Aja Starkey has made quite a name for herself in the local running community.

Her times in middle school would have placed at state on the high school level and her promise as just a sophomore means she’ll be blazing new trails for Polson for years to come.

But slap a pair of skis on her, and she starts to get really impressive.

Aja Starkey has made quite a name for herself in the local running community.

Her times in middle school would have placed at state on the high school level and her promise as just a sophomore means she’ll be blazing new trails for Polson for years to come.

But slap a pair of skis on her, and she starts to get really impressive.

The talented Starkey just returned last week from the Junior Nationals Ski Championships in Soldier Hollow in Utah and finished as an All-American in three of the four events she competed in. Her performance was so good that she was invited to a training camp by the U.S. Olympic Committee but declined because she had already missed a week of school.

The sport of Nordic skiing has all the soul-crushing and pain-filled elements of distance running but kicks it up a couple notches, demanding upper body strength from the athlete to push themselves along with ski poles.

“You’re using every single muscle,” Starkey said. “It’s totally everything you have and it’s a lot harder. But it so much fun when you’re in shape, you’re going super fast and flying through the snow.”

Starkey is used to skiing, having gone since she was a little kid with her parents, and got involved competitively three years ago.

“My parents are so supportive,” Starkey said. “It’s amazing. They are always there for me. They always take the extra step and when I’m having a bad day they’re always there to pick me up.”

As a member of the North Shore Nordic Team based in Kalispell, the 15-year-old Starkey is currently competing in the J2 age group. She qualified for nationals this season after finishing in the top three in each of the four regional qualifiers, held in Bend, Ore., Leavenworth, Wash., Soldier Hollow, Utah and Spokane, Wash.

She earned a spot on the Pacific Northwest Skiing Association team, and throughout the season she developed friendships with other top girls in the region.

“We’re all really good friends and we’re all pretty good competitors,” Starkey said. “We just really push each other.”

At nationals in Soldier Hollow, Starkey got to compete in the same venue that was host to the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympic Games. With nine regions in all competiting, 500 skiers were at the competition looking to perform well.

Starkey stole the show for the PNSA, and was the team’s top point-getter in the competition. She began nationals by placing 31st in the 1.5K classic sprint race.

“They have interval starts where you just sprint as hard as you can,” Starkey said. “Some of those sprinter girls are huge. Those are some big skiers, they’re really built.”

Then the races moved into longer distances which was, admittedly, Starkey’s strong point. Despite a crowded field of competitors on the 5K freestyle course, with 75 skiers packed into space intended for two or three, Starkey finished 19th, earning All-American honors.

“You have to keep your poles in tight and if someone crashes in front of you, you got to jump,” Starkey said.

In the 5K class event, she finished 15th and was again an All-American.

“They have interval starts and you’re all going at the same time so you don’t know where everyone is at in the race,” Starkey said.

Then she rounded out nationals by helping anchor the 3x3 PNSA relay team to a sixth-place finish out of 25 teams.

“It’s really neat,” Starkey said. “It’s an individual sport but in this event you’re working with your team.”

And since it’s a regional team, Starkey got to meet and be coached by some of the best skiing athletes around. Laura McCabe, a former Olympian, who coaches in Washington state was somebody Starkey was really happy to ski under.

“I got a lot of good tips from her,” Starkey said. “She ran in college so she’s a distance runner like me. It’s fun to have that combo from a coach. It was great to have all those awesome coaches.”

Starkey’s performance is exceptional considering many of the girls she was competing against go to boarding schools that focus on skiing specifically. She did have an ace up her sleeve though: that never-die attitude that only distance runners seem to develop when they have a mile and-a-half still to run but ran out of gas a half-mile back.

“That had a big effect on me,” Starkey said. “Being a runner definitely gave me an advantage. With this kind of sport, there’s always a wall you just have to break through mentally. It’s so great knowing how to do that because of running.”

Starkey spent two days a week training at Blacktail Ski Resort, utilizing their nicely groomed Nordic trails. She would complement that with strength-training along with form-training to practice going through the motions of the sport.

Perhaps the most impressive thing about Starkey is she’s only going to get better. She’ll move up an age group from J2 to J1 where she’ll compete against older skiers but in longer-distance races. The 5K will become a 10K and that had Starkey ready to roll.

“I’ve always been a distance person,” Starkey said. “I can go for a really long time.”

After dealing with an Achilles injury her freshman year, Starkey is coming into this track season for Polson after being on the slopes all winter. That should mean good things for the Mission Valley running phenom.

“I just started track and I feel like I’m in really good shape,” Starkey said. “When I had the injury it was a 13- month process. That wears on you mentally and I just had to find something other than running to do. It was really hard but I tried to make the best of it and try new things.”

Kayaking? Road biking? Rock climbing? Starkey does it all, but rest assured she’s still excited for this track season. If the past is any indication, Starkey will continue to achieve great things, even with her skis off.