about me

My name is Gianna. I am 11 years old and compete in Cross Country. XC is one of my favorite things to do. I have played T-ball, soccer, gymnastics, cheerleading, Taekwondo, horseback riding and tennis. I quickly lost interest before the seasons were over. In fourth grade at my elementary school, I joined a club called “Girls On The Run” (GOTR). At first, I thought my heart was going to beat out of my chest, I wasn’t very fast and couldn’t run for long periods of time, but I LOVED running!

I am the youngest of 4 kids and I’m the only girl. I have 3 older brothers that are 21, 18 and 17. Elijah is 21 and wrestled, Braxtyn and Brysen are 18 and 17 and both play football. They are always training, eating and recovering. Having older brothers has lots of benefits. When I get trained by my bigger, athletic siblings, it encourages me to run longer and faster and win awards. 

After the GOTR season ended, my parents found a new XC club that was starting called Coweta Comets. I practiced two times a week and met amazing coaches and friends. Our practices were at a recreation park with 4 miles of trails and the LINC which is 26 miles of running and biking trails. After lots of practice we got to travel to XC meets to compete against other teams and earn medals if we placed. 

I was able to qualify to run at the 2024 USATF Junior Olympic Cross Country Regional meet in November in South Carolina. I remember crossing the finish line and realizing that I qualified for nationals. I never felt so happy in my life. This motivated me to train hard to go to the run at the 2024 USATF National Junior Olympic Cross Country Championships in Indiana. 

I have ran over 25 5k’s in the last year with the Coweta Comets and by myself. I love running because it makes me feel like I can accomplish anything. I enjoy challenging myself on trails and terrain that I have never run. It’s like getting to discover new places and see new things. 

My next goal is to start running 10k’s by this summer. I am nervous about the distance, but I was also nervous about running 5k’s and didn’t think I could run that far at first either. I want to continue to get better PR’s on 5k’s and get faster.