Madera runner prepares for Olympics chance

Despite balancing motherhood and training, Madera runner Alisha Brown, 23, is preparing for a chance to compete at the 2016 Summer Olympics in the 800-meter run in Rio de Janeiro this August.

Brown’s journey to the Olympic tryouts, however, has been a long one. She started running in the fourth grade, when she did track for the Golden Spikes, and learned to love the competitive field.

“That’s when I had my first exposure to track and field, and the winning feeling,” Brown said. “I qualified for Junior Olympics with the 400 meters, and that was when I knew that this was what I wanted to do.”

She continued to run while she was a student at Madera South High School, where she was under the leadership of Coach Rich Parris. In her junior year, however, she suffered tendonitis, but was able to recover quickly. She graduated in 2010, and finished out her senior year with a full-ride scholarship to UC Riverside. While there, Brown continued to run, shaving time off her record more and more under Coach Irv Ray...