Mary Grace Pellegrini was a 2008 graduate of duPont Manual High School in Louisville. While in high school she was a three-time Kentucky State Track Champion and helped lead her team to the 2006 Kentucky State Cross Country Class AAA Team Championship. Her senior year she earned All-American honors with her Runner-Up finish in the 5000 Meter Run at Nike Indoor Nationals. She is now a senior at the University of Michigan, where she is a varsity member of the #18 ranked Lady Wolverines. She took the time to answer some questions from KYtrackXC.com about her year coming up and her summer working in Washington D.C.
KY: General info where and what is up with you:
MGP: I’m a senior now at the University of Michigan studying public policy and international affairs. I was counting just now and had to laugh when I realized that this is my 14th and final season of cross country. It’s hard to believe that 1) I’ve made it this far and avoided most of the pitfalls you hear about and that 2) this is it. This is the last year before I hit Rec Runner status!
KY: What was it like to be in Washington this past summer working especially when big issues like the debt ceiling were happening?
MGP: Washington was a little bit of everything. From a lifestyle point of view, it was really enjoyable. I lived in the GW dorms right near the National Mall, so I could do morning runs around the monuments or run to Reagan National Airport and watch planes take off in the evening.
No doubt, there’s always something big happening in that city and the debt ceiling debate was certainly contentious. For me, I was interning with the Department of State in the NATO Operations section of a pol-mil office (EUR-RPM in State Department lingo). I worked primarily on issues related to Afghanistan and Libya, so it was far from your standard coffee and copies deal. My summer revolved around troop drawdowns and no fly zones, the Taliban and the TNC. I am very fortunate to have had the opportunity to work on such substantive, real world issues.
KY: How did you get that opportunity?
MGP: I applied like anyone else. A few friends from school had interned overseas in different embassies, and they had positive experiences. Originally, I was selected as an alternate for a post in Geneva, but I when I saw “alternate” on my assignment, I knew I wouldn’t make it off the waiting list (I didn’t). Because of somewhat unusual circumstances, my DC office hadn’t hired their intern by the spring. The RPM coordinator found my resume in the database and contacted me out of the blue. I did the phone interview from the back of the team bus on the way to a track meet in Florida, and the rest was history. Getting the internship was part hustle, part persistence, and good deal of luck!
KY: What are your expectations for this upcoming school year?
MGP: Like any senior, I hope I’ve saved the best for last. I’m excited to see what our team can do on a national scale. This is the highest we’ve been ranked in my four years, and it is certainly the most balanced we’ve been across the grade levels. We have depth such that the composition of our top-5 and top-7 will undoubtedly change from week-to-week. We’re looking to run with the best of the Big Ten and place higher at nationals- your pretty standard goals. For me, as a senior and as a captain, I want to do all that I can to help us accomplish just that.
KY: A couple of your favorite memories from Michigan so far?
MGP: Well since we spend so many weekends on the road traveling, a lot of my favorite memories come from just being with the team. The cities change, but the routine is the same. After the meet, sometimes we have time to run around, see the sights, and get a flavor for the area. Just laughing about things and being ridiculous with some of my best friends is what I’ll miss most.
My favorite race has to be Penn Relays this past spring. For starters, there’s no meet quite like the Penn Relays. For that one weekend, runners take over. I remember getting there the first day and doing our shakeout on Penn’s campus while the high school sections were being run. It is just chaos, but the enthusiasm for the sport amongst the crowd and competitors is overwhelming. In my 5k, I PR’d by 30 seconds, which is something that doesn’t happen often so it’s important to cherish when it does. The race itself was unreal. I was hitting splits and passing runners that I had no business being around, yet it felt surprisingly easy. I kept telling myself to give more, and each time I found I could respond. I was in shock when I saw my time.
My favorite cross country meet is one we didn’t even end up racing at just because it has reached a mythical status within our team. It snowed at Penn State my sophomore year, and they were forced to cancel the meet (I think) because branches were snapping. The day before when we went to preview the course, the whole thing was a disaster. By the end of it all, we had gotten totally lost, been attacked by snowballs, and were covered in burrs. I slipped and took a few people down with me. We all argued about the map (but nobody had a clue, yet everyone was right). Finally we saw the UK team off in the distance and chased after them to get on the right track. The whole thing took twice as long as it should have, and we still joke about it.
And since this is Michigan, I have to put a plug in for going to events in the Big House. Granted the past three years were sort of a rough patch for the football team, but I’ve seen some amazing comebacks at the same time. I stormed the floor when we beat Duke (in basketball), watched us beat Michigan State in hockey at the Big Chill with 113,000 other people, and stayed to celebrate well past the end of the game when we beat Notre Dame at the first ever night game. Overall, I’ve just had a great experience at Michigan.
KY: Looking back at your high school years now, what are you most proud of?
MGP: For sure, it has to be Manual’s 2006 State title. Having lost in such close races the two years prior, I’m really proud of how the group was able to keep its composure and finally win the third time around. What’s really impressive is the number of people from that team who went on to run in college, and I think that’s a testament to how special that group was. From that legacy, I’m happy that the Manual has really grown into a perennial contender.