Student wins national boom running championship

Student wins national boom running championship

Credit: James Overstreet Alyse Schroder competing at the 2009 Stihl Timbersports Pro Series Championships. Click on the image to see a video of her competing recently in a boom running heat.

Alyse Schroeder, a Penn State junior majoring in science from Hayward, Wis., is the newest national women's champion in her sport. ESPN.com recently featured her in a story following her win. Yet it's likely that many people couldn't explain what her sport is unless they live in or are familiar with timber country. Schroeder is the 2009 Stihl Timbersports Series national women's boom running champion.

Boom running is a sport "in which the competitor must run across a string of logs attached end to end in the water. The object is to run across the log boom, around an obstacle and back faster than opponent(s)," according to logrolling.org. The annual Stihl Timbersports championships also included pole climb, spring board, stock saw, underhand chop, single buck, stand blocking chop and hot saw competitions.

Schroeder's hometown seems to be a popular place for national-champion boom runners. Schroeder trained with 2008 champion and fellow Hayward citizen Taylor Duffy, and this year's men's speed climbing champion, Derek Knutson (who also happens to be dating Schroeder), also hails from Hayward. However, Schroeder and Knutson traveled cross-country to Columbus, Ga., to earn their titles. Knutson competed against Brian Bartow of Lake Oswego, Ore., and Schroeder beat Shana Martin of Madison, Wis.

Schroeder said she travels all over the world as a professional boom runner.

"I started competing in log rolling when I was 7 years old," she explained. "You can't become a boom runner until you're a professional. I became a pro at 16, and I was one of the youngest boom runners ever."

Schroeder's younger sister Lauryn, who is five years younger, began log rolling at 2 years old, and became a professional at 14, which is a world record. 

"We haven't competed against each other yet," said Schroeder, "but it's inevitable. We have an agreement that whoever wins won't talk to the other person for about five minutes," she explained with a laugh.

The Schroeder sisters train together for two hours a day at their own boom run and log rolling training ground. "It's the best workout you can imagine," she said.

The competitive lumberjack season begins usually when the lakes that hold the water competitions have thawed -- usually around the beginning of May. She competes until the day she returns to Penn State, which adds up to about seven or eight competitions, including the three primary ones in Lehi, Utah, Columbus, Ga., and Hayward, which is home of the Lumberjack World Championships.

To compete in lumberjack competitions, Schroeder explained, "you have to be strong in every aspect of life. I think it has taught me so much." She also participates in demonstrations of all eight timbersport events, so she knows how to chop wood, but refers to herself as a lumberjack mostly in a competitive sense.

After she finishes her Penn State degree she intends to go to law school with the goal of representing pharmaceutical and medical companies, so she is focusing her studies on toxicology with a minor in business administration. Interestingly, she chose to attend Penn State without having set foot on campus before orientation week.

"I realized that I had four years to do whatever I want, and Penn State has everything -- the sports, the academics, the sense of community. I just love it. It was the perfect fit and still is -- I'm so happy there," she said.

Schroeder will compete in the 50th annual Lumberjack World Championships July 24-26 in her hometown.