Athlete of the Week: Sam Gray

Sam Gray cannot remember the last time he ate dessert, let alone skipped a run. He is committed to a vigorous training regime dedicated to his sport: running. The guidelines include two daily runs for a total of eleven miles (in addition to cross country practice), munching on large salads and completing specialized strength exercises.Gray will graduate Exeter a four-year tri-varsity athlete in cross-country, winter track and spring track. Currently, he is a boys' cross-country captain, along with seniors TJ Hodges and Tyler Courville.“Sam is a silent warrior, the kind of guy who focuses in on his goal and tackles it with old fashioned hard work and determination,” Hodges said of Gray’s running style and impressive work ethic.In the fourth grade, after showing little promise in other sports, Gray’s father signed him up for running at the local Exeter Hershey Running Track.“I was a lazy kid to begin with, but I guess I am just a people pleaser and I wanted to make my dad happy,” Gray said.

“Sam is a silent warrior, the kind of guy who focuses in on his goal."

Though he didn’t immediately appreciate the sport, his love for it grew from brotherly competition. “I wasn’t any good at first, but as soon as I started beating Luke, I liked it,” he said.Over the years, he has fallen in love with the commitment and the process of running. From daily runs to competitive running, Gray knew he had found his passion.“Running makes it easier to just forget everything because it gets your head away from society, the city, cars, fumes. It’s just very natural,” he said.During the first term of his prep year, Gray matured into a skilled runner, placing third on the boys’ varsity cross country team.Then captain, Arjun Nukal, helped Gray adapt to the higher stakes high school team. “Arjun was unusual because he teased me a lot but he was also a great runner,” Gray said. “I definitely felt like he made me a part of the group even though I was a shy kid. Without him I wouldn’t have been such a big part of the team.”Since then, Gray has become a fully immersed member of the team. Gray described the team as a cult, a band of brothers and a second family.“I love the people who run,” he said. “Everyone on the team is really smart, motivated and disciplined, but also love to have a great time. They are the best people I’ve met so far because running is very simple, not egotistical.”Teammates he has run with for years, new runners and coaches have grown to admire Gray’s resolute grit and determination.During a championship race his prep year, Gray broke his collarbone after slipping down a hill. Many runners may have admitted defeat and dropped out of the race, but Gray did no such thing. According to Courville, he “just popped right back up and finished the competition.”Nicholas Unger, Classics instructor and boys’ cross country head coach, was impressed by Gray from the start.“If I told him to run across a pit of glowing coals, I think he would do it without hesitation, and what’s more, he would emerge unscathed at the end – he’s that tough,” Unger said.Girls’ cross country captain and close friend, senior Anika Ayyar, contributed to the praise. “He's the most driven runner I know. It’s very ingrained in him that he can do well, and that he needs to do well, whether it’s at a practice, a race or he’s just running by himself,” she said. “Even if he’s tired, he’ll push himself harder, even during a normal practice.”Assistant coach Bill Jordan commented on Gray’s zeal, which propels the energy of every cross country practice. “He trains more than anyone. At the end of practice he’ll keep running on the track for another 20 minutes trying to get in more miles. He’s the ultimate team guy,” Jordan said.Both younger teammates and new members of boys’ cross country described how Gray has inspired them from the start of the season.Lower Will Rau said that Gray is a source of strength for the team. From cheering on the JV boys to his motivational speeches before a race, Rau appreciates the support.“He does extra miles every single day after our workouts, and it is quite inspiring for all of us to see him doing hard miles on the track even after we have just run ten,” he said.Rau remembered the time he first met Gray: he instantly felt comfortable in the senior’s presence.“I remember him coming up to me during the cooldown, welcoming me to the team and to the family. It has made me think positively about him all year. Everyone wants to run like Sam Gray. He is a symbol of integrity and leadership on the team, and he is a great guy,” Rau said.Prep Jiro Mizuno agreed with Rau, commenting on the inspiration that Gray incites in his teammates.“Watching him beat all the other runners during the varsity races fills me with pure awe,” Mizuno said. “His unbeatable legs and his unbreakable will are equally admirable. He serves as a model runner for us all.”While Gray displays a friendly approach towards the boys, many identified him as a quieter captain.“He is a man of few words, and he reminds me more of Aeneas than Odysseus, but like the quintessential stoic hero, his actions speak volumes,” Unger said.Upper William Li also noticed this trait. “Sam’s a pretty quiet guy. He’s always there to answer questions or give advice,” Li said, “but, when it gets down to running and workouts, he’s always up front leading the pack.”Gray described runners’ characteristics. “They are in touch with themselves because they spend so much time alone – thinking and reflecting – runners tend to be calm and spiritual,” he said.Now in his last year representing Big Red, Gray has won many awards, bolstering personal successes and contributing to the overall triumph of racing.From winning the 3K race by 100m at Interschols his sophomore year to sprinting into first place his prep year fifteen seconds ahead of other schools, Gray recognized himself as one of the top five runners in the New England Prep School circuit.Despite the numerous examples of wins, soft-spoken Gray remains modest and self-effacing.“You will never see Sam grand-stand or show off. He is humble and cares more for the team than himself,” Unger said. “The one time I drag him into the limelight is when I award the annual T-shirt for the most summer mileage. Sam ran over seven hundred miles during the summer, and he would win that T-shirt every year if I didn’t limit the number of times you can win one.”Gray represents more than a prime example of an athlete: he perfectly encompasses Exeter’s values of “non-sibi” and hard work.“Running is very dynamic because you’re wrestling between fear and doubt, trying to hold out on the positive thoughts. During the run it never seems like you’re going to make it, but somehow you always do,” Gray said.