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ELLENSBURG, Wash. — A Q&A with Kate Laurent who is a runner at Ellensburg High School.

狈补尘别:听碍补迟别听尝补耻谤别苍迟

Age: 18

Sport: Cross Country and Track

Sports participated in: basketball, soccer, cross country and track, swimming, gymnastics

Years in current sport: 6 years in cross country and track

Team/s: Ellensburg High School, Sun City Harriers and now Oregon State University

High School: Ellensburg High School

Grade/Year: Freshman at Oregon State University

College: Oregon State University

What are your personal goals within your sport/athletic dreams?

Kate Laurent: My personal goals within running would probably be just to make it as far as I can. If that means making it to Nationals individually one day or making it to the Olympic trials. Honestly I am just excited to see how far I can make it.

What is your biggest challenge in your sport, and what do you do to manage this challenge?

Laurent: My biggest challenge within this sport is probably doing everything I can to perform my absolute best whether that be, sleeping 8-10 hours every night, eating right, recovering (which includes icing, rolling out, massage, etc.). There is a lot of effort put into each category so I can become my very best. All of the miles we have to put in is crucial, 40-50 miles a week. As I grow and mature as a runner I will bump the mileage up. My coach doesn鈥檛 do this too quickly, because I could get injured.

What was the best advice you were ever given?

Laurent: From my high school coach Josephine, run with your heart, as well as, it鈥檚 just a race. Both of these things really put everything into perspective for me.

What do you love about your sport?

Laurent: I love how running really has brought me closer to my community and has brought me life long friends.

Do you have a pre-meet ritual you follow?

Laurent: The night before, I always eat spaghetti and bread to carb load. Then I roll out and use normatec boots to get blood flowing and then I lay out my uniform with everything I need. When I wake up I have oatmeal and I usually listen to music to lighten the mood, haha!

What do you like to do outside of your sport?

Laurent: I love to read, hike, listen to music, spend time with family, go to church and spend time with friends.

What has being a member of a team taught you?

Laurent: Being a member of a team has taught me that it鈥檚 not all about me and even when I am not preforming my best and I鈥檓 hurting or struggling to continue, I remember I need to do it for my team. I see them working day in and day out for this sport and I want to help them achieve their goals as well.

What is the best piece of advice you received from a coach or mentor?

Laurent: All of my former coaches and my current coach at OSU have always said, if you have fun, you鈥檒l do well. As well as, to not worry about the times and rather just enjoy the process and the times will come.

Describe a mistake you made while competing and how you overcame it.

Laurent: I have made many mistakes during races. But, all of these mistakes have helped me become the runner I am today. I will continually make mistakes, but I try always to learn from them. One mistake I made this year was during a large meet in Wisconsin called Nuttycombe. This is an annual race the Beavers go to every year. It was my first HUGE race full of some of the fastest woman鈥檚 teams in the country. My coach, Louie Quintana specifically told me to get out FAST. That was my only instruction for this race so I could establish myself and place well. When he said fast I thought I would just go out as I normally do, but maybe just a little bit faster. Because as we all know, dying out is a real possibility when starting out that fast. So I did what I thought he was asking of me and when the race began, I was surly enough, in the back. This mistake was not made again, thank goodness. My next race that was in California went much better and I got a 5:20 first mile in my first 6k and a huge PR. This season was incredible, because I learned a lot from all of my mistakes and was able to improve each race I ran in.

What are your goals after college?

Laurent: Goals after college would have to be, continue running whether I can make it professionally or if it鈥檚 just continuing with the love for it. I am not sure what job I want to pursue yet, but my major is currently kinesiology.

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