Liz Allen Starks ’02

2012 Hall of Fame Inductee: Women’s Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field and Cross Country

Liz Allen StarksWith a new law practice and three young boys, it’s astonishing that Hall of Famer Liz Allen Starks ’02 has time to run at all. But for this record-breaking athlete, running is an integral part of a well- balanced life.

A double major in political science and American studies, Starks came to Dickinson with some experience in track and cross country, having run competitively since seventh grade. Training with Cross Country and Track and Field Head Coach Don Nichter took her sport to a new level, however. “He loved running so much, and he was truly invested in us as runners,” she says. “His enthusiasm was infectious, and I started to learn the things I needed to do to really succeed.”

Specifically, she learned that if she wanted to see top results, she had to run farther than the 30-40 miles she’d been completing weekly in high school. That lesson quickly paid off.

A McAndrews Award winner and Centennial Conference (CC) team champion in indoor track, outdoor track and cross country, Starks broke the school records for indoor and outdoor track (5,000 meters at 18:07.90 and 10,000 meters at 36:30.09) and was NCAA conference champion for the indoor-track 4x800 relay in 2001. In cross country, she was a first-team runner for the All-Mideast Region in 1998 and was voted the team’s most valuable runner that year.

Starks was named to the cross-country All-CC team in 1998 and 2001; to the All-Mideast Region team in 1998, 1999 and 2001; and was part of the Mideast Regional championship team in 1999.

Both the indoor and outdoor track and field teams captured the CC championships during Starks’ four years at Dickinson. Starks made the CC academic honor roll in 2000 and 2002, was CC champion for the 4x800 relay in 2001 and was named to the indoor-track CC academic honor roll in 2000 and 2002.

Starks says that the time- and stress-management skills she acquired as a student-athlete remain vital in her life beyond the limestone as well, as she works to meet the demands of family, work and a healthy lifestyle.

After graduating magna cum laude, Starks got married and moved to Washington state, where new husband Jason, a Naval Academy graduate, was stationed. She continued to run during law school and throughout her first years as a public defender for the local municipal courts.

It was a great stress reliever for Starks, but when it came time to plan a family she needed to cut back on running, particularly when expecting twins. “It was definitely worth it, but it was a hard thing to do; I had never stopped running for more than a few weeks,” she says.

Happily, last year, when oldest son Kyle turned 4 and 2-year-olds Joshua and Noah got onto a regular sleeping schedule, the mom of three began to run seriously again, steadily whittling down her times.

Today, she competes in half-marathons and local races and enjoys the quiet and solitude of her weekday-morning runs, all while heading a family-law practice she opened last April. To her delight, her sons enjoy participating in kids’ runs, and occasionally her 5-year-old will accompany her, on his bicycle, during her morning run.

Starks is grateful for the experiences that have inspired her to seek an active lifestyle both for herself and her young family. “I joke that running was my first love, because I was running long before I met my husband or had my children. But I don’t know if I would have continued [running] if I hadn’t stayed with it in college,” she says. “I don’t know what kind of person I would have become, because running has always been important to me. It’s always provided balance in my life.”

Published October 1, 2012