Meet Jessica Gray
9/18/2014 12:00:00 AM | Track & Field, Cross Country
What made you want to come to The University of Alabama?
"I really loved the campus and how clean and organized it was. I also really liked the family atmosphere here with the team, but I really love the warm weather. It's already starting to cool off at home, and it's still warm here. I love it."
What's the biggest difference you've noticed from high school training to training at the collegiate level?
"I would definitely say the mileage. I increased my mileage a lot from high school to college. I feel like the intensity here is a lot greater than it was in high school. It was more of a do-what-you-want type workout in high school and here it is structured. You have to do everything at an exact pace. The structure is a lot more intense now."
What can the veteran runners teach you as a freshman?
"They can teach me how to train properly and how to keep up with my classes while being an athlete at the same time. They can also teach me how to practice, recover and keep up with everything that's going on around me."
What goals do you have this year?
"I definitely want to try and make the travel squad for the cross country team. I also want to do really well in track and set a new personal record in the 800 meters."
Have you ever had an embarrassing spill on the track or the cross country course?
"There was one time at Penn Relays and we were running the 4x400 meters. I was the third leg and we were coming around the last curve. Another girl cut me off and ended up falling. I hurdled over her and almost fell after I jumped over her. My teammate was yelling for me to come on, so I made it past the girl. It was probably the worst thing that's happened to me in a race."
What's your favorite part about running?
"I love how it keeps me in shape. It also helps me a lot with stress and it relaxes me. I can forget that the world is so stressful. I can forget about everything and just focus on running."
How did you begin distance running?
"My best friend freshman year of high school suggested joining the cross country team, so we went for orientation and signed up for the team."
What advice would you give young runners?
"I would tell them to do something else with running. That way they won't become burned out with running too quickly. I did soccer all the way through high school and it helped me not focus too much on track to where I was stressed."
