Killeen Travels the Comeback Trail : Cross-country: Following surgery after more than two years of health problems, Valencia senior battles to regain goals she met as freshman.

For the most part, Heather Killeen of Valencia High School kept her problems to herself.

As a freshman, Killeen was one of the best cross-country runners in the county. By her junior year, Killeen dropped from the cross-country picture. Killeen, now a senior, spent more than two years of her high school career struggling to regain goals she met easily as a freshman. And few knew the reason for her slide.

Some suspected that Killeen was the typical flash-in-the-pan freshman phenom. Rumors circulated that she had burned out. In reality, Killeen had trouble completing workouts because of health problems.

At the Woodbridge Cross-Country Invitational Sept. 15, Killeen was the county’s second-fastest runner, finishing only two seconds behind Katella’s Martha Pinto in 17 minutes 36 seconds over the three-mile course. And for a change, Killeen ran without the pain that has dogged her.

Killeen’s health problems began midway through her freshman track season. She experienced dizziness and sharp pains in her side. Killeen was diagnosed as having ovarian cysts and it was recommended that she begin hormone therapy.

“I thought, OK, give me some medication and make me feel better,” Killeen said. “I expected to get better right away.”

Instead, Killeen grew worse because the medication caused severe side effects. Her immune system broke down and there was a series of illnesses: mononucleosis, anemia, strep throat and recurring pneumonia. She added 15 pounds to her 5-foot-5, 100-pound frame. Last year, one medication affected her kidneys, causing jaundice. Killeen missed 40 days of school in each of her sophomore and junior years.

“It was horrible missing so much school,” Killeen said. “Emotionally, I was a wreck and nobody knew except my family and coach.”

Despite all the ailments, Killeen kept running--missing some meets but competing in every track and cross-country season.

“Even when she was sick, she was out there doing workouts,” said Mike Cummins, track and cross-country coach at Valencia. “But the medication mostly kept her in a rundown state and she couldn’t recover.”

However, Killeen kept training, struggling to come close to times she ran as a freshman.

“A lot of times, I would tell her, ‘You are not feeling well enough, take some time to recuperate,’ but very seldom would she take a meet off,” Cummins said.

Doctors told Killeen if she quit running, her health problems might diminish. But Killeen, who began running when she was 6 years old, would not listen.

“It is worth it to me and I love it,” Killeen said. “It is part of my life. I like the competitiveness of the sport and the training is a good way to release tension and energy.

“If I’m upset about something, running helps me relax and think things over.”

Killeen had much to be upset about. It was difficult for people outside her family to comprehend what was wrong with her. Her teammates didn’t.

“Even right now, they don’t know and I told a few very close friends, but they don’t really understand,” Killeen said. “They say, ‘Sure, I get cramps, too, but I don’t have to take anything for it.’ But, this is a little bit different.”

Said Cummins: “Her teammates couldn’t understand at all--she’d be running in a workout and she’d just drop.”

At races, Killeen heard innuendoes and whispers about her performances.

“People were asking me, ‘What happened to you?’ But I don’t like to use excuses, so I just wouldn’t tell them and it’s not just something you can talk about publicly.

“It hurt me for people to say things about me, such as that I was a has-been. I felt like telling them, ‘You stand in my shoes--you feel the pain I’m feeling,’ but instead I kept my mouth shut.”

When Cummins was asked about Killeen’s condition, he told people that she was really sick, but it was a matter difficult to explain and that she was doing the best she could.

Killeen silently worked through her pain, posting personal records her junior track season of 5:17 in the 1,600 meters and 11:19 in the 3,200--both a few seconds better than her freshman records. In the Orange League finals at Western High School in May, Killeen collapsed after winning the 3,200.

“I keeled over, fell right on the track and I started sweating a lot,” Killeen said. “Once I got off the track, I got myself together and I thought I was done racing, but my teammates came up to me saying, ‘You’re doing the mile relay.’ ”

Killeen not only ran a leg on the relay, she helped Valencia win it, but she downplays her effort.

“It hurt to run it, but it was so short it was really no big deal.” The next day, Killeen’s parents, Tom and Sharon, took her to the hospital, where it was discovered a cyst had ruptured. Two weeks later, Killeen finished the season by placing fourth in the Southern Section 2-A finals in the 3,200 and sixth in the 1,600.

Killeen’s mother says that Heather’s tenacity stems from stubbornness.

“Heather is tough, but she has also had to work through a lot of things over the past two years and she is real stubborn,” Sharon Killeen said. “She has goals and she is not willing to let go of them.”

Killeen says she feels that her ordeals have made her strong mentally. After undergoing surgery in June for removal of the cysts, Killeen was able to go off the medication.

“The surgery was supposed to clear things up and the pain has been removed a little bit, but I think mentally I’m a lot stronger and the pain is not getting to me as much,” Killeen said. “And I ran all summer and I didn’t have any major problems.”

After recovering from the surgery, Killeen began training hard. She dropped 15 pounds once she stopped taking the medication, and the work seems to have paid off. She nearly upset Pinto, a three-time Orange County champion, in the Sept. 15 race, pulling even with her with 100 yards left before Pinto won.

“What a wonderful relief to see Heather’s face after the race,” Cummins said. “You could tell all the way through the race that she knew she was running well.”

Killeen now has her eyes set on qualifying for the state meet in November.

“I’d like to make it to state and stay healthy--I just want it to be a fun season.”