Running Around the World

Tulane senior Sarah Bumby has brought athletics together with academics

By John Sudsbury, Tulane Media Relations

Studying the emergence of complex societies on the Peruvian coast and analyzing the development of cultures in South America are not typical subjects for sports stories. However, Tulane senior Sarah Bumby, a member of the Green Wave cross country and track teams, is not a typical collegiate student-athlete.

In her third year as a Green Wave runner, Bumby has improved each year, posting her top performance last spring at the Ole Miss Invitational, when she recorded a career-best time of 4:59.98 in the 1,500-meter run. However, like many of her counterparts at Tulane, Bumby is a student first, athlete second.

A double major in anthropology and environmental studies, Bumby is on track to graduate with honors in May. She became interested in her chosen major at a young age, inspired by her great aunt who is an archeologist. While she has enjoyed the courses offered in her major, her Tulane highlight came last summer when she was selected to join a group of students working and studying at an archeological dig in Peru under the guidance of Tulane professor Dr. Kit Nelson.

“Dr. Nelson has been working in Peru for a few summers with the Norte Chico Project,” Bumby said. “Our survey group walked the entire valley looking for sites [of early civilizations], and when we found them, we measured and recorded information about them. We also assisted with an excavation of a pre-ceramic site, which is the earliest type of civilization in Peru. They date before 1800 B.C. It was fun; it was a great experience and it made me know for sure that this is what I want to do.”

Bumby’s journey to Peru was another step in her travels which have already spanned much of the United States. She was born in Wisconsin and lived in Massachusetts before moving back to Wisconsin and then on to California, attending three different high schools.

“It was hard at the time [attending different schools],” she said. “But in retrospect I am really glad that I had the experience. I know people all over the country. I went to two public schools, then a private boarding school; the boarding school was good because it’s college-like, living with other people away from home.”

While she calls California her favorite place to live thus far, due to its proximity to mountains, beaches and deserts, Bumby is sure to make New Orleans a regular stop in the future.

“My initial draw to Tulane was when I visited the city and I loved it,” Bumby said. “It felt like nowhere I had been before, culturally and socially. There is so much this city has to offer that people overlook. They think it is all Mardi Gras and Bourbon Street, but the food, the music, and other things with the culture, are amazing. My only negative thing about Tulane is that they schedule finals during JazzFest.”

The fact that the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival (JazzFest) appeals to Bumby is no surprise; she is a music connoisseur, listing styles from punk to indie-rock to ska to oldies among her favorites. Her love of music has led her to begin playing the bass guitar, although it has been difficult to find practice time in her hectic schedule. That schedule was tightened considerably after her freshman year at Tulane, when she joined the Green Wave track and field team.

A prep standout on the basketball court and on the track, Bumby arrived at Tulane in the fall of 2001, planning to concentrate on academics in college. However, after a year with the Tulane Running Club, she heard a call for women to join the Green Wave’s varsity track program.

“I figured I would try it, but probably wouldn’t get good enough to compete,” Bumby said. “But I tried out and did all right that season, and when Coach Corn came [in the fall of 2003], I improved tremendously.”

“We just needed to find the right workouts for Sarah,” assistant track and field coach Mike Corn said. “Once we had that set properly, she began to see improvement and began to enjoy herself more. With her work ethic, she has been getting better and better, and I see no reason why she will not surpass all of her personal records again this year.”

While she improved on the track, she also saw other changes in herself thanks to her varsity athletic career.

“[Being a student-athlete] has challenged me a lot,” she said. “I think it was hard because I experienced college before sports. My friends were kind of shocked at first because they did not see me as much. But it definitely has made me a better student; I have learned to manage my time so much better. I know that I have to study now, or get this done now, because I have to run later.”

While the Wave track program, the Tulane academic curriculum and the city of New Orleans have tied Bumby to one place for four years, at least while school is in her session, don’t expect her to settle down anytime soon. After graduation, graduate school beckons, probably in California, with plenty of side trips to Peru.

“I either want to go to UCLA or UC-Santa Barbara for graduate school,” she said. “I would like to keep my focus on either archaeology or physical anthropology and focus it in Peru. I am really interested in the cultures there.”

Bumby, who hopes to combine teaching and research as a professor someday, plans to continue a life-long hobby of backpacking. She has hiked throughout this country, climbing mountains in Utah, Colorado and Alaska, but has her sights set on big-name peaks such as Patagonia (South America), Matterhorn (Europe), Kilimanjaro (Africa), Mt. McKinley (North America) and of course, the legendary Mt. Everest (Asia).

“I don’t think I want to reach the top of Mt. Everest, that seems a little too much,” she said. “My cousin and my uncle climbed to the base camp and they said that was pretty hard in itself. I just want to see it. I always look at, say a 5,000-foot mountain, and I think, ‘if you stack up six of those, that’s how tall Mt. Everest is.’ I need a lot more experience before I am ready to climb any of those mountains.”

No matter where she finds herself in the world, two things are likely to be a part of Bumby’s life. The first is running.

“I just feel like a lot stronger, healthier and happier person [from running],” she said. “Even when I go home for Christmas break, I still run every day, but maybe not at the level I do when I practice here, and I notice a decline in my well-being.”

The second is her family. Throughout everything, Bumby has remained very close to her family, which includes her parents, Ed and Jayne, and a brother and three sisters (Sarah is the middle child).

“My parents met when they were in seventh grade and they got married when they were 19 and they have both been through a lot in their lives and overcome a lot of different things,” Bumby said. “Just raising five kids is a feat in itself. I am really close to my parents. They have always supported me and my brothers and sisters in anything we wanted to do.”

However, for the time being, Peru and Everest must wait, as Bumby still has her final track season in front of her.

“This year, I want to continue to work hard and run faster; last year I cut 25 seconds off my PR [personal-record] in the 1500,” Bumby said. “I feel like, with the distance and middle-distance girls at least, they look up to me for my work ethic and determination. I hope I am a good role model.”

“Sarah is such a great person to have on our team,” said head track and field and cross country coach Heather Van Norman. “She brings leadership and lots of motivation, and she always works hard. She is a positive influence on everyone she comes into contact with.”

Anthropology is defined as the study of the physical, social and cultural development of humans. A budding anthropologist herself, Sarah Bumby has dedicated her life thus far to developing herself physically, socially and culturally. She is ready to tackle whichever challenges or adventures come her way, from summer jobs in Peru, to competing as a varsity athlete, to learning the guitar, to climbing the mightiest mountains in the world. Most definitely not a typical collegiate student-athlete.