No one brings the power of positivity quite like Aubrey “Leah” Johnson. Her energy during Tuesday track workouts is contagious, providing a boost to even the most grizzled runners in the training group.
After growing up in Mississippi, Leah, age 25, came to the NRV after a professor at Valdosta State talked up Virginia Tech’s Ph.D. program in Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise. “He was an alumnus and really hyped it up,” she said. “VT has lived up to the hype.”
Her love for running was sparked after watching Tirunesh Dibaba dominate the 10,000-meter race at the 2012 Olympics.
“I was INSPIRED,” she said. “I decided that I was going to start training for the Olympics (2024). Thirty minutes after the race was over, I was outside tightening my shoelaces, preparing for one of the most dehydrated 15-minute runs ever. That was the beginning of an amazing adventure.”
She loves to share her passions – and her faith – and offers this advice for new runners.
“Celebrate each mile. Every step is a victory. No question, running is hard, and your victories should be taken seriously. Even your ‘bad races’ are worth celebrating,” she said. “As you become a stronger, faster athlete, don’t brush off the one-mile run that you completed two months ago. When running five miles becomes easier, don’t forget about the first time you ran without stopping for five minutes. Every section of that 10-miler that you will be able to do sooner than you think is an act of worship to God, who gave you the ability to run in the first place.”
In our Q&A below, she talks about growing up in a big, loving homeschool family, her love of sketching flowers, the experience of running on Oregon’s Hayward Field, and the joy of dancing on the infield after a 5K PR.
Name: Aubrey “Leah” Johnson
Hometown: Houston, Texas. Actually, I need to clarify. I was born in Texas and my family lived there for a year before moving to Lumberton, Mississippi (I was there for 16 years, so I think it’s okay to say that Lumberton is my hometown. Houston will always have a small place in my heart.)
Family: My family is super cool. I am the oldest of five kids (four girls and one boy). My mom and dad are unique and eccentric people (in the coolest way, I really look up to them). They decided to homeschool because they wanted to share their lives and their love for Jesus with us on a daily basis. My mom was a great teacher and allowed all of us to learn at our own speeds.
My dad has worked in construction for about 30 years now. He is currently the safety director for a company back home. When my sisters and I first started running cross country, he would come and run with us once he got off work (or before he went to work). We did not live in the safest neighborhood, so when we got older and faster, he would come outside and walk up and down the streets to cheer us on and look out for us.
When did you start running? In 2011, my dad called me from work on an August afternoon to remind me that I was old enough to run on our local homeschool cross country team. We showed up for practice the next day and I SUFFERED — running was SO HARD.
What’s the most scenic or memorable place you’ve ever run?
I watched the U.S. Olympic Trials in Eugene, OR in 2016. There was a break in competitions, and there was an open mile race hosted on Hayward Field. I got to compete in one of the heats! It was such an awesome experience. I couldn’t believe that I got to run on Hayward Field!
Your typical training week?
Within the past month my weekly routine includes lifting 1-2 times each week (60-75 minutes), running 2-3 times each week (4-9 miles), and swimming 1-2 times each week (1-2 miles). In total, I try to get 5-7 hours of exercise each week.
How does your background as an athlete influence your research?
My coach in middle and part of high school was an exercise physiologist. He used his knowledge to help us become better runners. I wanted to be like him when I grew up — coaching kids to become the best runners they can be. I started reading more books about human performance, specifically “The Runner’s Body” by Ross Tucker. I also was blessed by God with the opportunity to compete for five years as a collegiate cross-country and track athlete on scholarship. Having the opportunity to apply the information that I learned within my physiology and performance courses inspired me to find ways to become a better runner (i.e., cross training, eating nutrient-dense foods, sleeping, etc.). Under the guidance of great mentors, I’ve also been given opportunities to study exercise physiology through the lens of age, sex, and physical activity levels.
What would you like to do once you earn your doctorate?
I would like to spend six weeks traveling around the country. I want to see some family that I haven’t seen in a while. I’d love to run a lot of trails out in Oregon and Washington for a few of those weeks and meet some new friends! After that, I’d like to conduct research for the United States Armed Forces. As of right now, I have no specific branch in mind. I’ve wanted to serve the country in that capacity for some time, and I believe that I can use the skills that I have developed while earning this doctorate to do so. Additionally, teaching at the collegiate level would be amazing. I plan to do that in the future as well.
Have you always embraced cross training?
I realized that I was a very intense person in the summer of 2019. I finished the 2019 track season with a foot injury that required a visit to the doctor. The doctor insisted that I not run for nine weeks, as I had some inflammation in my foot. Of course, I was irritated. I was on scholarship, and I wanted to be able to represent my school well in cross country season. I embraced cross training. I biked, swam, and lifted weights the whole summer.
I was not a good swimmer at all. To get better, I literally would think of Katie Ledecky and pretend that I was as fast and strong as she was. Then, I would hop in the pool and swim off of that motivation. It really carried me through the summer.
I thought of the brief clips of the Tour de France that I had seen throughout the years, siphoning motivation from that as I biked.
So yes, I have always embraced cross training — there’s a lot of good in it. Versatility is very helpful.
Most satisfying running accomplishment?
I ran my last collegiate 5K on April 29, 2022. It was a really huge deal for me. It was one of the concluding sentences ending five seasons of college track and cross country. I wanted my last race to be my fastest race. My friend and teammate, Angie, was on the starting list for the same 5k, and it was nice to not be “alone.” We were both in the process of ending our collegiate careers.
I ran the fastest 5k of my life that night (and it was so hard) —17:47. The race was even cooler because Angie ran a 17:19 (PR). We didn’t even win the race, but we spent like 15 minutes dancing and bouncing around the center field (like…everyone else went off for their cool-downs and we were trying to dance and jog on center stage at the same time). This was my most satisfying running accomplishment because it was the last(est) and the fastest.
Proudest running moment?
I started seriously racing the 3200m when I was in eighth grade. Within these races, it was easy to find yourself competing against runners from cross country season. I had no problem racing previous competitors; in fact, I looked forward to it. There was normally a camaraderie between the distance runners: race hard and laugh when you’re done.
During the previous cross-country season, there was a high-school athlete who won every.single.race…by at least 10 seconds. There were multiple races where I found myself running as fast as I could to stay with or catch up with her to no avail (but I did get faster). She routinely ran the 3200m in track season, so I was going to have to compete against her at some point.
That point came in early April of 2014. We lined up alongside three other girls in the early afternoon of a spring Mississippi day and sprinted off the line (for an eight-lap race). For seven and a half laps, there was no separation between us. With 200m to go, she launched a kick that seemed impossible to match. As I sprinted past one of my teammates cheering “YOU CAN BEAT HER,” I launched a kick that I did not know I had and hauled it to the finish line, edging past her by maybe an eyelash.
She was absolutely furious. She went off under the bleachers and started crying “I can’t believe I got beat by a homeschooler!!”
I am proudest of that victory — the moment that I passed her just before the finish line.
Favorite race or adventure? My favorite adventure is the Cross Canyon race during the Steens Mountains High Altitude running camp, set in the Steens Mountain Range about 70 miles from Burns, OR. I’m a camp counselor for two weeks each year, mentoring and hanging out with some of the best high school XC runners in the nation!
On Thursdays, we have an uncharted race through a canyon. We jog four miles to a meeting point, then walk three more to the start. The team reads a memorized quote before charging through the canyon toward a school bus 3–4 miles away. There’s no course, so the girls have to make things up as they go (I’m there for moral support and safety, not guidance).
Some years we’ve climbed snow banks, slid down ridges, and jumped over rocks, sagebrush, and mud (so much jumping). Climbing out of the canyon feels eternal. Finishing as a team is the gnarliest thing ever — and I’m always so proud of my campers for working together to get it done.
Roads or trails?
I enjoy both! Running the roads is fun when I’m alone or with friends. Running the trails is a blast when I’m rolling with one of my best friends (Amanda Sava).
Hobbies beyond running?
I enjoy sketching flowers, reading books (Marissa Meyer and Ted Dekker are my favorite authors), and spending time with my sister, Micah.
Suggestions for strengthening our running community?
The running community here in Blacksburg is amazing. Brainstorming ways to strengthen this running community is harder than it looks. I think doing pop-up challenges like daring students to sprint up Chicken Hill in 45 seconds would be great. If they beat the challenge, give them $5. That’s a milkshake at CookOut, basically.
Favorite pre-run fuel (snack or meal)?
I’d love to say something edgy like Keto-IQ or Liquid IV (‘cause that would make me super cool, I think)—but I’d be lying. Honestly, there is nothing quite like a piece of toasted gluten-free bread with creamy peanut butter on top about 20-30 minutes before a run.
Favorite post-run recovery/reward meal?
Waffle House wins every time. That Sausage, Egg, and Cheese Hashbrown Bowl with a cup of coffee is sweet music after a 12-mile run.
What most people don’t know about you?
I wrote a novella with one of my friends from college. My freshman year of college was awesome because God gave me fantastic friends (there were six of us). We would meet every morning before our classes started for breakfast. I was so excited to have friends, so I suggested that we create a club…and we called it the Breakfast Club!
I was inspired to write a book based on our friend group. After my first draft (written in a three-hour span off of pure excitement), one of my friends joined me. We spent the whole summer of 2018 revising that book and adding fight scenes and dialogues (it was a book about the origins of six superheroes loosely based on our characters). When we finished the book, we had ~60 pages of really good writing.
It was a great time to be alive.
Fitness goals in the next few years?
Strength Training: I want to do a pull-up this year. I’ve been weightlifting pretty consistently, so I think if I keep at it, I should be able to do one.
Swimming: I want to swim three miles in one sitting (potentially in May or August 2025)
Running: This year, I would like to run another half marathon or two. My goals for those will be 1:40 and 1:36. I’m planning to run the Night Train Half Marathon this summer, so I just need another one to run in the fall (preferably one with no aggressive hills and a decent temperature…I’ll probably end up doing the Hokie Half).
Sometime within the next 2-3 years I want to run a trail 50k! That would be a huge accomplishment and so much fun!
NRV Runs 