We had the good fortune of connecting with Zachary Benner and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Zachary, what do you attribute your success to?
Consistency has undoubtedly been the key to my success. When I first began running, I was very uneducated on the sport. However, over the last few years I have had tremendous progress due to consistency.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I started running my junior year of high school, and I immediately fell in love with the sport. I competed in cross country as well as track and field during both my junior and senior year of high school. Initially I had no intention of attending college once I graduated from high school. However, after being contacted by multiple coaches from colleges all across the southeast I realized that I had an opportunity to continue doing what I loved. I eventually decided to attend college, and committed to continue running at Oglethorpe University. I am now in my second year, and I enjoy running more than ever. This past cross country season, which ended in November, I had my best performances yet. I was recognized with an All-Conference award as well as an All-Region award. However, I narrowly missed qualifying for the national championships. I was 1 second away from qualifying. Next year I will, without a doubt, qualify for nationals and hopefully win. Although this would be elating, it is only another stepping stone to where I would like to be in the future. The ultimate goal is to run professionally, and is only possible through consistency.

Aside from running, I have begun to pursue modeling as well. I am a novice in the area, but I would love to get into it more as I enjoy it a lot. But this aspiration, as with everything, will take time, dedication, and consistency.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I am so grateful that I have Ashleigh Ewald as a close friend, and I would like to dedicate this to her. She introduced and recommended me for the shoutout. She also did an amazing photoshoot for me to help me kickstart my modeling career!

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zachary.benner?igsh=YTQzcGhiemRqY2Jl&utm_source=qr

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zachary-benner-90b556296

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