"Becoming a good runner takes time and it takes years to develop to your full potential. I think I had talent in high school, but lacked motivation. Now, I think I still have talent, but I also have motivation. I think motivation, drive, and discipline are essential parts of being a good runner."

All of the above words are familiar and worth repeating, talent, drive, and motivation. You cannot function without them in your daily life. These characteristics can transform a novice from a jogger to a runner, and then to an exceptional athlete. A word of caution: measure an athlete upon their accomplishments, against their level of performance. After reading this profile, you will agree that this person is an exceptional athlete.

Susannah (Mastran) Kvasnicka, age 32, of Great Falls, VA is a mother of two (Andrew, 8, and Timothy, 4), and is married to Kevin Kvasnicka. This is her support team. She is a CPA and worked for Arthur Andersen, LLP before having children; currently, Susannah is a stay-at-home mom. She runs for Potomac River Running of Ashburn, VA.

While attending Langley High School (VA), she was a cheerleader (fall and winter) and lettered in varsity track as a freshman. Her distance was 400 meters. She decided to run track to have something to do in the spring.

"I always knew that I was fast and had some talent. I was usually the fastest girl, if not boy, in my class as a child, and was the best girl at my Physical Fitness Tests in elementary school," she stated.

While attending George Mason University (Fairfax, VA.), where she graduated in 1994, running was not a priority. Kvasnicka ran four to six miles a couple of times a week for exercise. After college, she would run an occasional 10K for fun and to be a part of the positive atmosphere that is generated around running events.

There was a spark, "After one race, though, I decided to stick around. I found out that I had won an age group award. It never occurred to me before that I was placing in these races. So again, I knew I had some natural talent, but didn't know what to do with it or even if I wanted to do anything with it," she adds.

After the birth of Andrew, like so many runners who need to take drastic steps, Kvasnicka entered a marathon. This was a personal goal and a challenge. She was crossing training at the gym but had not run in a while. She had two months to train, and time was not a consideration. To test her talent, drive, and motivation, Kvasnicka chose the 38th Washington's Birthday Marathon (2/19/99) in Greenbelt, MD. It is, by far, one of the toughest area races, with three loops and about 18 hills, with the granddaddy sitting about mile 23. She placed 10th among women in 3:55:07. Two years later, five months after the birth of Timothy, the hills were calling her again. She ran the Washington's Birthday Marathon, placing sixth in 3:58:57.

In the life of an athlete there is a catalyst, that person who can see what the athlete cannot, who can recognize some potential. For Kvasnicka, that person was Dr. Ron Kulik of the Commonwealth Chiropractic Center of Reston (VA.). Dr. Kulik had placed sixth in the 1991 Marine Corps Marathon in 2:26.

"He said he thought I had potential and that he would like me to train with his group. I was very skeptical at first because I had never done anything like this before. I enjoyed jogging on my own, but was unsure how I would feel about running with other people and having someone tell me what to do. I decided to try it for one season," Kvasnicka recalled.

You will never know what you are capable of achieving without giving it a try. In this case, dropping a natural barrier to try something new proved to be beneficial, as she recounts, "In only a month, I surpassed Ron's expectations and we both realized that I could be fast. From that point on, I was hooked. For me, I think it took having someone recognize my talent, believe in me, and encourage me to do something with it."

At the Jingle Bell Run for Arthritis 8K in Reston, VA, Kvasnicka ran a 35:38 (13th place) in December 1998. In 1999, her time improved to 33:30 (8th place); she ran 31:25 (1st place) in 2001. She commented after the race, "As men passed me, I asked if any women were behind me. I am getting serious after having two children (then ages 4 1/2 and 15 months). My oldest always asks after every race if I won. Now, I can say yes. This is the first year I trained with a coach (Kulik) at Personal Best Running. Towards the end, I started to pick it up."

There was no magic in her shoes, just a return to basics: learning how to train for a race and doing speed work. Running in a group helps to develop the inner potential and take a runner to the next level. Kvasnicka developed a racing mentality and was no longer a jogger. In each person, there is a certain level of competitiveness. Kvasnicka took the steps to bring it out and put it on the line. She never owned a pair of racing shoes until 2001. When you lace up a pair of racing shoes, your insides are saying, "Take me to the starting line and point me in the right direction and let's race."

Her weekly mileage depends on what she is training for. Kvasnicka uses a mixture of fartlek and tempo runs, hill workouts, and track intervals. The year is broken up into summer/fall and winter/spring and she takes a couple of weeks off in between.

She recounts the benefits, "Each year, I have been able to do more. Because I never had any formal training before, I had to start slow. The intensity of my workouts is what has changed the most over the last three and a half years. I am doing the same basic training I was doing in the beginning, just at a higher intensity."

"As in the growth process, it is slow, so is developing as a runner," Kvasnicka explains. "One of the hardest things that I have to learn is patience. When you start to see improvement and you know you have the potential to be better, it is easy to want to push yourself even harder. You cannot push yourself too quickly because you will only end up injured or over trained. You have to exercise patience and build on your training year after year. This has been hard for me because I started running so late in life. I am still building a foundation, but I only have so many years left as a younger competitive runner."

Kvasnicka uses the key words: talent, drive, motivation, and patience. Each reader has to define each term within his or her own training schedule.

"My main goal in a race is for a certain time, and winning is nice. I almost never race for the purpose of beating someone. Certainly, other people on the starting line can affect my plan. Depending on the race and who they are, I know I have someone to work with, or to gauge myself off of. But because I am primarily focusing on a specific time, I see other people just in terms of where they will be in my plan."

Every race does not result in a win and even some workouts do not meet expectations. "I try not to dwell on disappointments. I truly believe that some days you have it and some days you don't. As long as I work hard and give one hundred percent, I can't beat myself up too much. I have found that my most disappointing races end up motivating me more for my next race. The better shape that I am in, the bad days really aren't too bad after all."

Making time for family while training is a balancing act. She comments, "I have a very supportive husband and family. My mom is in the area and she helps out quite a bit. I try to prioritize the races that I want to do and balance them with everything else. So far, we have been able to work things out so that I am able to get the training I need without having the family sacrifice too much."

She adds, "My first priority is my kids. I generally have had to run very early in the morning before my husband leaves for work. That can be tough because a lot of times I have found myself running in the dark. Also, my kids have a lot of activities of their own on the weekends and some races that I may want to do just don't work out for me."

There are two events which resulted in satisfying performances: the 2002 LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon, where she ran her personal record of 2:54:14, and the 2004 Richard Caliguiri City of Pittsburgh Great Race 10K where she ran 34:57.

"At Chicago, I was trying to break three hours, but had no idea that I was going to run low 2:50's. It was a fairly easy race for me and I felt good the entire way. I think it was a big breakthrough for me. In the 10K, I was trying to go sub-36 minutes. It was a big accomplishment."

As for the future, Kvasnicka comments, "Each season I find out something new about myself that I didn't know before and each season I see a new potential. I am not sure at this point what I am capable of. I ultimately see myself as a marathoner and I hope that I will eventually hit the Olympic qualifying standard. But, as I try new things, I make new goals."

Each PR achieved is a stepping-stone for the next and a validation that her training is paying off. We close by restating the key words form Kvasnicka's vocabulary: talent, drive, motivation, and patience.

At your next event, take Kvasnicka's thoughts and translate them into your thoughts: "Usually, I just tell myself throughout to stay focused and to work hard. Racing so closely with other women makes it easier because you can't really ease off the pace. You have to be paying constant attention, which helps you run a better race in the end."