For Anna Bretan it’ s all a balancing act.

This 23-year-old mother of two is a nurse, a student, a cross country and track runner for SF State, and a holder of the All-American title.

“I’m competitive,” she said, “I really like to be busy. I’m really happy being able to do all these things at once, it just kind of fits my personality.”

Bretan manages her responsibilities with ease, given she has a lot on her plate.

“She’s super organized,” said John Mullen, Bretan’s husband. “She’s very hard-working, has a really good sense of humor and is very focused and determined.”

The All-American is a nurse at the maternity wing of St. Luke’s Hospital.

In fact, Bretan continued her training through both of her pregnancies.

“She’s amazing,” sophomore teammate Courtney Wheeler said. “She impressed all the girls, they all came back talking about her saying ‘she’s fast and she just had a baby six weeks ago!’”

Bretan even competed in a 10 kilometer race in Golden Gate Park during her first pregnancy.

“I’ve heard things about it being good for you to run while you have a baby but I’ve never heard of anyone running that hard while in their third trimester,” Wheeler said.

Bretan has two sons, Mason, who is 2-years-old, and Preston, who celebrated his first birthday on Sept. 4.

“The older one totally gets it that mommy runs and that mommy races,” said Melanie Bretan, Anna’s mother. “He understands that and its really fun to watch him. And he’s running now too.”

Bretan placed third at nationals in the women’s 5K run soon after transferring to SF State and joining the women’s track team. This earned her the title of All-American.

“That was one of the most exciting races I’ve ever run,” she said of her accomplishment.

“I was real proud of her,” Mullen said. “She worked so hard. She decided to go back to school and didn’t know how she’d do. Her goal was to keep up with the team and she’s done so much more.”

Bretan’s presence has had an impact on both the track and cross country teams.

“She brings a certain maturity to the team that your typical 18 or 19-year-old won’t have,” SF State assistant coach Pete Cushman said.

“A lot of the kids have mentioned that she has this certain mother-like quality with them as well. With a team like ours with two male coaches it’s nice to have her as a [female] role model,” Cushman said.

“She is just one of the sweetest teammates you could have,” said junior Lisa Herrera, teammate of Bretan’s for both sports. “She’s great! I could not say one bad thing about her in any shape or form. She’s much faster then any of the girls so she’s more of a motivation to the boys. But she’s always cheering for us.”

Herrera is not alone in her thoughts on Bretan.

“She helps us with our times as a team,” Wheeler said. “And she’s just a real inspiration because she’s so crazy fast and she’s completely modest about it. She’s always happy, always smiling even though she’s running in a race. Its just cool to have that element around.”

It is this attitude that comes across most to those who meet her.

“She seems to do everything with a smile and that’s all you could ask for,” Cushman said.

“You know she’s going to work hard on her own. Considering everything that she has going on, the fact that she’s never complained and is always here and happily does everything is as coachable as it gets. She’s a great person, very friendly and very easy going. If she has a lot of stress in her life, I don’t see it. The Anna I know is no different from the Anna you meet.”