Shelby resident Brent Christy, 24, has a “burning passion” for running. It started when he was a senior in high school and joined the Shelby High School outdoor track team and was instantly hooked with the sport. However, since he joined so late in his academic career, he thought of other ways to continue running after graduation.
“I wanted to keep competing because I had a competitive drive and really enjoyed the sport,” stated Christy. He did just that.
In the Richland County area, there are a number of running activities to participate in.
One of the most popular is 5K events. There have already been several in the area this summer. Christy first participated in 5K runs in the summer of 2007. When he began, his times ranged from 18 to 19 minutes. He was determined to improve.
Since that first summer six years ago, Christy has participated in close to 100 5K events. He also took part in a 10K when he was in California.
He also looks ahead to moving to the next level.
“I train four to five days a week, increasing my mileage each day,” he said.
Christy’s main training is simply running, but he added, “I do strength training occasionally, but I mainly just stick with running as my main source of training.”
He also shared his one weakness, “I don’t stretch nearly as much as I should, but I am getting better with making it a regular habit.”
Christy plans on taking part in the 5K that will be held in Shelby for their annual Bicycle Days festival. His main goal for that race is to run under 17:50. And he hopes that he will eventually be able to run a 5K in 16 minutes.
