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Alaska’s Allie Ostrander — NCAA track champion, Mount Marathon champion, Alaska high school track record-holder and Instagram chef — has a new gig.
Ostrander, 23, is working as a volunteer track and cross-country coach for Seattle Pacific University, the NCAA Division II school that competes in the same conference as UAA.
A three-time NCAA Division I steeplechase champion from Kenai, Ostrander skipped her final year of eligibility at Boise State to turn professional after the 2019 NCAA outdoor track season.
She’s a member of the Brooks Beasts running club sponsored by Brooks Running, a Seattle company whose headquarters is located 1.25 miles from the Seattle Pacific campus, according to a news release from the school.
“(Coaching) is kind of my career ambition outside of professional running,” Ostrander said in the news release. “I thought it would be a great opportunity to see what goes on behind the scenes and be involved and learn from a really quality coach.”
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Ostrander is working with Seattle Pacific distance runners, who are going through limited practice sessions during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“There’s no better way to learn about greatness than to be around people who have done it and are continuing to pursue it,” Karl Lerum, SPU’s head track and cross-country coach, said in the news release.
Ostrander capped a brilliant high school career at Kenai Central by winning the 2014 Nike Cross Nationals national championship cross-country race. She went on to an equally brilliant college career at Boise State.
[Ostrander turns on the speed for a thrilling victory at the Millrose Games]
She continues to work toward her goal of making the U.S. team for next year’s Summer Olympics in Tokyo, which were pushed back one year because of the pandemic. But with most track events canceled this year, she has time to help out at Seattle Pacific.
Ostrander is also an accomplished cook who makes regular posts to her “Chef O” Instagram account.
“I enjoy posting recipes and things about food that I eat,” she said. “A lot of people would direct-message me on my personal page and ask for recipes. So I said, ‘I’m just going to make a separate page for this.’ It has been fun just playing around with it.”
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