University of Minnesota Athletics
Warm-Up Lap: Q&A with Samantha Prouty
11/11/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
MINNEAPOLIS -- University of Minnesota redshirt sophomore Samantha Prouty ran at six meets during the 2017 cross country season, includig a season-best performance at Jack's Twilight Run. Prouty reflects on running, her studies in nutrition, and more.
Gopher Sports: Tell us about your major in Nutrition and how you chose to go that route.
Samantha Prouty: I knew I wanted to go into Pharmacy and I wanted to set myself apart from other biochemistry majors on the more traditional route. My mom actually went through the Nutrition program at the U as well, so she kind of blazed that trail. I'd like to use my nutrition studies to help me be a little unique as an applicant for pharmacy school.
GS: How did you pick pharmacy as the route you want to take for your career?
SP: I always wanted to be in the healthcare field, and I felt like pharmacy was a common bond throughout all the areas of healthcare. People typically have to make a trip to the pharmacy on their way out from wherever, so I thought it would be pretty cool to make a career out of being a mediator between the patient and the healthcare professional.
GS: How did you first get into running?
SP: In the sixth grade, my mom wanted me to be in an after-school sport. She saw running as a good life sport and knew I could continue it, so she suggested I try cross country. Then, one of my friend's older sisters was on the high school team so we joined together. I started in the sixth grade and never stopped.
GS: Do you consider yourself more of a track runner or a cross country runner?
SP: I don't know, I feel like I keep going back and forth. I do feel like track is somewhere where I feel a little bit more competitive as far as speed.
GS: What's your favorite race?
SP: My favorite race is the mile or the 1500m. I think the mile just because you say your mile time and people can appreciate that more because they get it. Everyone has done the mile, so I feel like that's something pretty cool to be able to work on.
GS: What's your favorite part about cross country?
SP: My favorite part about cross country is the team atmosphere. I feel like, as a group, it's easier for us to feel closer because we're all on the same team and we're all lining up for the same race, so the unity that comes with cross country is really nice. In track, everyone has their different events so we're kind of compartmentalized into different races, so for all of us to be able to line up as a team is nice.
GS: What does it mean to be a Gopher?
SP: This one's kind of hard… One thing I think is really cool is the history, it's being a part of a family and that part is something I've always appreciated. One thing Coach Bingle always is that "M" never comes off. Just that team atmosphere and we're all in this together, from the top to the bottom, everyone is important and I think that's something that's really special as being a Gopher. I think it's really cool to see a lot of people go from being a walk-on and all the success stories you find and so I think being a part of that family is something super special.
GS: What is your favorite thing about racing at our home course?
SP: I love that it's not easy. It's definitely a challenge, so I feel like you get a little bit of, not street cred, but in a sense like that, like "Oh yeah, I've attacked that 3K hill," -- and that's where we work out. So, I think it's a really cool course that offers a lot of challenges and being able to embrace those challenges and overcome them is something really special that we can have in our home.
GS: Do you have a favorite motivational quote or running mantra?
SP: One thing I always say is, "The faster you run, the faster you're done," and that's something, from time to time, I think of when it comes to those harder hills or when you're in that final stretch. Running never gets easier, it seems, you just get tougher.
GS: Fill in the blank. Running is ______.
SP: I think running is, at the end of the day, rewarding. It's something that I think applies to other areas in life, so I guess I'm trying to find the right word, but at the end of the day it is rewarding because you have so many things to be thankful for. As far as just getting through life and overcoming hardships and getting through workouts can be hard, so it's definitely applicable and there's a lot of transferrable skills out of it.
GS: Has your Nutrition major helped you in your running?
SP: I think there are a lot of parallels with it as far as meeting with Rasa Troup and things like that, and I think it's super cool to be able to, one, have Rasa as a resource for us, but also, this past semester I took Principles of Nutrition or Advanced Human Nutrition and we went through Sports Nutrition. I was able to sit in the classroom and be a student of the sport, while being a student. I think it's really cool to be able to learn about something that I can use, even though it won't be directly in my profession, it's something that will be valuable knowledge for me on a day-to-day basis, as far as working on my own nutrition, so I think it's been very beneficial to be learning that.
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