Running wasn't always easy for Alysun Deckert. She only made it look that way.

A standout runner from Salina South, Deckert dominated Class 5A girls distance events in Kansas over a three-year span from 1981 through 1984. So much so that nearly 40 years later, current athletes are still chasing some of her school and state meet records.

Deckert won nine state titles over her final three years at South, including three individual state cross country titles. She also swept the 1,600 and 3,200-meter runs at the 5A state track meet each of her final three seasons.

While doing so, she overcame bouts with injuries and anemia - setbacks that only seemed to make her stronger.

"My mom would always have a little quote, 'It takes a little rain to make a rainbow,'" Deckert said. "I think that's something I've always kept in mind, that you have to go through some adversity to get something really great."

Deckert was born in Topeka and moved to Salina with her family at an early age. Her parents, Andy and Nancy Deckert, were teachers in the Salina district. Her father was also the South High head coach for cross country and distance coach for track throughout Alysun's high school career.

Deckert started running with her father at the age of 10 while on a family vacation in Vermont and it has been part of her life ever since.  It didn't take long for Alysun and her father to recognize her potential as a distance runner.

"I remember the first road race we ran together," Andy Deckert said. "It was in Salina and it ended up on the Marymount (College) campus. She was 10 or 11 and she was the first one in. She beat all the other women and I remember she discovered that 'Wow, I can be pretty good at this.'

"As a coach, I came to view the best distance runners as having four qualities: intelligence, dedication, concentration and a sense of humor. Alysun had them all."

Alysun appreciated both the mental and physical challenges that distance running presented, but also liked the idea of an activity that brought her closer to her father.

"I think I'm a pretty goal-oriented person and running is a measurable thing," Deckert said. "You run two miles so you have a distance goal, and there's also the challenge of 'How fast did I do it?

"That was appealing, but it was also nice to spend time with my dad. He immediately included me with the rest of the high school team so it was social as well.

"He would organize a doughnut run some Friday mornings in the summer, where people would meet at our house and we would run to the Daylight Donut shop about a mile-and-a-half away and then walk home."

Deckert had no problem making the transition to high school competition, setting the school's freshman record in her first meet and taking fifth overall. She finished her first season by placing 11th at the Class 6A state meet, South's final year in that classification.

Her times began to tail off late in her freshman track season and it was then that Deckert was diagnosed as anemic.

"My freshman year in cross country was pretty good but I kind of struggled in track," Deckert said. "I found out I was anemic toward the end of the season, which had a significant effect on my performance.

"Throughout my career I had a lot of injury problems. I think I was someone who always felt like I didn't want to lose any ground, ever. I worked very hard through setbacks. So what I learned from my freshman year was that even when things aren't going well, you can continue to work and make progress."

She won the first of her state titles as a sophomore while competing at the 5A cross country championships. The following spring, Deckert set a KU Relays record in the two-mile run, then won a pair of state titles at the state track meet, setting 5A state records in both the 1,600 and 3,200.

"I think one of the hard things when you have that success, especially when you are young, you have this expectation that that's how it's going to be every time," Deckert said. "That adds some additional pressure and stress.

"At that time I don't think I was all that laid back. Improving was always on my mind and you always feel like somebody is out there and you've got a target.

"I don't even know if that was really true or not, but in a high schooler's head I think that's kind of how it felt. When I see people winning state championships their freshman year, I'm like 'Ohhh, that's going to be a tough four years for them.'"

The added pressure didn't prove to be a problem. She won her second state cross country title in 1982, despite a foot injury that kept her out of competition for three weeks going into the state meet.

Alysun broke her own KU Relays record in the two-mile as a junior with a time of 10:48.24. That mark remained the meet record for more than a decade.

She followed that by surpassing her own meet records at the 5A state track championships. Her time of 4:58.0 in the 1,600 remained as the 5A girls meet record for 35 years before it was broken in 2018. Her time of 10:34.2 in the 3,200 is still the 5A record heading into the 2022 championships later this month.

Deckert capped her cross country career with a third state championship in 1983 and won the two-mile race that day in 11:00. That time was still listed as the 5A record when the state lengthened the distance for girls cross country to 4,000 meters in 2006.

When Deckert completed the distance sweep at the 1984 state track meet, she became the first female in Kansas history to win three state titles each in the 1,600, 3,200 and cross country.

Although she was never part of a state championship team, South did have state runner-up finishes in 5A track in 1982 and 5A cross country in 1983

"I think I gave it everything I had," Deckert said. "At the time there was some sadness because I wasn't part of a state championship team and I didn't get the overall state records for the mile and two mile. With age and perspective, looking back, I think I did everything I could.

"I think athletics taught me how to deal with adversity. Whether it's low iron levels or injuries, I think it teaches you to put some perspective around things and not just quitting or giving up. It's also been a great way to get to know people, make friends and stay healthy."

Injury problems hampered her collegiate career at Kansas State but didn't hurt her focus in the classroom. After receiving her degree, Deckert went on to earn Master of Science and Master of Healthcare Administration degrees at the University of Washington.

Deckert now works for the UW Medical Center in Seattle where she is the Clinical Nutrition Manager.  She was inducted into the Kansas State High School Activities Association Hall of Fame in 2015.

"I've done some coaching myself with our transplant patients," Deckert said. "I worked with liver and kidney transplant patients here at the medical center, and just being able to share my experience and knowledge with others helps them. And I think my background gives me the credibility that they trust me. That's important because they don't think 'This is some sort of crazy person who is going to take our transplant patients out and do something irresponsible.' It's more like 'She knows what she's doing and this could be okay.'"

We are grateful to partner with WIN for KC, an organization with the mission to empower the lives of girls and women by advocating and promoting the lifetime value of sports through opportunities for participation and leadership development. WIN for KC and the KSHSAA believe involvement in activities and sports lay the ground work for supporting well-rounded citizens in our communities and beyond. For more on WIN for KC visit: https://www.sportkc.org/win-for-kc