She trudged through the mud and snow, struggling through each stride at the Newman Golf Course in Peoria, Illinois, on Nov. 9. Despite the less than ideal conditions, all Dodd focused on was the voice of her roommate and best friend, Abbie Hetherington. With 250 meters to go, Dodd said Hetherington screaming at her with words of support and encouragement was all she heard.
Dodd said it's a race she will always remember because of Hetherington's presence.
"Even when she's on the sideline, she's still so supportive," Dodd said. "I don't think many people have that characteristic. They can be a little disappointed they're not running, but Abbie can put that aside and be a good team player."
Dodd finished 49th and was the Cowgirls' fifth-best runner and the Oklahoma State women's cross-country team ended up qualifying for the NCAA Championships.
Two weeks later in Madison, Wisconsin, Dodd finished 111th in a 255-runner field and was the second Cowgirl to cross the line. Hetherington, who was again on the sideline, said that race was one she will never forget.
"I just remember being proud of Kaylee," Hetherington said. "She was always (in OSU's top five), but she had done really well, and to see her come down the last straightaway with her mini stride was awesome."
Dodd and Hetherington's friendship seems fitting now, but their paths almost never crossed. Dodd was not interested in leaving home, so she kept telling Smith she wasn't going to OSU. Hetherington, on the other hand, was committed almost immediately.
Coach Dave Smith said Hetherington was one of his easiest recruits to get on board to run in Stillwater.
"Abbie knew she wanted to come here when she was 14," Smith said. "We recruited her, kind of. She sat in my office and I tried telling her all of these things and all she would say is 'I'm gonna come here.'"
Dodd and Hetherington are from England, but because they are from different parts of the country, their meetings before coming to OSU weren't common. They had previously run together as a part of English junior national teams and that was the first time the two had interacted.
Dodd said a few athletes from her hometown Leeds, qualified for the same national event as Hetherington is from Carlisle, so they didn't spend time together on that trip.
"There's actually a picture of us in a group at a junior national championship and we're on opposite sides of the picture," Dodd said. "We didn't know each other then, so it's just weird to look back on how we used to not know each other at all and now we're so close."
Hetherington (far right) and Dodd (fourth from right) pose for a picture before an English junior championship
It seems like one can't be thought of without the other. Their support for each other goes beyond the confines of any cross-country course or track.
Dodd and Hetherington have been roommates for four years. They said they rarely spend time apart. They run together for most of their workouts and daily runs. Dodd said they run about 50 miles per week during the track season and more when it's cross-country season. Even though they spend so much time together, they have never had an argument. Dodd said they haven't had a disagreement in their five years as friends.
"We never get sick of each other," Hetherington said. "Normally I get sick of people easily, but not with Kaylee."
Dodd said their lack of conflict might be a British thing, but it could also be because of their personality differences. Dodd is more outspoken and bubbly while Hetherington is soft-spoken and reserved. Hetherington said she likes to let Dodd do the talking in social situations.
Despite the opposite personalities, Hetherington said she has bonded with Dodd unlike anyone else.
"I don't have a sister, but I feel like she's my sister," Hetherington said.
When they moved in together before their sophomore year, their friends weren't so sure being roommates would work out. Roommates have cycled in and out of their houses over the course of the past four years, but Dodd's and Hetherington's friendship has been the only consistent thing.
"We started out living in a five-person house and not everyone got along," Dodd said. "The next year we moved to a house with four people, but we've never had issues.
"That's kind of crazy when you think about it."
Now Dodd and Hetherington are seniors and will have to find new roommates after they graduate in May. Dodd is a strategic communications student and is looking for a marketing or public relations job in the United States.
Dodd said it is going to be different not seeing her best friend every day.
"It's weird because it's a big part of our lives," Dodd said. "It's been five years and then it goes back to when we were 11 and running track.
"It's a big thing coming to an end."
Kaylee Dodd (middle) and Abbie Hetherington (right) watch the Cowgirls' distance medley relay team race for a Big 12 title on Feb. 22. (Matt McClain/OSU Athletics)
Dodd knew what her best friend was going to tell her before Hetherington walked in the room.
Hetherington sat down in Dodd's room with something to tell her.
"Abbie, it's OK. I know," Dodd said.
Hetherington then told Dodd she was gay.
Dodd said she had known based on pictures she saw of Hetherington and her girlfriend.
"Nothing was going to change," Dodd said. "When you think about it, you have friends at home, but you don't have a friendship like we have."
It was a freeing feeling for Hetherington to know that Dodd was accepting of her sexual orientation. Her next step was to tell Smith. Smith said he knew because someone from England told him, but he never cared.
"I didn't care about it any more than she was six-feet tall or blonde," Smith said. "She went through a couple years of struggling and that was an eye-opening experience for me."
She published a story on Outsports.com, an SB Nation blog focused on LGBT athletes. Hetherington is out to the world.
"I don't think I would be the athlete today if I was still scared about telling people that I am gay," Hetherington wrote in her first-person essay. "It gave me so much confidence as a person that I was able to become a better athlete."
Hetherington said her friendship with Dodd grew after she came out to her.
"It made our friendship stronger," Hetherington said. "I felt like I was lying to her and you can't make great friendships when you do that."
Kaylee Dodd (left) and Abbie Hetherington pose for a photo during a social media photoshoot. (Bruce Waterfield/OSU Athletics)
Hetherington was coming down the final straightaway at the Lied Recreational Center. She had never won a Big 12 title, but she was meters from winning the conference's 1,000-meter crown. With a comfortable lead, she leaned her head back, let out a yell and flexed her muscles. Hetherington crossed the line as a Big 12 champion.
Dodd and Smith agreed Hetherington's 2017 conference title was one of their favorite moments in the past five years.
"That three-second moment (at the end) was huge," Smith said. "(That moment) is what it's all about. That's why we do this sport. That's why we train so hard, sacrifice and commit."
Dodd said she was emotional because Hetherington had thought about winning that race for a year.
They have combined for five All-American honors, two Big 12 championships and 14 all-conference awards. Hetherington's performance is one of the many times she has proven her and her best friend's prominence in the Big 12 middle distance scene.
They have also come close to winning national titles, but their favorite one of those many accolades was March 9 when Dodd and Hetherington were members of the OSU distance medley relay team that took sixth at the national championships.
Dodd led off with the 1,200-meter leg of the race and Hetherington followed in the third of four sections with an 800-meter leg. After Hetherington handed off to Ariane Ballner, Dodd remembers her best friend was too nervous to watch the Cowgirls' finish. Dodd got Hetherington to watch with her from the sidelines, but Dodd said it was nerve-wracking to watch the final 1,600 meters of the race.
"We were in All-American position, but we were helping each other through (the nerves)," Dodd said. "When you're running for other people, you're nervous because you need to do your part, but it makes it way more fun and relaxed when you're with your best mate.
"It was a nice feeling to become All-Americans together on the same team."
Dodd and Hetherington have added much more to the program than on the track awards. They have also been consistent leaders.
With every graduating class, Smith said he doesn't know how the program will fill in the gaps, but Dodd and Hetherington have grown into leadership roles.
Junior distance runner Kami Hankins has been there to witness the transition of leadership.
Hankins said she remembers she was worried when Natalie Baker and Anna Boyert graduated, but said the team revolves around Dodd's and Hetherington's energy.
"The best part about them is their friendship," Hankins said. "When you have a bad race, they'll be there for you. They're going to be there for you outside of practice. You can find good teammates, but it's hard to find teammates who will be better friends outside of the running community."
Their impact on the program is seen constantly, whether it's in practice, traveling or being around the coaches' offices.
Assistant coach Cody Halsey said they will be missed.
"Every day I get to spend with them is awesome," Halsey said. "I miss them when I don't see them. It could be a day off or they could be home for Christmas break. Whenever they aren't here, their presence is missed."
Kaylee Dodd (left) and Abbie Hetherington pose for a photo in the Lied Recreation Center in Ames, Iowa.
Time is dwindling for Dodd's and Hetherington's running careers.
Even though they came into the program together, it looked as if they might not have gone out together.
Dodd and Hetherington weren't on track to finish their careers at the same time with Dodd's time as a Cowgirl scheduled to end after the 2018 cross-country season and Hetherington's career set to end after the 2019 indoor season.
Dodd was injured during the 2016 indoor season, but the paperwork was never filed to earn that redshirt, so OSU sent in the paperwork in September and Dodd was granted another year of eligibility indoors.
Dodd said it hasn't hit her that her last race will come Friday at the NCAA Indoor Championships in Birmingham, Alabama.
It's only fitting they end their careers together.
"I want to enjoy it," Dodd said. "I obviously have goals and things I want to achieve, but I also want to come out of this season thinking I had a lot of fun. A lot of times there's pressure, but I want to enjoy it."
Hetherington, on the other hand, said she gets emotional from time to time.
"Sometimes when we go out on a run we get emotional," Hetherington said. "I just think about how it might be one of the last time we run this route."
Their careers will come to a close Friday at the NCAA Indoor Championships as members of the Cowgirls' distance medley relay team.
The OSU women's distance medley relay team is ranked No. 2 and will race for a national title with Dodd running and Hetherington likely on the sideline as an alternate.
A national title would cement their legacies as some of the best Cowgirls in program history, but what they will remember most is the memories they made and the people surrounding them.
"Obviously you have your own successes, but it wouldn't be possible without the people around you," Dodd said. "We've made lots of memories on trips, and that makes it more exciting."
Kaylee Dodd (left) and Abbie Hetherington pose for a photo with after All-American performances in the distance medley relay at the 2018 NCAA Indoor Championships.
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