Rosalind Sheppard

By Randy Mayes

Before Faye Bradley moved out of the area, he made a point of introducing me to Rosalind Sheppard (formerly Taylor) at a local road race. She had run 39:11 for third at the 1999 Lawyers Have Heart the month before after a three-year hiatus from racing and training. In 1997 her daughter, Brooklyn, and in 1998 her son, Andrew, were born. The day we met, she placed second in the Run for Research 5K in 17:59. Bradley said “She was a pretty good runner. You should talk to her.”

Raised in Philadelphia, PA she discovered running quite by accident. She was looking for an extra-curricular activity that she thought would be easy. A friend suggested she join the cross-country team, and Sheppard thought that would be easy enough. Incredibly surprised by the effort required, she decided to pursue running and eventually focused on track. After earning a track scholarship to the University of Maryland, where she majored in Psychology, she was All-American five times. In her senior year she was second in the 1500 meters behind Suzy Hamilton. Her school records in the 1000m (2:44), 1500m (4:13), and 3000m (9:13) still stand to this day. Her fondest memory of college running was in her sophomore year when she upset the defending champion in the 1500m and set an ACC record that stood for ten years.

She also qualified for three Olympic Trials. She competed in 1988 (1500m), 1992 (3000m), and 1996 (5000m), making the finals in 1992. As a member of four national teams, she won a bronze medal at the 1993 World University Games.

She is currently working toward her doctorate at the University of Maryland. Her dissertation is an evaluation of a character education program at an elementary school in Howard County, Maryland. “It has been difficult for me to get back into the swing of things, as my road times have been less than stellar,” she says, commenting on her comeback. She used to say she would never become "a mediocre runner--I would quit first. I think I have changed my perspective with age. That and an adjustment of priorities have definitely affected my decisions about running. I would like to be as competitive as I once was, but I know I will not be able to devote the time to running that I once did.”

“It has been difficult balancing my schedule and finding time to train the way I have become accustomed.” Early morning solo training in Crofton, MD, then off to the Howard County Public Schools as a School Psychology Intern are her routine now. Next year she hopes to receive her doctorate and work as a psychologist in the same school system. With road PR’s of 15:58 for 5K, 32:30 for 10K (winner of the 1990 Sallie Mae), and 25:57 for 8K, she ran 17:15 at the Shamrock 5K last March and 37:14 at Sallie Mae this year. Her future plans include racing competitively at ten miles and maybe, just maybe, she'll try a marathon. With la joie de vivre, she says “I decided to compete again because I love it!”

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