Local Olympian has her eyes set on Los Angeles

CORRALES — During the 28th annual Ditch Run in Corrales on Sunday, an Olympian was in attendance.

That’s right. Local resident — and Polish Olympic athlete — Alicja Konieczek was “MCing” the Corrales Ditch Run after competing in the 2024 Olympic games in Paris, France.

“I did break the national record in the prelim and qualify for the final on Aug. 6. So, not long ago! It feels like forever ago because I have done so many other things. After the Olympics, now I am back to a new buildup of training. So, it seems like I am starting from zero again. It costs so much to run at that level mentally. So, I need to take a break. It’s going to be another four-year journey,” Konieczek said.

Now, she has her eyes sight on the 2028 Olympic games in Los Angeles.

“On average, if I improve 1% every year. Sounds so little, right? But if I continue going that rate into the next Olympics, I should get a medal, which is crazy to think about. But all it takes is 1% every year,” Konieczek said. “One percent improvement every year, that’ll be about 4 to 5 seconds per year. From 13th to a medal.”

Konieczek competes in the 3,000-meter steeplechase for Poland’s national team and has competed in two Olympic Games (Tokyo and Paris).

The steeplechase is an obstacle course-like race and features 28 barriers (which are similar to hurdles) and seven water jumps throughout the race. Athletes competing in the steeplechase must be strong, agile and have great endurance.

“I already qualified for the World Championships in Japan next September [2025]. Then we have European Team Championships in June. I think I will try to do a new event and run the 5,000 meters, maybe? That’ll give me a lot of strength for a longer season like next year. We also have in March, the European Championships (indoors); not sure if I am going to be doing indoors yet ... or maybe hop on the road and try a half marathon,” Konieczek said.

Konieczek has always been an athlete, and her athleticism brought her to the United States.

“I was offered a full scholarship to study in America at many universities, and I chose one in altitude, which was Western Colorado University,” Konieczek said.

After she received her degree, she came to New Mexico for a short period to train.

“I came here [New Mexico] for about half a year, then COVID hit, and everything shut down. So after, I moved to Boulder, Colorado, where I was offered a spot in a prestigious training group. I was amongst very, very fast runners, but the environment wasn’t for me. I left; I went through a lot of personal stuff in between. Then, it was either I move back to Poland, to Eugene, Oregon, where my sister was, or I move back to New Mexico, where I have already established some connections,” she said.

Konieczek came back to New Mexico and found a job working for Jackrabbit Race Management, a company specializing in organizing athletic events with computerized timing for participants. Ben Fletcher, owner of Jackrabbit, is also Konieczek’s coach and partner.

Some of Konieczek’s favorite places to run include the bosque, the foothills, the ditches in Corrales, Placitas and in Socorro.

“People here truly admire athleticism and just being a fast runner. Where I lived before, there was a lot of them and you were nothing special. However, people here, I think they know how much work it takes, and they show it, and appreciate it, and they support me. So, there is a whole community here, and that helps,” Konieczek said.

Some of Jackrabbit’s upcoming events include the Balloon Run on Oct. 13 and the Albuquerque Turkey Trot on Nov. 25.

“Often they can find me there. We can chat, take a photo, they can ask me anything. I am very open and very happy to collaborate and talk to people,” Konieczek said.

While in New Mexico, she also became a fan of green chile.

“Oh my god, I love green chile for sure. Green chile everywhere: green chile in burgers, green chile in breakfast burritos; I love it,” Konieczek said.

If you would like to know of upcoming runs for Jackrabbit Race Management, visit their website and check their calendar of upcoming events.