"If you do not change the direction in which you are going, you will end up where you are headed."
- Confucius

"From Diapers to Scholarships: Carrying the Flag" or...

"How to Avoid TV Commercials" 

Page 1 2       Lilli La Cycliste    Lilli The Traveler

The Early Days - Little Lilli & TV Commercials

It did not take me too long to exchange my diapers with a pair of running shoes and speed through the forest on a couple of short but flying and enduring legs of a 4-year-old girl that looked like a boy... and who had the head of a boy. Fighting spirit and competitiveness did not wait for too long to come to the surface of Little Lilli. I always compared myself to my older sister, wanted to beat her and whoever other playmate - whether female or male - in whatever sport. And if it did not go the way I wanted, oh oh, up for no good... :-)

From the very early years I loved sports. Most of the time I taught myself how to e.g. play tennis, play table tennis, basketball, handball, soccer, volleyball - you name it! I just watched the professionals on TV, looked at what they did really hard, and then went ahead outside on the street and practiced the same thing on myself...and taught my street playmates after.

Despite being full of energy, ambition and action, my passion number one during my early childhood was watching TV. My dad, being a doctor of sports & internal medicine, was afraid I would end up as a fat, unhealthy couch potato. As an education measurement he decided to to force me to run one loop around the neighborhood (less than 400m). Once a day. Or I would not be allowed to watch TV. I was 4 years old. Already thinking strategically, I decided to schedule my run of the day for the commercial break. Not wanting to miss any precious TV plot action, I ran as fast as I could... which was indeed pretty fast for a 4-year-old girl!

The German Days . 10 Years National Track & Field Team

Initially I was introduced to the sport of Track & Field from a diverse, all-around-conditioned background. Competing in and training for all events there are in the sport, my strongest areas were the long jump, the ball throw (later javelin), and the longest distance available: the 800m. Skinny-built and a head shorter than everyone else, I started to concentrate on the middle and long distances at the age of 14. I ran my first 10-kilometer road race at a tender 8. Not even 12 years old, I broke 40 minutes for the 10 km for the first time. I was called to the junior national team in 1993 after having placed 2nd at the German b-junior championship in the 3000m. Seven German national youth champion titles followed in the process.

Speciality distances growing from the 800m over the 1500m to the 3000m and 5000m, my body height grew simultaneously. I was now the one almost a head taller than most. The geographic and competitive range of my racing grew just as much: from state level via national level to the international stage during my junior years in cross country, on the road, and on both indoor & outdoor track. You could call me a "Hans Dampf in allen Gassen" as a runner: everywhere to be found!

Initial letters from the American continent started flying into my mailbox in 1996, two years before my high school graduation. "Larissa Kleinmann, VfL Waiblingen, Germany". These were the words written on a letter that had the sender's address: Boston University Women's Track/Cross Country Head Coach. More letters from other track/xc head coaches of American univeristies reached me who all offered a full athletic scholarship: run for the univerity in the NCAA Division I system and get U.S. university education plus housing for free in return. Pretty good deal, I thought!

Having just won Team Gold at the European Junior Cross Country Championships where I carried the German national flag as the team captain, I packed up my belongings right after high school graduation in 1998 and headed out West to start my so-far most life-shaping adventure: Life as a student-athlete in the United States' National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) System! .... (continue)