Some people search rigorously to find their passion in life. For others, their passion seems to find them.
Until recently, Ozark cross country runner Logan Bohannon didn’t particularly enjoy running – it was just something he was good at.
“During this cross country season, something just clicked,” said Bohannon. “I got excited about running. It's a passion and it has never been like that before.”
In retrospect, Bohannon sees last year’s district meet as a turning point for him.
“That was by far my worst race of the year,” he said. “The course was terrible, I finished eighth and I was really disappointed and down on myself. It was also the last race with the seniors and I was disappointed with my performance. That next week I worked really hard, got up early and ran every day. The next two weeks, I ran my best races at sectionals and at state. That's when I realized it was something I could be passionate about.”
That experience culminated with a 16th-place finish in the Class 4 state meet for the junior Bohannon, running a time of 16:26.74, the best finish in the area in Class 4. He improved tremendously from finishing 99th at state as a sophomore.
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The state meet wasn’t Bohannon’s fastest time, but it was one of his best races of the season. He set a new personal record earlier in the year at 16 minutes flat.
“[This season] was really everything I wanted it to be, looking back,” he said. “I really hit a lot of goals I set for myself and happy with the way it all turned out. I wanted to lower my PR. Last year my PR was around 16:30 and I knocked 30 seconds off.”
Bohannon owes much of his success to the man who first started running with him as a youngster.
“I started running in fifth grade,” said Bohannon. “My grandpa got me started on it. As soon as I started, I never really stopped running.
“I look up to my grandpa,” he continued. “He got me started on running and is by far my biggest supporter and biggest motivator. He always comes to every meet. I wouldn’t be doing any of this if it wasn’t for him. I look up to him, he’s been running for so long and still loves it.”
Bohannon wants to be a lot like his grandfather in that respect. But he still has another year of high school and a college career ahead of him.
College plans haven’t been set for Bohannon just yet, but he certainly does intend to run competitively in college.
“I’ve set a few goals for next year,” Bohannon said regarding his senior year at Ozark. “Obviously I want to improve on my finish this year. I want to finish in the top five at state, which is not entirely unrealistic for me. I want to be the best runner in the area next year. Next year I want to set myself apart from everyone else. And I want to lower my PR from 16 flat to 15:45 or 15:30.”
It’s safe to say that Logan Bohannon’s passion for running evolved from merely a talent to something he truly loves. The encouragement from his grandfather meant everything to him, and now Bohannon honors his grandfather by making a point to continue running late in life.
“Really, I just want to be able to be successful at something,” he said. “I don’t know exactly what yet. I don’t want to be rich and famous. I just want to provide for myself and my family. I want to have a pretty normal life. I hope to be able to run for the rest of my life, and I hope that it will still be a part of my life.”
