McALLEN — When Valery Tobias first started running cross country in seventh grader, she didn’t know how it worked.
Her mom recalls Tobias asking her what to do before her first official race, telling her daughter to just follow the bike leading the way.
Tobias followed that bike and went on to become one of the RGV’s most decorated distance runners, winning three state championships during her four years at Edinburg IDEA Quest before moving on to run at the University of Texas.
A successful five-year stint with the Longhorns came to an end this past fall, ending with back-to-back NCAA DI Track and Field Championship appearances.
The RGV native isn’t done yet.
Tobias recently signed to continue her career at the professional level, joining Brooks Beasts Track Club in preparation for the 2024 Olympics in Paris. She celebrated her accomplishment with a send-off surrounded by family and friends Wednesday at the Valley Running Company in McAllen.
“It has been a rollercoaster,” Tobias said. “I spoke about it with a lot of my friends and coaches about how getting to this level has been a pleasant surprise. That is the best way to describe this. Running at college to the professional level, it wasn’t planned. … It has been really fun and surreal. I’m just really excited. I don’t know what the future holds but I hope it is more years of doing this.”
Despite a later start than most to her running career, Tobias’ success was almost instant once she started competing.
By the time she was in eighth grade, Tobias was already running with Edinburg IDEA Quest’s varsity team, even winning her first varsity race that year.
Tobias’ career just took off from there, reaching the podium at state during her freshman year, placing second in the Class 3A girls 800-meter run.
She followed up her first state appearance with three more, winning back-to-back-to-back state titles in the 800-meter run.
“I’m really glad of the support from my high school coaches,” Tobias said. “Some people consider us a small school, but we were able to push through that. I had a lot of support though. From my teachers to my coaches to my classmates, I had a lot of support poured on me. They were all so patient. I just thank them all for having that patience and getting me to this point.”
It wasn’t all smooth sailing for Tobias, however.
After a decorated four-year career with the Dragons, Tobias elected to enroll in fall 2019.
Her first few years were rough, Tobias said, at times doubting her ability to compete with the other girls with more experience than her. The self-doubt, mixed with a culture shock after only knowing the Valley, led to days off wanting to walk away from the sport she loved.
“I had a lot of setbacks because of the culture shock and leaving home for the first time,” she said. “Being able to fall back on the support I had from the Valley and just my high school and parents, it helped me to not give up and push through and keep going to see what I can do. I knew I had nothing to lose with this once in a lifetime opportunity.”
Tobias’ perseverance paid dividends during her final two seasons at Texas, evolving into one of the top mid-distance runners in the nation.
She capped her career with USTFCCCA First Team All-American honors in the 800-meter run during both indoor and outdoor seasons, also adding the 2023 Big 12 1,000-meter run indoor title.
Tobias also left Texas as the program record holder in the 800-meter (indoor and outdoor), 1,000-meter (indoor) and 1,500-meter (outdoor) runs. Her personal best time of 2 minutes, 03.39 seconds in the indoor 800-meter run is also the Mexican National Indoor record.
The RGV native has accomplished more than she could ever have imagined when she first started competing and chasing the pacing bike over 10 years ago.
Back then the thought of running collegiately didn’t occur to her until late in her high school career. The idea of running professionally didn’t begin to become a possibility for her until her final year with the Longhorns.
Tobias is no longer chasing that same bike that sparked her career years ago. Now she’s chasing her Olympic dreams, hoping to inspire the Valley’s next generation of athletes along the way.
“I’ve never taken this lightly,” Tobias said. “I think this is a huge deal for me, first of all, but also being able to put the Valley on the map. I’m sure a lot of people have helped put the Valley on the map. There is a lot of talented athletes down here. If they’re going to take anything away from me, it is just that this is all possible. There is no reason why they shouldn’t go to the next level. … The sky is the limit. Being able to represent the Valley makes me very happy.”
