O’Neal Found Her Community In Running
October 01, 2024 | Cross Country, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
Gracie O'Neal didn't set out to be a runner. She was happily playing volleyball at Gordon Lee High School in Chickamauga, Ga., when the cross-country coach asked, maybe begged, her to come out for the shorthanded squad.
She said the coach told her the team needed one more runner to be able to qualify for the state meet, and asked if she'd consider running a few races.
"And I was like, 'OK, I'll join the team. Why not?'" O'Neal said. "My volleyball coach was OK with it, and so I ran that season, it went really well, and then I ran that track season. I was like, Wow, this is so fun.
"From there, it just took off."
A bunch of state championships in track and cross country followed and then came the opportunity to run at Georgia. Now, all these years later, O'Neal is a senior runner for the Bulldogs. She already has a degree in Dietetics, and now, as she competes for one last year, she's working on a master's in Nutritional Sciences.
Looking back at her beginning in the sport, O'Neal ran for her cross-country team because of the people involved. It's a big reason why she's still running today.
"To be honest, initially, I had no idea what I was getting into, like with how much we were going to run and everything," she said with a laugh. "I was just like, it's fun. But what really drew me in was that I already had some friends that were on the team, and once I ran that first cross-country season, I'd found some of my best friends. Then it was just like, I've found my community, I found my people.
"I get to go on runs with my best friends every day, and just hang out with them while also running and just talk with them. It was just so much fun."
If you've ever been out and about in Athens and seen a pack of lean runners in Georgia gear on the sidewalk, and they were talking about as fast as they were running, the group was probably comprised of Bulldogs distance runners. Most of us who run can neither run as fast as they do nor carry on a conversation at that pace, but they make it look easy.
For O'Neal, those runs and those conversations are often still a daily highlight.
"It depends on the run," she said with a laugh. "Some days are easy run days, versus our hard workout days. The hard workout days, we're not talking as much. The faster we go, the less we talk. But on the easy days, we have it at a pace where it's easy to have a conversation.
"It's honestly a time for us as a team to catch up on our days and we just have fun."
Georgia has had multiple cross country and distance running coaches during O'Neal's career. Adam Tribble, who ran for the Bulldogs in the early 2000s, was hired in June to lead and bring stability to the program. Tribble had numerous distance coaches in his time running for the Bulldogs and he knows how hard it can be to reach your full potential amid that kind of turnover.
With that in mind, Tribble, from his first Zoom call with his runners, has worked hard to establish his plan for the program.
"I think it probably makes it harder initially, but in the long term it gets you to the place you want to go a whole lot quicker," he said.
In the first meet of the season, the Stan Sims Cross Country Opener at Kennesaw State, O'Neal placed 17th in the 5K run with a time of 18:28.87. She ran the South Showcase 5K course in Huntsville, Ala., in 18:18.67, placing 78th among collegiate participants. The Bulldogs are back in action on Oct. 18, at the Crimson Classic in Tuscaloosa, and then will compete in the SEC Championship on Nov. 1, at Texas A&M.
Tribble said O'Neal has probably put herself in a spot where she should be a scorer for the Bulldogs in each of the team's meets.
"I would expect her to be in our top five the rest of the season," he said. "That's always an exciting thing, to end your career as a scorer on an SEC team."
O'Neal said she likes the training and the racing, and she likes seeing how she and her teammates improve as the season goes along.
"I love to embrace the day-to-day and that hard work, and having a group of people beside me, all of us working together and celebrating each other's wins and achievements. Even more than my accomplishments, I get to look at my teammates and go, like, 'Wow! I'm so proud of you!'
"All of that together, it just makes it all worth it."
Staff Writer
Gracie O'Neal didn't set out to be a runner. She was happily playing volleyball at Gordon Lee High School in Chickamauga, Ga., when the cross-country coach asked, maybe begged, her to come out for the shorthanded squad.
She said the coach told her the team needed one more runner to be able to qualify for the state meet, and asked if she'd consider running a few races.
"And I was like, 'OK, I'll join the team. Why not?'" O'Neal said. "My volleyball coach was OK with it, and so I ran that season, it went really well, and then I ran that track season. I was like, Wow, this is so fun.
"From there, it just took off."
A bunch of state championships in track and cross country followed and then came the opportunity to run at Georgia. Now, all these years later, O'Neal is a senior runner for the Bulldogs. She already has a degree in Dietetics, and now, as she competes for one last year, she's working on a master's in Nutritional Sciences.
Looking back at her beginning in the sport, O'Neal ran for her cross-country team because of the people involved. It's a big reason why she's still running today.
"To be honest, initially, I had no idea what I was getting into, like with how much we were going to run and everything," she said with a laugh. "I was just like, it's fun. But what really drew me in was that I already had some friends that were on the team, and once I ran that first cross-country season, I'd found some of my best friends. Then it was just like, I've found my community, I found my people.
"I get to go on runs with my best friends every day, and just hang out with them while also running and just talk with them. It was just so much fun."
If you've ever been out and about in Athens and seen a pack of lean runners in Georgia gear on the sidewalk, and they were talking about as fast as they were running, the group was probably comprised of Bulldogs distance runners. Most of us who run can neither run as fast as they do nor carry on a conversation at that pace, but they make it look easy.
For O'Neal, those runs and those conversations are often still a daily highlight.
"It depends on the run," she said with a laugh. "Some days are easy run days, versus our hard workout days. The hard workout days, we're not talking as much. The faster we go, the less we talk. But on the easy days, we have it at a pace where it's easy to have a conversation.
"It's honestly a time for us as a team to catch up on our days and we just have fun."
Georgia has had multiple cross country and distance running coaches during O'Neal's career. Adam Tribble, who ran for the Bulldogs in the early 2000s, was hired in June to lead and bring stability to the program. Tribble had numerous distance coaches in his time running for the Bulldogs and he knows how hard it can be to reach your full potential amid that kind of turnover.
With that in mind, Tribble, from his first Zoom call with his runners, has worked hard to establish his plan for the program.
"I think it probably makes it harder initially, but in the long term it gets you to the place you want to go a whole lot quicker," he said.
In the first meet of the season, the Stan Sims Cross Country Opener at Kennesaw State, O'Neal placed 17th in the 5K run with a time of 18:28.87. She ran the South Showcase 5K course in Huntsville, Ala., in 18:18.67, placing 78th among collegiate participants. The Bulldogs are back in action on Oct. 18, at the Crimson Classic in Tuscaloosa, and then will compete in the SEC Championship on Nov. 1, at Texas A&M.
Tribble said O'Neal has probably put herself in a spot where she should be a scorer for the Bulldogs in each of the team's meets.
"I would expect her to be in our top five the rest of the season," he said. "That's always an exciting thing, to end your career as a scorer on an SEC team."
O'Neal said she likes the training and the racing, and she likes seeing how she and her teammates improve as the season goes along.
"I love to embrace the day-to-day and that hard work, and having a group of people beside me, all of us working together and celebrating each other's wins and achievements. Even more than my accomplishments, I get to look at my teammates and go, like, 'Wow! I'm so proud of you!'
"All of that together, it just makes it all worth it."
Assistant Sports Communications Director John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files. He's also on Twitter: @FriersonFiles and @ITAHallofFame.
Players Mentioned
Distance
/ Cross CountryGeorgia Cross Country NCAA South Regional Championship Video Recap
Friday, November 10
Georgia Cross Country SEC Championship Video Recap
Friday, October 27
Georgia Cross Country Regionals Highlights
Friday, November 11
Georgia Cross Country SEC Championships Postmeet Recap
Saturday, October 29
