Running Mates

With five girls and a boy in the St. Geme family, tending to mother-daughter relationships can be demanding. Once school lets out, it turns into a full-blown workout.

That’s when Annie and Christie St. Geme join their mother, Ceci, for daily training sessions with the Corona del Mar girls’ cross-country team.

Annie, a senior, is one of the top distance runners in the Southland. She won a state title in the 1,600 meters in June and two weeks ago at the Laguna Hills Invitational produced the fastest girls’ time of the day.

Christie, a junior, is another vital member of the Sea Kings’ team, which is ranked fifth in the nation in Harrier magazine’s preseason poll and the only team from California in the top 10.

And Ceci’s presence at practice is worth more than simply a guaranteed ride home.

As a senior at Greenwich (Conn.) High in 1980, she won the Kinney cross-country national championships, currently known as the Footlocker national championships. Three years later, she won an NCAA title in the 3,000 meters for Stanford.

After the births of Annie, 17, Christie, 16, and Jill, 12, Ceci returned to the track at age 31 and won the 5,000-meter race at the 1994 USA Track and Field national championships.

Two years ago, with her three youngest children, Bo, 9, Tess, 8, and Emma, 7, in school, Ceci again found the time and motivation to re-establish herself as one of the nation’s top distance age-group runners.

On Saturday, the St. Gemes are scheduled to compete on the same course at the Stanford Invitational, close to where the family lived until it moved to Newport Beach four years ago. The Sea Kings are entered in the girls’ sweepstakes race and Ceci will compete in the open 5K, which follows.

Ceci, 42, said she has an advantage over Annie in the longer-distance races.

“I can’t catch her in the mile but I can help her out with the longer stuff,” Ceci said. “Our goal is for her to be able to run with me for a 5K, and [then] she’ll be the best in the country.”

Annie covered the three-mile course at the Laguna Hills Invitational in 17 minutes 15 seconds. By comparison, Ceci finished second in her division last spring at the prestigious Carlsbad 5000, covering the 3.1-mile course in 17:14.

Both are determined to run much faster, but Annie said she has a more immediate concern: to make it through the season uninjured. She was sidelined for the first half of last season because of a foot injury. One doctor thought her season was over, but Annie rebounded to finish third in the Southern Section Division III finals and seventh at the state final.

“I’m excited to see what I can do with a whole cross-country season and a whole summer of training under my belt,” she said. “I’ve been frustrated the last couple years because I haven’t had that success in cross-country, so automatically people think track is my thing.”

Initially spurred to return to competitive running by her daughters’ participation at Corona del Mar, Ceci was inspired by the training and motivational skills of Bill Sumner, who is in his 23rd season as the Sea Kings’ coach.

One of her early goals was to qualify for a masters exhibition 800-meter race at the 2004 Olympic trials. With Annie pacing her mother at an all-comers’ meet in Los Angeles, Ceci failed to make the qualifying standard by one second, but she was later added to the race’s field anyway.

“Probably the best mother-daughter 800 ever run,” Ceci said, only half-jokingly.

Ceci’s competitive edge hasn’t waned in the meantime. Though she made an impressive showing at the Carlsbad 5000, she believed she could have won her race if she had been in better shape.

After increasing her training, her 5K times dropped into the 16-minute range.

“This year, my body is finally feeling good,” Ceci said. “So I think [Annie and I] are on the same wavelength.”

After helping with the Corona del Mar cross-country teams, which total about 200 boys and girls -- she often works with the 12 varsity girls and Sumner handles the other teams -- Ceci trains with the coach’s adult running club.

Sumner said Annie and Ceci are different in their running styles and attitudes. He said Annie’s demeanor probably comes from her father, Ed, who was John Elway’s backup on the Stanford football team.

“She’s more in attack mode; she likes to get after it,” Sumner said. “Ceci is more finesse. She has more experience and probably sees more.”

While Annie had the top time at the Laguna Hills Invitational, she said she didn’t push herself too hard. Over the summer, she broke 17 minutes on a three-mile tempo run in the high altitude of Mammoth, and took the same approach Saturday.

“To run that time the first race of the year, and have it feel pretty good, is exciting,” said Annie, who is quick to remember her goal of an injury-free season.

“I don’t want to get too ahead of myself,” she said. “I just have to be cautious.”

Fortunately for St. Geme, her mother will be watching over her every step of the way.