Adrianne Bruckner (Bayless)
Q: What was your most memorable race/moment?
A: At forest park my junior year the course was a mudslide and I lost my shoe not even 200 meters in, got covered in mud. It was super fun and I was still able to push to get a medal.
Q: Who would you consider your biggest competition over your four years?
A: My biggest competition has always been myself. I have always been very hard on myself and my goal was always to PR or race my hardest above all else.
Q: What was your greatest accomplishment?
A: Running a 19:31 my junior year, breaking my previous PR by 34 seconds.
Q: If you could do it all over again, what would you change about your running career in high school?
A: If I could do it all over again, the only thing I would change is my stretching habits :)
Q: What were the most difficult obstacles you had to overcome?
A: Because I went to 3 different high schools and I moved in with a completely different family my junior year, I had to fight the isolation of losing connections with my little sisters and two teams I had grown close to. I finished off my high school career in a school I hadn't heard of until a week before I transferred there and I had to push through to get back on top after so much turbulence. In the end I qualified for state in cross country 4 times and track twice. Though I had some rocky seasons, in the end I learned to love the sport even more.
Q: What will you miss the most?
A: I will miss the wonderful coaches and teammates I met along the way in my journey to be both a better runner and person.
Q: What advice would you give to younger athletes?
A: It's over before you know it, love the sport, love yourself, embrace everything, and don't forget to stretch.
Q: What influence has your coach had in respect to your performances and overall life goals?
A: My coach my last two years of high school pushed me to push myself even when I didn't always want to, and he taught me some serious lessons about patience and confidence. He always had my back and didn't let me beat myself up over my bad days.
Q: What are your college plans?
A: I signed to run cross country and track for Maryville university.
Q: Who would you like to say "thank you" to?
A: I want to say thank you to all of my coaches and teammates for pushing me to do bigger and better things than I ever thought I was capable of. Especially Coach Mike. I also want to thank my father and stepmom for taking me in and allowing me to become who I am today.
Q: What is the funniest thing that happened during your running career?
A: Junior year at state track when the power went out in our hotel room, and I sat in the window which had no screen to cool off because the AC shut off, and the power suddenly came back on and made a loud noise and I almost fell out the window.