Mehra representing the U.S. for the second time in seven months, this time in Stewart Cup International Relay at Great Edinburgh

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

Whether it’s discussing foreign policy or international relations, Rebecca Mehra is capable of holding her own in any setting or situation based on her degrees from Stanford and recent internship with Andreesen Horowitz.

When it comes to global competition, Mehra is also building an impressive resume in her first year as a professional runner.

For the second time in seven months, the three-time All-American will represent the United States, competing Saturday at the 14th annual Great Edinburgh XCountry International Challenge in Scotland.

Mehra, 23, will race for the Americans in the Stewart Cup International Relay, a mixed gender 4x1 kilometer event that was added to the Great Edinburgh schedule in 2015.

WEBCAST INFO (Note: Junior races won't be shown live but could be shown in a highlight video)

The Oiselle professional, who also participated in the 20th Maccabiah Games in July in Israel, will team with training partner Ayla Granados, in addition to Will Geoghegan and Travis Mahoney, trying to help the U.S. to its first relay victory following a second-place finish last year.

“I’m just unbelievably proud. It’s so much fun to get to put on your country’s kit and to represent the values and morals and patriotism that you’ve grown up around. To get to this kind of level is really exciting and I’m so grateful to have this opportunity,” Mehra said. “I’m super excited to be on a relay again. As much as track and field and cross country can be extremely team-oriented, it feels even more so when you’re on a relay together and you’re relying on each other to get the baton to the next person.

“My favorite memories from high school and particularly college have been when I get to race with three people who I have a similar value system as and have trained with and have literally shed blood, sweat and tears together and then get to go do something together.”

Although Mehra hadn’t met Geoghegan or Mahoney before arriving in Scotland, she has spent the past five months working out and building a friendship with Granados while training with Strava Track Club Director Dena Evans, who entered her athletes in the pool for selection to race at Great Edinburgh.

After contributing to a fourth-place finish for Strava in the women’s open 6-kilometer race Dec. 9 at the USATF National Club Cross Country Championships in Lexington, Ky., Granados and Mehra were notified four days later of their Team USA selections.

“Even if I didn’t know who the other girl was, I would have been excited either way. But since it’s Rebecca, I’ve been looking forward to it even more,” said Granados, a Chico State All-American and Rabbit professional.

“The normal situation wouldn’t be for two teammates who have gotten so close over the season to do this race together because there are so many talented women to pick from. But I feel like there is something meant to be about it being the two of us. I’ve gotten to know Rebecca more and more over the season and I feel like we’ve formed a friendship and she’s great.”

Mehra, who ran a personal-best 4:11.97 on June 16 at the Portland Stumptown Twilight after placing sixth less than a week earlier in the 1,500 meters at the NCAA Division 1 Outdoor Championships, captured Maccabiah silver medals in both the 800 and 1,500 in her international debut.

Although she took second in both races in Jerusalem to Sasha Gollish, Mehra also formed a friendship during her time in Israel with the Canadian standout, who was instrumental in getting her connected with Dr. Sarah Lesko, a leader in corporate development at Oiselle.

“They were already a company I looked up to so much because of their focus on women’s empowerment, how they treat their athletes and just all-around great attitude,” Mehra said. “I was very lucky with the timing and how it all worked out the way it did.”

Working with Evans and training with Strava athletes like Granados and former Columbia All-American Natalie Tanner also gave Mehra the opportunity to remain close to Stanford, which allowed her to secure an internship with Andreessen Horowitz, a private American venture capital firm located in nearby Menlo Park.

“I happened to see this e-mail back in March when I was at Stanford about this policy and regulatory affairs team at a really well-known venture capital firm in the area,” Mehra said. “I had always had a very strong interest in policy, in particular foreign policy in Washington D.C., but I didn’t really think there would be a space for me within that world, especially in Silicon Valley.

“I interviewed right around Pac-12 outdoors and got a call right before my race at (NCAA West) regionals that I got internship, so at least I knew I had that coming up in August once I got back from Israel and visiting my grandparents in Switzerland.”

Although her internship ended in December, Mehra has also remained connected with Stanford by working 20 to 25 hours per week for the school’s athletic department focusing on student-athlete leadership and development, working on projects and creating programs to help them succeed academically and athletically.

The opportunity to work remotely has also given Mehra the flexibility to devote more time to training, not just for Great Edinburgh, but also for the track season upon her return from Scotland.

“I made a conscious decision that a full-time job right now does not work in my favor, since I want the running to go how I want it to, in particular during this seven-month period from January to July,” Mehra said. “If this job (at Andreessen Horowitz) had continued past the internship period, I think it would have maybe worked. But as much as I love this idea of being able to work the job and also run 4:07 in the 1,500, it’s really hard to do, because they are competing priorities.

“I’ve realized over time it’s fun to be a jack of all trades, but then you are a master of none. I want to give myself the opportunity to make myself as much of a master as I possibly can be of track and field this year and going forward.”

Mehra also knows how unforgiving the sport can be, sidelined several times during her Stanford career with stress fractures, most recently during her final outdoor season with the Cardinal. But the setbacks have also created more inspiration and motivation for her to have more international opportunities in the future.

“I had this crazy year where I was hurt for two months and then came back and I run the best races of my life. I feel like I have so much more room to grow and there are so many more things I can work on. There is so much more I want to do because I want to represent the U.S. on other teams,” Mehra said. “This game of track and field, it’s really easy along the route of high school, college and post-college to say, ‘I’m good, I’m done, I’ve put in a lot of years and this is it.’ That’s why I think the people who put in the time and stick it out over the years are the ones who get to reap the benefits later and for someone like Ayla, in particular, she’s been putting in the work after college for a few years now.

“It’s lonely, it’s hard, not that many people do it and not that many people outside of your running community understand it, so it’s very cool when you get an opportunity like this.”

Mehra has been no stranger to racing on the big stage since high school, qualifying for Nike Cross Nationals three times during her career at Palos Verdes High (Calif.), then competing at NCAA Division 1 finals in cross country, indoor track and outdoor track while at Stanford.

But Mehra’s post-collegiate achievements have taken on a greater significance, especially since she’ll have an opportunity to reunite in Scotland with former Stanford stars Chris Derrick and Garrett Heath, members of the U.S. men’s team competing Saturday in the senior 8-kilometer race.

Derrick and Heath were both fifth-year seniors at Stanford when Mehra was a high school senior and then they helped coach at Tahoe Camp when she was an incoming freshman in Palo Alto. Heath also stayed around for an additional six months into Mehra’s career as a men’s assistant coach.

“If you had asked 12 or 13 year old me if I was going to get to put on a USA kit someday and go travel to another country twice within one year, I wouldn’t have believed you,” Mehra said. “But I’m even more excited to experience it with a friend like Ayla and to see Chris and Garrett and share that Stanford connection.”

Before her selection to compete at Great Edinburgh, Mehra had planned on racing the 1,000 meters Saturday at the University of Washington Indoor Preview, just like she had throughout her Stanford career.

Instead of being in Seattle, she’ll be racing perhaps the most memorable kilometer of her cross country career in Scotland.

“This is what we call a happy conflict. It’s a fun, exciting step along the way and it’s absolutely an honor,” Mehra said. “It’s something that’s also relatable. It’s something that’s easy to explain going and representing your country to family and friends.”