Lily Alder is a junior here at Timpview, and one of the school’s top runners. She competes in events like the 800m, mile, and 2 mile, both for Timpview and for the Nike Elite team, which is sponsored by Nike and the National Scholastic Athletics Foundation (NSAF). Recently, she committed to run at BYU after high school, and shared her academic and athletic story with me.
Alder has lived in a few different places. “I’m originally from Pinehurst, North Carolina,” she says. “I lived there for about 13 years before my family moved abroad to Stuttgart, Germany for a year. Then we came to Provo my sophomore year.” Running has always been a big part of her life. Both of her parents ran for BYU, and her mom also competed in the Olympics for Ecuador, holding national records in the 1500m and 3000m. Her dad won the Utah state cross country title in 1991 while running for Timpview. Lily’s two older sisters now run at BYU as well.
Lily started running at age 6 with her sisters in a club. “I wasn’t the best at first, but what I loved, and still love, is how running pushes you to discover your potential.” Goals that once felt impossible become benchmarks. Now, she travels around the country with her teammate Jane Hendergren to race against some of the best high school athletes in the U.S. Being part of Nike Elite means she gets to compete at a higher level and prepare for college athletics.
“When looking at colleges I knew that I wanted to be in a program that wanted to chase my goals with me. As well as I wanted a program that valued my values” she says. After talking with Coach Diljeet Taylor, it was clear BYU was the right fit. She’s hoping to run at BYU for college and then join Diljeet’s pro running group for Nike.
Balancing school with her training and travel schedule can be a challenge, but Lily says it’s doable with effort. “It’s definitely tricky with the amount of travel and training, but Timpview teachers are so willing to work with you and meet you halfway.”
Throughout this all, Alder shares her advice to believe in yourself. “People assume running comes naturally or that genetics creates good runners” she admits that sure that plays a part but what makes a good runner is commitment and believing in yourself and the ability that you can be great, you will be. “My own mom came from a family of non-runners, grew up on a farm, but through belief in herself made it to the Olympics.”
Alder shares her final message to “never count yourself out.” She plans to finish out her senior year strong and looks forward to running at BYU in the fall of 2026.
