Fran Weems has the proper training for racing around the NBC Nightly News studio as a promotions intern.

The former Hawai'i high school state sprint champion is spending a summer in New York City instead of Berkeley, Calif., where she is a member of Cal's cross country and track and field teams.

But her frantic work schedule, which includes putting scripts on anchor Brian Williams' desk, doesn't faze her. Weems, who grew up in foster care, thrives under pressure.

"Starting back from my childhood, I've always had to aim high," Weems said. "Everything has been tested and put against me. That's driven my whole outlook on life. Had that not happened, I probably wouldn't be who I am today. I've used the way I've handled that situation in everything I handle in my life. I make sure I'm going to cross every barrier. I feel like nothing can be thrown at me bigger than homelessness and not being raised by my mom and not knowing my dad.

"I've passed that, so bring it on."

As a senior at Kealakehe High in 2005, Weems won the state 100-meter dash in 12.43 seconds, the 200 in 25.38, and the 400 in 57.04.

She considered giving up track when she entered college, where she was initially set to enroll at Saint Mary's (Calif.). But her high school coach contacted Cal and told them she was willing — with the backing of a Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation scholarship — to go to Cal instead.

It fulfilled a childhood dream.

And in typical Weems' fashion, although she enjoyed success with personal records early in her career, she decided it wasn't enough.

After PRs in the 200 and 400 in both her freshman and sophomore years at Cal, Weems decided to move up to the 800.

"I sat down with my coaches and said I'm in a predicament because my 400-meter has improved, but not as much as I'd like," she said. "For my potential, I should have run faster."

They decided the 800 was a better fit so she joined the school's cross country squad to train for the longer track distance.

"I run so much cross country, I was running 45 to 50 miles a week," said Weems, who also ran cross country in high school. "As a sprinter, it was 10 miles. You wouldn't think one lap (from the 400 to 800) would make such a difference, but it does."

Weems ran in two cross country races last year — the 4K Stanford Invitational in which she finished 56th in 16 minutes, 41 seconds, and the 5K San Francisco State Invitational in which she placed 45th in 25:00.

As for doubling her track distance, Weems said: "They are both equally brutally hard. You just want to die. The 800 is a whole 'nother gear. The second lap, you're like, 'Why do I run this? It's so hard.' Because it's so much longer, you have more time to think."

In her first 800, she finished about 2:28. By the end of the season she was down to 2:16.

"My coach thinks there's going to be an even bigger drop this year," she said.

Success isn't foreign to Weems, a Pac-10 Conference All-Academic second team track and field selection in 2007. While she still hopes for a career in broadcast journalism, she also wants to "somehow be involved with foster care of some sort. I want to help foster care become a place where kids feel safe.

"I owe a lot to my history; it's made me who I am today," said Weems, who will be a junior in cross country but a senior in track. "I'm very happy. I'm happy to be one of the foster kids who have made it. I'm happy I'm able to become the one to overcome and not be a statistic."