How good are you at balancing your current school work? Try to imagine adding hours of practice, traveling hundreds of miles a weekend and still finding the time to turn in that last assignment to Moodle. Then imagine doing all of that so well that you were nominated to be NCAC Athlete of the Week. This is just one of Alexis Gray’s, ‘20, busy weeks.
For Gray, balancing a job, full school load and hours of practice is just a typical day. Gray currently runs for Wittenberg’s Track and Field team, and runs cross country in the fall. She also takes a full class load, often bumping right up against her scheduled practice time. However, this doesn’t stop her from her passion.
Gray began running at the young age of eight, a pastime that grew throughout her middle and high school career, where she ran track and eventually joined cross country. For Gray, running is not only about the sport, but also being around her team.
“I just like running, but I also enjoy being around my teammates and the coaches,” Gray said. “It’s a great experience as well because you have to balance work, practice and classes. This can be hard if you don’t know how to manage your time.”
For Gray, managing time is one of the things keeping her afloat. From the minute she wakes up on Monday, the track star is on-the-go. She starts her day with an hour-and-a-half workout, followed by classes until four, with homework during and in between classes. As soon as classes end, she’s off to practice: light runs on Monday, speed workouts on Tuesday and Thursday and a short practice to warm up before their races on Saturday. Even on her day off, the junior still finds a way to keep her heart rate up.
“Wednesdays are our days off, but our coaches would like us to try and get on the bike to shake out our legs,” Gray said.
After she finishes her workout? She finishes her day with a 3 hour shift working at the HPER facility.
Despite the constant on-the-go schedule, Gray wouldn’t change it for the world. When asked her about the constant travel for her sport, she responded with only positive things.
“I do love traveling just because it gives you a chance to be with your team and experience racing at a different level,” Gray said. “My favorite place I would say was Wisconsin because we got to race at a national course and it was just an amazing trip for our whole team.”
Gray plans to keep up with her busy schedule along with developing new goals to better herself every day. Gray would like to make it to nationals for track and with more of her signature drive, she’s sure she can make it. Gray also hopes to break the school record of the 600 and 800-meter run, and of course, always focusing on school, she hopes to make the Dean’s List and ultimately graduate.
