She is an 11-time All-American, as well as the only Big Sky Conference athlete to win the league cross country title four times.
Simply put, Northern Arizona’s Ida Nilsson is one of the most decorated athletes ever lace up a pair of running shoes. Nilsson ranked third on the Big Sky Conference’s list of “25 Greatest Female Athletes.’’
”It makes me happy,” said Nilsson about being No. 3. ”My time at NAU has a lasting impact on me and I'm honored to be remembered.”
The Sweden native competed for the Lumberjacks from 2001-04 in cross country. During those years she never lost a Big Sky individual title. She placed fourth at the Mountain Regional in 2001, and was second from 2002-04.
”I really liked the cross country season and I liked running cross country as a team, which you don't do so much in Europe,” said Nilsson. ”I actually like training for cross country better than the track, and I remember the fall training and going to meets were a lot of fun.”
During the 2001 season at the NCAA Cross Country Championship, Nilsson finished 12th with a time of 20 minutes, 58 seconds. That next season she placed eighth, and was ninth in 2003.
”I loved racing at the NCAA Cross Championships,” said Nilsson. ”But I didn't manage to finish really high up. I never really got a perfect race at NCAA cross country and I think that my last year I had placed top three if I would not have been sick right before, and I could never start.”
Nilsson competed in track and field from 2002-05. During the indoor season in 2002, Nilsson won the mile and 3,000 meters at the Big Sky Championships. She placed fifth at the NCAA Championship in the 3,000.
During the outdoor season, Nilsson won the 1,500 meters, steeplechase and 5,000 meters at the Big Sky Championship. She went on to compete at the NCAA Championship, and finished second in the steeplechase with a time of 9:49.94.
Nilsson sat out the 2003 indoor season as a redshirt. During the outdoor season, she won the steeplechase and 5,000 meters at the Big Sky Championship. She again placed second in the steeplechase with a time of 9:46.74.
In 2004, Nilsson focused on the 3,000 meters at the indoor championship. She won and went to the NCAA Championship where she bettered her performance, but still finished third.
In her last outdoor season, Nilsson won the steeplechase at the Big Sky Outdoor Championship. She then captured her first NCAA title, winning the steeplechase in 9:48.29.
“It was my last outdoor NCAA and I wanted to win really bad, and I tried to do everything I could that spring to succed,” said Nilsson. ”At regionals 10 days before I felt in good shape, but unfortunatly I hit a barrier with my knee. It didn't effect me during the race, but the next week the knee swelled up and I was unable to run.”
”I remember going camping with my brother and sister and I was sitting with the knee in a cold stream the entire afternoon,” added Nilsson. ”When we arrived to Austin the knee was finally getting better and I felt that now I'm going to do this. The prelims got cancelled because of a storm and we had to wait another day to get started.”
”I don't remember much of the race at all,” continuted Nilsson. ”I know that it was me and Brianna Shook who were racing in front, but I can't remember at all how the race unfolded. It was very windy and human so it was hard to run really fast, but I was very happy for the win.”
During her last indoor season, Nilsson won the mile and 3,000 meters. She went on to compete at her last NCAA Championship where she won her second NCAA title in the 5,000 meters with a time of 15:50.20.
”This time I was not so focused on winnning and I had a pretty hard time leading in to the championships,” said Nilsson. ”I had been sick a lot since the NCAA cross in the fall and during the one month Christmas break, I went to Peru and Bolivia and got food poisining. So in the beginning of the indoor season I felt really week and practice wasn't going well at all.”
”But I manage to qulify for the NCAA and I felt better and better as the season went on,” added Nilsson. ”I can't tell you anything about this race either. It's blank in my mind. All I remember was that Coach Hayes was happy since he was the new coach at NAU.”
Nilsson won 16 Big Sky individual titles during her illustrious career. She still holds the indoor championship record in the 3,000 meters, running a time of 9:20.61 in 2004. She also holds the all-time record of 15:59.33 set in 2005 in the 5,000. Nilsson also holds the outdoor all-time record in the 5,000 meters of 15:33.18 set in 2004.
”It doens't mean so much to me to hold records, those are there to be beaten,” said Nilsson. ”But I'm really happy with my best time in the 5000 at the Mt. Sac. I loved racing at Mt. Sac, and the magical perfect nights that always appeared for the distance races.”
”The 3,000 meter record indoor I think I got when I one year had to qualify for NCAA on conference, otherwise I never tried to run fast at the Big Sky, I just tried to win and get as many points as possible for the team,” added Nilsson.
After leaving NAU, Nilsson tried to continue to run professionally. She had to stop after a series of injuries, which included a stress fracture in her hip joint in 2009. The injury didn’t fully heal until the summer of 2013. Unfortunately, her days as a world-class runner are over.
She has been able to travel and work seasonal jobs in Norway and Sweden. She currently lives in Sweden at a mountain resort where she has started a program to become a wilderness and adventure guide.
