Chico State Athletics

Alia Hansen (née Gray) was one of Chico State’s most accomplished distance runners, earning All-America honors in both cross country and track & field during her Wildcat career.

In cross country, Hansen was a two-time All-American, placing 34th at the 2009 NCAA Championships and 38th in 2011. She captured the 2011 CCAA individual championship and was a three-time All-West Region and three-time All-CCAA performer.

Hansen was equally successful on the track, earning two All-America honors in the 10,000-meter run. She placed sixth in the event at the 2009 NCAA Championships and eighth in 2012. In 2011, she set a Chico State record in the 10,000 meters with a time of 34:31.09, a mark that still ranks among the best in program history. She was also a two-time CCAA champion in the 5,000 meters.

Hansen continued competing at an elite level after college, posting top-10 finishes at the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials, Chicago Marathon and several national championship events. She and her husband, Richard, later founded the Roots Running Project, a high-performance distance running group based in Boulder, Colorado. She and her husband still reside in Boulder with their daughter.