Dani Shanahan, a HOKA ONE ONE Northern Arizona Elite professional athlete and former NCAA Division 1 cross country finalist during her career at Loyola Marymount, joins DyeStat editor Erik Boal to discuss returning to Mount San Antonio College in Walnut, Calif., to race cross country for the first time in 3,290 days when she competes Dec. 4 in the 10-kilometer event at the inaugural Sound Running Cross Champs. Shanahan, a CIF-Southern Section Division 4 champion and state runner-up during her senior year at Bishop Montgomery High in Torrance, last competed in a cross country race at Mt. SAC when she placed 13th in the 2012 Foot Locker West Regional, now known as the Eastbay West Regional. She reflects on how meaningful her senior cross country season was at Mt. SAC, especially after missing out on qualifying for the state meet on the same 2.93-mile course by less than a second in 2011. Shanahan explains how much she is looking forward to racing on the renovated Mt. SAC course, which her younger brother Matthew has already done this season competing for Bishop Montgomery. She also analyzes the challenges of running the complete course twice to complete the 10-kilometer distance, and how her experience racing on the Switchbacks, Poop-Out Hill and Reservoir Hill can play to her advantage against a strong field that includes Weini Kelati of the Under Armour Dark Sky Distance team, Allie Buchalski of the Brooks Beasts and both Anne-Marie Blaney and Amy Davis of the Hansons-Brooks ODP team. Shanahan revisits competing again Nov. 17 in the Michigan Pro Ekiden and joining Lauren Paquette, along with first-year professional Katie Wasserman, as well as Scott Fauble, Sid Vaughn and Nick Hauger in helping Northern Arizona Elite finish second overall after winning the inaugural mixed relay last year. She also shares her emotions after returning to racing for the first time in eight months Nov. 6 at the USATF 5K Championships in New York, placing 12th in 16:04, and how meaningful it was to compete against many of the elite female athletes in the country this fall. Shanahan also speaks about being a pacer for 4 miles Oct. 30 when teammate Alice Wright broke the British 1-hour track record by covering more than 17,000 meters in Phoenix and how significant it was to contribute to that experience. She looks forward to racing indoor track for the first time since 2019 and examines a busy weekend for the Northern Arizona Elite group, with Matt Baxter competing Dec. 4 in the indoor 5,000 at Boston University, Paquette racing Dec. 5 at the USATF Half Marathon Championships in South Carolina, and Rory Linkletter and Hauger participating Dec. 5 in the California International Marathon in Folsom and Sacramento.