PT Rebels Podcast Episode
Host: Dr. Gina Fick
Guest: Camille Peisner, Stanford University Track & Field Athlete
Episode Introduction
Camille: Track is a sport that reminds you very frequently that you are not in control. It can be as simple as a tailwind reading 2.1 or terrible conditions when you want to race, or waking up sick on the day of an important race, or your body not functioning and cooperating like mine has in college. It’s just an ever-present reminder that there are a lot of things out of our control.
One of my favorite quotes is “you can’t stop the waves, but you can learn to surf.” All we can control is how we respond to those things, those challenges. And for you and me, Gina, our faith is a huge part of that. We can rest assured—I don’t know what tomorrow holds, but I know who holds tomorrow.
Dr. Fick: Welcome to the PT Rebels Podcast. This is the place to learn how you can become a PT rebel and take charge of your own health and wellness. We will help you find answers to your questions about pain, injury, and the path towards healing in the most efficient and effective way possible. I’m your host, Dr. Gina Fick.
Guest Introduction
Welcome back to the podcast everyone. On today’s episode, I’d like to step into the heart and mind of a current collegiate track and field athlete and gain more perspective on what it means to be a champion, what it means to have the mind of a champion, and how you can overcome challenges and obstacles as a high-level athlete.
I’d like to welcome Camille Peisner to the podcast. I’ve known Camille for several years now. I met her at Valor Christian, where she was a double winner at the 2021 Colorado State 5A championships in track and field—the 100-meter and 200-meter dash. She also took second in state in the 400 meters and third in the 200 at the 2019 State 5A championships.
Camille posted incredible times in high school and now in college. She won three state championships in 2018, 2019, and 2021, and probably would have won a fourth had it not been a COVID year.
Interview
Current Life at Stanford
Dr. Fick: Camille, can you tell us a little bit more about yourself, where you’re at now, what you’re doing, and where you’re at right now in this season of life?
Camille: Right now I am in my junior year at Stanford University up in California, in the Bay Area, and I absolutely love it there. I am still running track—I’m running the sprints at Stanford. I’m studying communication and data science with my own business major since we don’t have an undergrad business program. That’s what I’m interested in—sports business. I’ve gotten plugged into the athletic department there as well as student organizations, including Fellowship of Christian Athletes at Stanford.
I’ve found my home there, but I grew up in Colorado, so that’s a huge part of my identity as well. I was born in San Diego and now live in Las Vegas, so the hometown question always gets complicated. But home is where your heart is, and all my loved ones like you are in Colorado where I grew up.
Track and Field Origins
Dr. Fick: Can you tell us about your background as a track and field athlete? When did you start running track?
Camille: I started when I was seven or eight. I saw a commercial for the Olympics, believe it or not, and I Googled “track teams in Parker, Colorado.” I brought my dad over to the computer, showed him the Parker Panthers website, and that season I was at practice running track.
I actually started in soccer and was a total ball hog. I think all track athletes at some point were in soccer and realized they were faster than the rest of the team. The other parents were especially encouraging me to try track because they were tired of me just sprinting down the field with the ball. I started track that year and haven’t stopped since then.
Motivation and Drive
Dr. Fick: Where does your motivation come from as an athlete? What has kept you motivated and driven in the sport?
Camille: I would attribute it to a couple of different things. First, genetics—we call it the “Peisner competitiveness.” You never want to play a board game with the Peisner family because we’re so competitive. From a young age, I’ve always wanted to win in whatever capacity.
Second, I just love track and field. I love competing. Some people really enjoy running—”oh, I want to go for a run.” I enjoy racing. Nothing is more fun to me than getting on the line and racing. I’m a high-drive individual in all areas of life. I want to be the best that I can be. I love track and field, I have so much fun doing it, so motivation is never really a question because you want to do what you love to do.
Family Support
Dr. Fick: Can you tell us about your relationship with your parents and what that means to you?
Camille: They’re literally the best track parents ever. They have never missed a race since I started when I was seven years old, which is incredible. Even now in college, they fly every weekend that I race—they’re there. Just last weekend, they had to delay their flight because the track meet got delayed, so they had to stay extra time in Sacramento.
What that means to me is not just gratitude for their support, but gratitude for their moderation in that support. It’s not contingent on my performance. I see so many of my peers who don’t know why they’re doing the sport—they’ve been told by their parents their whole life this is what they’re going to do, or their parents have put a lot of pressure on them.
I love my parents and I’m thankful for their support in track, but I’m even more thankful that their support doesn’t stop at the track. Their love for me would stay the same if I didn’t run track. They’re modeling that unconditional love and support, teaching me that my identity doesn’t lie solely in track and field.
Transition to College
Dr. Fick: What was the transition from high school to college like for you? What advice would you give to high school athletes looking at entering college?
Camille: The most practical piece of advice is to start writing down what you do at practice and on race days. Start writing down your routines in a journal or race log to have a point of reference, because you’re going to get to college and everything is going to be different. Your body’s going to take a while to get adjusted, and it becomes easier if you can look back and point at specific things you know your body responded well to.
More in principle—remember who you are and remember your why. You’re going to look in the mirror in a new environment and might not recognize yourself. It’s great that you want to grow in college, but you don’t want to change who you are fundamentally.
Keep your routines, especially in the classroom. College is going to level up things for real. I’m super thankful for Valor academically because I felt so prepared for Stanford. Some of the hardest classes I’ve had were at Valor more so than Stanford.
Everything is changing—you’re going to have so many decisions to make, from which dining hall to go to, to what you’re going to major in. All those decisions pile up and get overwhelming. Knowing your why and knowing who you are will help with those decisions.
Faith and Control
Dr. Fick: How does your faith help you deal with the uncertainty and lack of control in track?
Camille: Track reminds you very frequently that you are not in control. It can be as simple as a tailwind reading 2.1, terrible conditions when you want to race, waking up sick on an important race day, or your body not cooperating like mine has in college. It’s an ever-present reminder that there are a lot of things out of our control.
One of my favorite quotes is “you can’t stop the waves, but you can learn to surf.” All we can control is how we respond to those challenges. For you and me, Gina, our faith is a huge part of that. We can rest assured—I don’t know what tomorrow holds, but I know who holds tomorrow. There’s so much uncertainty, and that’s hard for people like us who like to be in control. Trusting in a God who actually is in control is huge.
Overcoming Adversity
Dr. Fick: Can you tell us about a time when you faced adversity and how you handled it?
Camille: I had appendicitis right before my senior season—obviously not ideal. It’s like a six-week recovery and you can’t lift. But the appendicitis was fine; I had my appendectomy and then was back in the hospital two days later with a small bowel obstruction. I was hospitalized for about four days, about a month before my senior season.
I lost 10 pounds of all muscle and could hardly walk. I was trying to walk a lap around the hospital with a walker in my hand, shuffling. All I could think about was running a lap at Jeffco Stadium for my state race. I missed about two months of training with that hospitalization.
I was not anywhere in 400-meter shape, but I was able to get my quick twitch back pretty quickly. The craziest thing—I ran the 100 for the first time in high school that season and ended up being a state champion in the 100-meter dash, not in the 400, which is what I was recruited to college to do.
In that hospital room, I would have had no idea what was in store for me. I was thinking so much about that one lap, but God had something even sweeter in store—that surprise 100-meter victory. I would have never run the 100 if I hadn’t been hospitalized. Just being able to take that example and say, “Look, this is what God did in eight weeks from my surgery.” If God can do that, what is he doing currently in the rest of my life? Beauty can come out of adversity—it makes the victory so much sweeter.
Race Day Routines
Dr. Fick: What are some of your rituals and routines on meet days?
Camille: Some things have changed over the years, some haven’t. In college, we often stay in a hotel room all day before our race in the evening. I always shower before I leave the hotel room—I take a hot shower to loosen my muscles. That’s something my dad encouraged me to do from my first track meet, and it’s stuck over the years.
For meals, it’s always some combination of protein and a carb. In high school, I supplemented that with Cheez-Its—I was known on the team as the “Cheez-It girl.” I’ve gotten away from Cheez-Its in college; I’m back in a goldfish phase now.
I journal before track meets—for me that’s prayer journaling. I like to have my race plan ready five days to the night before, especially for a 400. I visualize my race a bunch, especially the first 200, visualizing myself executing my race strategy.
In college, I started listening to music. I have two songs I always listen to: “Bad Blood” by Taylor Swift featuring Kendrick Lamar (you can’t have the version without Kendrick), and “Shake It Off.” I’m a big believer that a happy athlete is a fast athlete—that’s what my high school coach said. Do things that bring you joy around track meets.
Communication with Coaches
Dr. Fick: What are some communication tips for working with coaches and healthcare professionals in college?
Camille: It’s probably the hardest thing I’ve had to do in college. First, find an established common ground because you both want the same thing—you both want the athlete to run fast. Unite behind that and lead conversations with that, setting an objective or common goal so you can collaborate instead of coming at it from different angles.
Ask clarifying questions. I had the same high school coach for eight years, so I knew what he was communicating with a whistle or a look. Then I get to Stanford and it’s like learning a new language. My coach and I had to learn to communicate with each other, and the key was asking clarifying questions.
Treat coaches and healthcare professionals as humans and people. Create relationships with them. A smile goes a long way. They’re doing their job and you’re doing your job, so there’s no reason to go against each other. Treat others as you want to be treated—the golden rule applies especially to your coaching and medical staff in college.
Recovery Strategies
Dr. Fick: What are some of your recovery strategies?
Camille: I cannot stress recovery enough. Every other week I have a chiropractor appointment because I have some pelvic rotation that can affect my back and hamstrings if I don’t get it corrected periodically.
On Tuesdays (our hard workout days), I ice after practice—seven minutes in the cold tub, then two minutes hot. I end on hot because otherwise I feel stiff the next day. I also do my pneumatic compression boots for about 45 minutes while FaceTiming my parents after dinner.
I ice again later in the week after our next hard workout on Thursdays. For race week, I’ll do compression either after travel or before the race, and always after the race.
I see my trainer probably two times a week for maintenance. My hamstrings love to be scraped—it makes them very happy. I used to struggle with my shins, and I found that dry needling them makes all the difference. If I get my shins treated once every other week, the pain will go away for another week or two.
I also do hamstring preventative exercises because I’ve had a couple of hamstring tears. It’s called the Askling exercises—that’s been super helpful.
Academics and Recruiting
Dr. Fick: How important are academics in the recruiting process?
Camille: Academics are important if they’re important to you. If you want to go to an academic school, then obviously that has to be a priority. When I was talking to Stanford, they had me add three more APs to my senior schedule.
Even if academics aren’t your top priority, high grades will only help you get into a college program, especially if you can earn an academic scholarship. That helps your coach because they don’t have to allocate as much athletic aid to you.
Coaches have to maintain minimum team GPAs, so if you have a strong GPA, you’re going to help boost that average. Having good grades is only going to help—it opens more doors and leaves you with more options. You want a coach to feel safe recruiting you, and you can mitigate some of that risk by having strong grades.
Life Beyond Track
Dr. Fick: What are some cool opportunities you’ve had outside of track and field at Stanford?
Camille: I’m really interested in business, so I’ve been able to get permission as an undergrad to take several classes at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business. I’ve taken sports business classes where I had breakfast with Larry Baer of the Giants organization and Dave Kaval of the A’s.
I’ve had Tony Xu, the founder of DoorDash, open the door for me to class one day. I’ve had the founder of Terra and other millionaires and billionaires as guest speakers. Sometimes I just can’t believe I go to school here.
I’ve been able to get involved with the athletic department in intern capacities—I’ve interned with football and now with marketing, helping with student giveaways and trying to get students to attend games. I represented Stanford at the first-ever NIL summit in Atlanta my freshman year.
I’m co-president of Fellowship of Christian Athletes at Stanford, making connections across sporting teams. These are people who are going to do something big, and it’s been neat to connect with them at a friendship level.
Future Goals
Dr. Fick: What are some of your future goals and ambitions career-wise?
Camille: Long-term, I’m interested in being an athletic director at a Division I Power Five school or being CEO of a professional sports franchise. Even longer term, I would love to author my own book one day. I love writing and communicating—I have a blog and a podcast called “The Plus Pod” where my friend and I interview Christian student athletes.
I love storytelling, and in some capacity, whether professionally or on the side, I want to continue storytelling as a career. Sports business is definitely where I want to land.
My first step is a sports consulting internship this summer. I’m super excited about that. I also want to have a family someday, and I’d love to obtain my MBA—that’s been a goal since I was little because my mom has her MBA.
Advice to Younger Self
Dr. Fick: If you could look back as a high school athlete, knowing what you know now, what would you tell your younger self?
Camille: First, enjoy every single track trip and every single track practice. My sophomore year track season was like the peak fun of my life with my teammates. Those track trips to Arcadia and Chandler were seriously some of the most fun I’ve ever had. I look back at those memories with so much fondness.
I would urge myself to really invest in those people and relationships. Stop and smell the roses, and smell them with other people. Enjoy that community because those are going to be the people that have the most similarities with you going forward.
Second, write your plans in big, bold letters, but don’t be afraid to use the eraser. Dream big and have high aspirations, but don’t stick to those rigidly. Don’t freak out if things don’t go your way. You’re going to have to use the eraser, but sometimes that’s okay. Sometimes the new plan is going to be all the more rewarding.
It’s okay to be organized and have a plan—it’s good to have a plan. But it’s also okay to change those plans.
Contact Information
Camille: Instagram DM is a great route—my Instagram is @camillePeisner. Feel free to reach out there. I would love to answer any questions you have or provide advice.
On my blog at camillePeisner.com, I have recruiting tips for high school athletes, email templates for reaching out to college coaches, study tips, and other helpful material. It’s become more of a creative writing space, but there are still helpful resources there.
Dr. Fick: Thank you so much, Camille. This has been a real joy and pleasure to have you on the podcast. We look forward to the responses from our audience. I think they’re going to be really encouraged by what you’ve shared today. Thank you, and we wish you the very best of luck for the rest of this season.