Bartlesville junior Gentry Turner recently shared her thoughts on competing in cross country, the current season, and her future by providing her own “Runner’s Perspective.”

Cross country obviously takes a lot of stamina and an efficient and fit body, but what sets a successful runner apart from the rest is their mindset. Running is more mental than any other sport that I know of. A lot of people like to say that when you’re out there it’s just you versus the course but in reality it’s your rational brain versus your wimpy brain. Your body is competing not only against the course, but against everybody else that is doing the exact same thing. 

The great runners are those who have the confidence in their mentality to override the pain that they are feeling at the moment and reach for a new level that they never thought possible. I am in no way saying that I have this down yet, but I hope that one day maybe I will have the guts to do what it takes to be great.

I started running in fourth grade because of our town’s cross country recruitment event called the Bruin Mile. Before ever signing up I played a little rec league soccer but I was never all that great. I noticed that I kind of liked just running around aimlessly. So one day at school I grabbed a flyer for the Bruin Mile.  I told my dad about it and he mowed a little lap in our backyard and “trained” me for two weeks. 

On the day of the race I remember being so nervous, but also super excited. When that gun went off I knew that it was my time to shine. 

I took off pretty fast or at least I felt like it because my dad still has the video of me jogging by and saying in my little voice “Dad, I think I took off too fast!” 

He encouraged me and I kept going even though I felt like I was dying. I ended up placing fourth with a time in the mid eight minute range in a group that felt like 500 people (although it was probably closer to about 75). From that moment on I knew that I had found my place.

I have always had problems with setting concrete goals because it feels like too much pressure; however, what actually ends up happening is that I improve and have breakthroughs and then forget about the things from the past. I know I would have achieved my goals but I was often too scared to set them so I’d never gotten the satisfaction of knocking them out.

This year in cross country my biggest goal is to get healthy. I have struggled for a while with a multitude of mental and physical health issues that I have only recently been validating and addressing. Most of my specific goals for this season are about me as a person and they are things that I have to work on so that any other progress in my life can be stable and sustainable. I believe that if I can restore my competitive edge and heal my mentality then my physical goals will be unlocked and fall into place.

Over the years I have come to appreciate many different figures in my life who have inspired me to become the runner and athlete that I am today. I have many role models in my life like my parents and my coach, but their inspiration can only go so far because at the end of the day running is just about you and the trail. 

My real inspiration comes from athletes that do what I do at an even higher level and still have the energy to be kind and generous people. I have drawn a lot of inspiration from three time Oklahoma state Champion Payton Hinkle because of her confidence in her own abilities and the way that she trusts her body to do what it needs to do so that she can be amazing. 

One of the hardest things as a runner is to go out and hold first place for the entire race. It is stressful and mildly terrifying because you feel so open and I always doubt whether or not I am going to have enough left in the tank to keep it up. But, Payton does this all the time and at a much higher level. Holding the front for the entire race is also often the story for Cayden Dawson. In my opinion, absolutely no one in Oklahoma can run more consistently and efficiently than Cayden. Every single stride looks effortless and that within itself is a mind game to fellow competitors. Both of these runners have always inspired me.

As for this season, I think our schedule is pretty fun. We are going to the Chile Pepper Cross Country Festival in Arkansas at the beginning of October and I have never been. That is bound to be an exciting race. I am obviously super excited for state, too. That is when all of the hard work I put in every season finally comes to a head. Every race is like a really hard practice in preparation for state.

After high school I am planning on going to college but as of now I am not entirely sure if I want to run or not, and if so, where. That all depends on what my offers look like in the  next year. My whole family has gone to OSU so that is high on my list but I’ve still got plenty of time to figure all that out. I think that I want to study English to work for a publishing company as either a literary agent or an editor but I might change my mind in the next couple years.

-Gentry Turner