* Lake Oswego (OR) senior Kate Peters readies to compete at the 2021 Eastbay Cross Country Nationals.
Photo Credit: Raymond Tran/MileSplit California
"It just worked out that I was living there and around runners, and I always took it for granted. Now, I realize how special that is and cool. Most people don't have pro runners just running around and see on every run like I do."
What comes to mind when you associate the term "distance running" with the Pacific Northwest?
Perhaps it's an image of the newly-built Hayward Field, which is at the heart of TrackTown, U.S.A. -- otherwise known as Eugene. Or maybe it's the history of distance legend Steve Prefontaine. Maybe it's Nike.
Maybe the familiar faces of professional distance running come to mind, too, like the Bowerman Track Club or members of the Oregon Ducks program. Combine those images and thoughts together and you get a sense of what running means to the state of Oregon.
It's a larger-than-life culture that Lake Oswego High School senior and Oregon distance commit Kate Peters has found herself enthralled with since she was barely in grade school.
She joined the Bowerman Track Club Youth program at age seven. She's coached at Lake Oswego by Steve Edwards -- husband to the former Bowerman pro and newest Oregon assistant cross country coach Shalane Flanagan.
To top it all off, her father, Brad Peters, works in IT at Nike, which means access to the brand's renowned headquarters and facilities in Beaverton. It's not uncommon for Peters to bump into Nike-sponsored pros on trails around the campus and join them on their easy runs.
Now in her final year of high school, Peters has experienced the type of culture in Oregon that most runners would only dream of.
Her success also includes an Oregon Class 6A state cross country title, top 10 finishes at both the Eastbay Championships and Team Cross Country Nationals and a trip to Colombia to compete on the global stage at the World U20 Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
Broaden the scope to include her community accomplishments and Peters has made her mark in Oregon.
By age eight, she had already run five half marathons and countless other shorter races. Last May, she won the women's half marathon race at the Eugene Marathon in an eye-catching 1:13.22.
What has this teenager not done?
"I think I just love the good high after a run or a feeling of accomplishment after a good workout," Peters said. "It gets addicting, and seeing the success, too, helps."
The dream will continue for Peters, who will compete under the watchful eyes of Jerry Schumacher and Flanagan as an Oregon Duck beginning next fall
But according to Peters, the Oregon running community goes beyond the ties to the big-name shoe brand and professional training groups. There's something deeper to this mythical allure that has come to characterize the state's running culture.
Maybe it's something she's just now beginning to realize.
"It just worked out that I was living (in Oregon) and around runners, and I always took it for granted," she said. "Now, I realize how special that is and cool. Most people don't have pro runners just running around and see on every run like I do."
For Peters, she sees herself as someone who can represent Oregon fully, as someone who grew up in this state and chose to go to its flagship university.
"I hope people view it in a positive way," she said. "As a giant running community, it's very inclusive."
When part of a youth program like Bowerman, Peters said, there's no denying the kind of impact it can have on young people exploring running for the first time. It certainly played a key role in her own internal motivations.
She learned from members of the Bowerman elite like Flanagan and Evan Jager. Peters remembered how both would often work with the 50-or-so youth participants of the Portland-based program.
Seeing that running could be both a realistic and passion-driven pursuit sparked her lifelong interest in the sport. What's more, that love has only gotten stronger in the passing years.
"It was cool and motivating and makes you love it more, to see how far it could actually take you," Peters said.
There seemed to be no stopping Peters as she donned a Bowerman youth singlet in Portland-area races and later at youth cross country national championships each fall throughout elementary and middle school.
Sure, there was the light-hearted aspect of it all, socializing with other kids just as passionate for running as Peters was and picking the brains of celebrity-status pro coaches. But there's no denying that Peters wanted to compete with the best in Oregon and beyond.
"There's always people better than me, so I always feel like there's room to improve," she said.
That fire didn't disappear once she aged out of the youth club.
Once she arrived at Lincoln High School (OR), she shifted her attention to competing against some of the best athletes in the state and then to nationals, where she wanted to solidify herself as one of the best freshman in the country.
The most pivotal of those moments came at the all-too-familiar Glendoveer Golf Course in Portland in 2019, where Peters saw years of commitment culminate at Team Cross Country Nationals.
Peters said some questioned her high-ceiling goals, which included a quest to finish among the top 10 competitors. But, importantly enough, she believed in herself.
She went on to cross the finish line that day in ninth-place, clocking a time of 17:43.70 and looking like she just came back from battle, covered head-to-toe in mud and her black jersey soaked with rain water.
"Everyone thought it was just absolutely insane, like no way I would do it," she said. "Then, when I got ninth, I was like, 'Yeah, proved you wrong.'"
That served as a breakthrough for her high school career, Peters said.
Photo Credit: Bobby Reyes/MileSplit Colorado
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Three years since Team Nationals, Peters has developed into one of the nation's elite high school distance runners, with stellar personal bests of 16:40.90 for the 5K on the grass and 9:51.48 for the outdoor two-mile.
She's arguably one of Oregon's most iconic prep distance athletes of all-time, now representing Lake Oswego under the mentorship of Edwards.
Better yet, she'll look to write the newest chapter of her Oregon story with the Ducks, a program with endless running tradition.
"They pride themselves as TrackTown, U.S.A. You can't really get that at any other college," she said.
Peters isn't finished leaving her mark on Oregon, though.
She still has districts, states and hopefully a return to Team Cross Country Nationals ahead -- perhaps a fitting bookend to an athlete who began her career at the national championship.
"They pride themselves as TrackTown, U.S.A. You can't really get that at any other college," she said.
But one thing is for sure -- a young Peters would find great delight knowing her current self has forged her own path in the sport, inspired by the Oregon running culture of camaraderie, passion and community.
"I just hope I continue to keep loving it and having success in the sport and progressing and getting better," she said.
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