Ohio State junior distance runner Allie Guagenti races during a meet. Credit: Ohio State Department of Athletics
When athletes get injured, the injury doesn’t solely take a physical toll on the body.
The life of a student-athlete comes with its own mental pressures, struggles and frustrations, and an injury only adds to it.
Ohio State sophomore cross country runner Allie Guagenti turned to her art passion to help cope with the physical and mental frustrations that came with her tendonitis injury in high school.
“Without running, art was my stress reliever,” Guagenti said. “Art was my new outlet to express what I couldn’t get out with words.”
Guagenti recalls her initial experience painting with watercolors from the time she could walk. She continued to be creative in high school, taking art classes focused on ceramics, jewelry and metal-making.
During her junior season at Olentangy Orange High School, Guagenti suffered tendonitis in her left quad, which prevented her from running for four months.
It also became her mental demon.
Guagenti said she struggled with constant pain that sometimes made it hard for her to get out of bed, feel motivated to go to school or stay consistent with her physical therapy.
She said it was also difficult to see her teammates and close friends run without her, as cross country played a big role in her social life.
She had just one space that brought her peace and helped heal her mind and body, she said.
“I looked forward to the art room,” Guagenti said. “I felt most like myself and art helped me get those emotions off my chest.”
Guagenti spent more time on her projects and found her niche in 3D art under the guidance of her high school visual arts teacher, Alison Echelberry.
“She always stood out to me, talent-wise,” Echelberry said. “During her junior year, her talent blossomed and she developed her craft on the pottery wheel.”
While creating a plate-and-bowl ceramic set with mandala designs, Guagenti said she enjoyed how art consumed her full attention.
“When creating symmetrical lines on the pieces, I wasn’t thinking of anything else. It was mind-numbing,” Guagenti said.
When her ceramic set was selected as the principal’s choice award at Olentangy Orange’s art show, Guagenti realized this was something she wanted to do for the rest of her life.
Now a second-year studying art education, Guagenti made her recovery back to running and is a current member of both the cross country and track and field teams.
Even with the increased responsibility of being a college athlete, Guagenti still finds time to work on her craft. When the team travels, Guagenti sketches art ideas on the bus.
Although Guagenti depended on the support of her family, team and art teachers to stay positive during her injury recovery, they also relied on her to be a loyal friend and teammate.
Guagenti’s dependability is evident as a leader on the cross country team, despite only being a sophomore at Ohio State. With the team graduating four of their top seven runners last year, Guagenti has been vital in the cross country team’s transition.
“I’m continually impressed with her composure and fearlessness,” associate head cross country coach Sara Vergote said. “[Guagenti] is resilient and someone we have come to depend on as a leader of our very young team.”
In order to build confidence and stay injury-free, Guagenti and her coaches have found a balanced training regimen, averaging 50 miles of running a week.
At the recent Big Ten Indoor Track and Field Championships, Guagenti not only finished third in the 3000m race but also broke the school record, which hadn’t been touched since the 1980s.
Guagenti originally aspired to be a physical therapist and to work with student-athletes. However, she ultimately wanted to share her love for art with kids and follow a similar pathway as her mother who is a teacher.
Currently, she hand-builds clay sculptures in class and her favorite genre of art history is African art.
Although she has battled injury throughout her running career, Guagenti was able to overcome the pain thanks to a passion in another area.
“Find something to help take your mind away from the injury. I came out of it with what I wanted to do with my life,” Guagenti said.
