in life where the sacrifices you make and the work you put in just so directly correlate to what you get out of it,” Smith said. “If you’re willing to work, and put in the time and make the sacrifices, you’re going to see success, and I love that.”
Taylor Dutch is a writer and editor living in Austin, Texas, and a former NCAA track athlete who specializes in fitness, wellness, and endurance sports coverage. Her work has appeared in Runner’s World, SELF, Bicycling, Outside, and Podium Runner.
