Senior Ally Ginther didn’t casually stumble across her passion for running.
Instead she found herself loving the life of a ballerina, but her father was hoping her passions would take a turn.
“My parents kind of forced me into it,” Ginther said. “My dad was a huge runner and he was just kind of like ‘you should try cross country.’”
But the feelings she had for running were anything but love.
“I absolutely hated running and gym class, and then they made me do a cross country meet,” she said. “I didn’t like being beat by other people so I kept going.”
Her competitive spirit gave her the drive to continue the taxing sport. In the end it was the sport’s ability to ease her mind that kept her around.
“My favorite thing about running is how your mind wanders, especially during long runs.” Ginther said. “It really gives me time to think, and it’s a huge stress reliever for me.”
Once Ginther discovered her own love for the sport, she decided to end her dance career and focus her attention on running.
She began her search for colleges in Canada but when fellow Vandal and old friend, senior Tim Delcourt, mentioned the University of Idaho, she had to check it out.
“Tim told me that the school was awesome, and that the team was awesome, and that I should get in contact with the coaches,” Ginther said. “I was mostly looking for schools in Canada, but I decided I wanted to take an adventure.”
Ginther said she has not regretted her decision. Her favorite part of being a Vandal is the amount of pride and school spirit students have.
“I think that in the (United) States, school spirit is a lot bigger than in Canada, and I think that that was a big difference for me coming here,” Ginther said. “I’ve really enjoyed it.”
She is from Surrey, British Columbia.
In addition to the school atmosphere, Ginther is looking forward to the upcoming season with her teammates.
“I’m looking forward to having a really strong group of girls to run with,” she said. “We have a very good chance of winning the conference meet for cross country, and that would be a huge accomplishment. The amount of talent we have on the team this year is just really exciting.”
Ginther said her biggest improvement over the years has been the amount of confidence she has in herself, and Idaho assistant coach Travis Floeck agreed.
“For Ally, the key is being confident for sure,” Floeck said. “I think last cross country season, I was really proud of her because she started off running probably the best she’s ever had in the early meets.”
Not uncommon for athletes, Floeck said Ginther ran into a bit of speed bump midway through last season.
“I think it was just tied in with her confidence and some anxiety with racing,” Floeck said. “A lot of times when that happens with athletes in the middle of the season, it’s extremely difficult to gain that confidence back and to rebound sometimes. But she actually did an awesome job.”
Ginther has set a personal goal for herself to place top ten at the Big Sky Conference meet in October, a goal Floeck said she is definitely able to achieve.
“It’s an incredibly competitive conference so it’s a big goal, but it’s not one she should shy away from,” Floeck said. “She’s capable of doing it, and I think what motivates her to do that is trying to help the team place as high as we possibly can.”
Mihaela Karst can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @mihaela_jo