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Lauren Gregory CO XC feature 2014 - DyeStat

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DyeStat.com   Sep 17th 2014, 6:39pm
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Gregory moving to the front in Colorado

 

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor


Lauren Gregory can pinpoint the exact moment when things clicked into place and her running career took off.


She was 8. She was running with her parents at the Bolder Boulder 10K.


"They decided to throw me in (to the race) and the plan was to all stick together," Gregory recalled. "I got bored running with them and I took off. Something clicked right then. It was weird."


Gregory is a sophomore at Fort Collins now, already a Colorado 5A state champion in cross country and track (3200). She was seventh at Nike Cross Nationals last December -- the only freshman in the top 40.


And last Saturday she cruised through the Liberty Bell Invitational in Littleton, running 17:15 on the fast 5,000-meter course to win by 27 seconds.


"I was happy with it," Gregory said of Liberty Bell. "It was a PR and I felt good. I felt strong most of the race."


Gregory seems perfectly situated to pursue her running passion. First of all, she's in Fort Collins and part of a nationally recognized program. Chris Suppes built Fort Collins into a regular NXN qualifier and even though he resigned as the head cross country coach last winter, the culture of what he built is alive and well.


"We take (running) seriously but we're fun and happy about it," Gregory said. "We all care about running but we also care about other things. I love the team and it's a really cool environment. You want to keep the (Fort Collins) ledgend going and it inspires us to go faster."


Great as Fort Collins has been, it's never had someone quite like Gregory. She broke the school records in the 1600 and 3200 as a freshman.


And she has become one of the top young runners in the country.


That acclaim has taken a little time to get used to. When Gregory arrived at Nike Elite Camp the last week of July she expressed a bit of concern that maybe she didn't belong in the group of eight girls who had been invited.


"It took me a while to realize it," she said. "At first, I was like 'Oh dear God' what am I doing here? But after a while it was OK. I think just being so young it freaked me out a little bit."


Gregory did her homework before she entered Fort Collins. She went online and studied the top girls in Colorado and around the country. And she looked up to them.


"In middle school I'd follow these people. I was obsessed," she said. "Especially since I was going to Fort Collins I felt like I needed to know stuff."


Gregory said she is inspired by Elise Cranny and her achievements in Colorado and also has respect and admiration for Jordyn Colter of Cherry Creek -- her main competion in Class 5A -- as well as Katie Rainsberger of Air Academy.


"I look up to the things runners have done and different qualities that they have," Gregory said. "I look up to Elise and how pretty much on her own she started setting new records and making her mark on the nation. It's so cool. And someone like Emma Coburn (inspires me), coming from a tiny , tiny town and then going to CU and winning NCAA titles."


As for Gregory, her mark in running was first scratched into the age-group records of the Bolder Boulder -- one of the country's largest and best roard races, which ends in front of packed stands at the University of Colorado's Folsom Field.


Since that first exposure at 8, Gregory has returned every year and seen her times drop accordingly. In May, nine days after her state meet, she ran 38:28.46 at Bolder Boulder -- fourth fastest in race history for 14-year-olds. (She is in the all-time top four for every age from 9 to 14). She was the 25th non-professional female finisher in the 2014 race.


(Note: Another current high school standout who has year after year been successful at Bolder Boulder is Paul Roberts from Lyons. He ranks in the Top 5 all-time every year between 8 and 15 years old).


Gregory is able to gauge her progress over the long term by using a race like Bolder Boulder. And she was more than two minutes faster than this year than 2013.


"This is the first year I took it sort of seriously. I actually trainined pretty hard for it, coming off of the state track meet. I even raced in flats," she said.


It was also the first year that she drew attention and name recognition. State titles, NXN and a 10:15 3200 at Arcadia have put Gregory in the spotlight.


"Last year no one knew who I was," she said. "I didn't even know who I was. I certainly didn't know I was going to end up like this. Being at (cross country) meets now, it definitely feels different. I feel stronger and faster. I went from a tiny little freshman who couldn't do a push-up to being more put-together.


"I know more what I'm doing."

 

Lauren Gregory at the Bolder Boulder 10K

 

2008: 8 years old, 52:13

2009: 9 years old, 45:34

2010: 10 years old, 42:07

2011: 11 years old, 41:29

2012: 12 years old, 40:19

2013: 13 years old, 40:38 (warm temps)

2014: 14 years old, 38:28.46 (320th place overall out of 45,000 plus)



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