Lauren Bonds is a runner. After a hard day of studying, she doesn’t think about retiring to the couch and flipping on the television. She thinks of the 10-mile run she has waiting for her at practice. Running, for Bonds, is a way to deal with some of the stresses of college life. And it is this passion that makes her the great KU athlete she is today.

Bonds knew that she wanted to be a collegiate runner by high school. She had success at Hutchinson High School as a runner, placing fourth in the Kansas 6A State Cross Country Championships. It wasn’t until her sister, Morgan Bonds, ran for Kansas State that she realized that she could take her athletic success to a collegiate level.

“I don’t think it ever really hit me that this is what I want to do in college and that this is going to be an opportunity for me until my sister went to college,” Bonds says. “That’s when I started thinking this is what my college is going to be like too. Coming home over winter break and doing abs until you want to pass out.”

Lauren didn’t follow in her sister’s footsteps completely though. She went to the University of Kansas.

Lauren had a very successful freshman season, finishing consistently within the top four runners for Kansas. But she still was not completely content with how she was contributing to the team.

“Looking back at it, I wish I would have been more serious earlier,” Bonds says. “I didn’t really know what I should be doing, but at the same time I learned a lot from that.”

By her sophomore year, she was the first finisher for Kansas in all of the races in which she participated.

“As she matured more and more she got better and better,” says cross country coach Stanley Redwine. “It’s not that she changed. It’s just a result of her willingness to succeed.”

And will herself she does. Although she is primarily a mid-distance runner during the track season, she still runs more miles per week than any other women on the cross country team.

“Cross country is really hard for me just because I’m used to the shorter faster stuff,” Bonds says. “That’s always been easier for me. For me to be able to help my team as much as I can and be competitive at the Big 12 and competitive in the region, I know I can’t do that running 40 or 50 miles per week.”

It is this type of dedication that makes her teammates push themselves and do their best as well.

“She is someone we look up to and really try to become a good runner like she has,” says sophomore cross country runner Kara Windisch.

Lauren isn’t just a role model on the cross country trail, though. She is always available if her teammates need her advice.

“She’s a great leader and she helps people out,” Windisch says. “If they have questions about running or what they need to do, Bonds is always there. All the girls listen to what she has to say.”

Bonds brings the same focus and intensity that she has while she is running to her schoolwork. She is a political science major and is going to law school next year at Duke.

“They definitely compliment each other, being serious on the track and being serious in school,” Bonds says.

And it shows. Bonds has been named Academic All-Big 12 First Team for two years in a row.

“What I’m going to be doing for the rest of my life is academic and not athletic,” Bonds says. “So I think academics has always been more important than sports to me, but there still has to be a balance.”

Bonds has found that balance and it is working well for her.

“I think the ability to achieve — I don’t care if you’re a distance runner or a shot putter — what it does is if a person really wants it and is committed to it they are able to do it,” Redwine says. “And with her I don’t think it’s because she is a distance runner that she is able to achieve; it’s because she wants it.”

With her last cross country season winding down, Bonds still has a few more goals.

“I definitely want to qualify for nationals as an individual if my team is not able to come with me. I would love for my team to come with me,” Bonds says. “Also I want to improve upon my finish at Big 12 this year.”

The 2009 Big 12 Championships are on Saturday in Columbia, Mo.

She finished 12th last year with a time of 21:31 in the 6K race and she earned her first All-Big 12 honor.

When Bonds does cross her last finish line, whether it be in nationals or not, she will leave her team of four years and there will be a big part of the Kansas cross country team missing.

“She’s a great friend and great running partner,” Windisch says. “She’s just one of the runners that you wish could stay around forever.”