In 2010, Chris Bailey (right) set a then-school record in the 8k. The record was later bested by alum Mackenzie Johnston ’15.
Last year at this time, Chris Bailey ’12 and ’15 was making his final preparations to run in the 2015 Boston Marathon. Despite a less-than-ideal weather forecast, his lofty goal of completing the 26.2-mile distance in under 2 hours and 30 minutes seemed quite doable.
After all, Bailey, a former student-athlete in the Honors College and currently the associate director of recruitment and marketing in the Honors College, had just won the Charleston Half Marathon three months earlier. And about a year before Boston, he had won the 2014 Wrightsville Beach Marathon, setting a new course record as well as a personal record with a time of 2 hours and 28 minutes.
While stiff winds and rain slowed him slightly in Boston, Bailey still managed to complete the race in 2 hours and 31 minutes. Impressively, he was the 91st finisher overall and the first finisher from South Carolina. A nagging injury prevented him from toeing the line at this year’s Boston Marathon, but Bailey will be closely following the race to see how some of the runners he coaches perform.
The College Today recently caught up with Bailey (no easy feat) to learn more about his passion for running, his College experience as both an undergraduate and graduate student, and his new role helping to recruit top students to the Honors College.
How did the College first come on your radar?
I grew up in Charlotte, N.C. Originally I was only looking at schools in North Carolina and a few private out-of-state schools. I went to Isle of Palms for spring break during my junior year of high school. My dad told me there was a race I should run in, which I didn’t realize until arriving at the start line was the Cooper River Bridge Run 10k! After running the race I got to explore downtown Charleston for the first time since I was very young and saw that the College of Charleston was blended into the heart of the city. From then on, the College was on my radar. I started talking to the coaches and also visited campus a couple of times.
What made you decide to join the Honors College?
Chris Bailey’s fast time in the Cooper River Bridge Run as a high school junior drew interest from cross country coaches at CofC.
I joined the Honors College because I could tell that it would offer me a highly personalized experience. The faculty mentoring and other resources provided to Honors College students gives you the tools needed to achieve your goals. I was part of a cohort of students that made me think more broadly about what I could accomplish.
I majored in International Business and Spanish. The Honors College provided me a smaller community within the broader campus. I enjoyed the smaller class sizes and the opportunity to have a faculty advisor/mentor for all four years (Trisha Folds-Bennett, who was then assistant dean of the Honors College) despite any changes I made to my academic major.
Did you do any traveling as a student?
The opportunity to travel, study, and work abroad changed my worldview. I had a chance to travel to Trujillo, Spain after my freshman year on a CofC Maymester program, to Dubai, UAE for a winter break trip through the School of Business, and to Guadalajara, Mexico for a full semester to study international business and to perform research for my Honors College bachelor’s essay with grant funding secured through the School of Business. Additionally, I interned abroad in Germany the summer after I graduated.
What is your role in the Honors College?
As a graduate student, I was in the dual master’s program in Environmental Studies and Public Administration. I served as a graduate assistant for the Honors College during graduate school and graduated in May 2015. After about a year working in local government, I returned to the College and now serve as the associate director of recruitment and marketing for the Honors College. At this point of the year, the focus of my job has been to work with our dean to make final decisions on which applicants we are accepting to the CofC Honors Class of 2020 and to convince these incredible students that we have accepted that they should enroll in CofC this fall. Speaking to prospective students and families about the Honors College and the College of Charleston has come really natural to me since I had such a great experience here as a student. Clearly I love it since I couldn’t stay away for long!
How did running figure into your College experience?
As a standout runner and academic star, Chris Bailey was named an Academic All-American.
As a member of the cross country team, I spent a lot of time with my teammates and made life-long friends. My class of runners (Class of 2012) along with Trevor Sprague ’11 worked really hard with coaches Amy Seago and Brian Johnson to make the CofC men’s cross country team a contender in the Southern Conference. By the time we graduated, we had almost completely re-written the top 10 list for cross country. Although I dealt with many injuries my junior and senior years, I was proud to graduate with the school record for 8k cross country (now held by Mackenzie Johnston ’15 – who just won the Marcus Newberry award at the Bridge Run!) and to be named an Academic All-American.
When did you first realize you had a talent for running?
I started running cross country during my sophomore year of high school after not having much success with all of the other sports I had tried out. I think what I enjoyed the most about cross country was the camaraderie of the team, the opportunity to get outside more, and the fact that if I worked hard, I would see improvement. Talent is certainly part of excelling in distance running, but it doesn’t get you very far without hard work.
I think the time when I realized I was meant to run and had talent for it was actually the first time I had a serious injury. In my junior year of high school I broke my foot severely while running and required crutches and a boot for months. While I was injured I realized how important running had become to me, a part of my identity even. I had a chance to give up on it and focus just on school, but instead I decided to work hard to come back stronger from my injury. When I ran the Cooper River Bridge Run as a junior in high school (mentioned above), I hadn’t been running for too long following my injury. I ran the bridge run without any expectations and finished in under 35 minutes for the 10k. That race and season coming back from injury made me realize I not only loved running and had to continue doing it, but also that I had talent, especially at the longer distances. Interestingly enough, it was my Bridge Run time in my junior year that got the attention of the coaches at CofC.
What was it like running the Boston Marathon, especially being among the upper-tier of runners?
Chris Bailey ran the 2015 Boston Marathon in a time of 2 hours, 31 minutes.
The Boston Marathon is a revered race and it lived up to the expectations that I had. The weather was pretty bad, yet there were spectators lined up along the entire 26.2 mile course. I was fortunate enough to see the professional women and men start the race since I was in the first corral. After finishing the race, I paused for a moment to look around Copley Square and soak the experience in.
How did you get into coaching other runners?
During grad school I was a volunteer assistant for the Academic Magnet High School cross country and track teams. I was an assistant to head coach Brian Johnson, who was my coach when I was running for CofC. I enjoyed serving as a coach and mentor for younger runners and continued to learn from Brian. I now own a franchise of Without Limits here in Charleston and coach runners from middle-school age up to adults in their 60s. The coaching methods vary from 1:1 sessions to virtual coaching through an online training log to in-person group practices.
Among other athletes I coach, I have four that are running the 2016 Boston Marathon. Among my CofC clients are a current sophomore, a few alumni, and a former adjunct professor.
