Quick Chat: Marisa Petit
September 17, 2020 | Cross Country, Track & Field, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
All Georgia student-athletes had to make a lot of adjustments when they went home in March, once the coronavirus pandemic hit and classes were moved online. For distance runner Marisa Petit, a junior from Braselton, Ga., she didn't have to look far and wide for training partners.
Petit has a twin sister, Camryn, that is a runner at North Carolina — they're fraternal, with Camryn born nine minutes before Marisa — and their older sister, Hannah, runs at Georgia Tech. Petit said during a Quick Chat on Thursday that she didn't get into running until her sophomore year of high school, after seeing her sisters doing it.
The Georgia men's and women's cross country teams were scheduled to begin their pandemic-adjusted seasons Thursday morning with the Bulldog Invitational at the UGA Golf Course, but the meet had to be canceled because of heavy rains coming from Hurricane Sandy. It's 2020, after all, and nothing is coming easy. Georgia will instead (hopefully) open its seasons on Oct. 2 at the Florida State Invitational.
During our Quick Chat, Petit talked about running in the rain and on a cruise ship, her pre- and post-race meals, running with her sisters, and much more. Here's some of what she had to say:
Frierson: Instead of racing this morning, you're talking to me on the phone. How frustrating is it to have come so close to actually racing again, only to have the meet canceled because of the heavy rain?
Petit: It was very frustrating. We kept thinking as the meet was approaching, OK, this is finally happening and we're going to get to race for the first time in so long, and we were getting really excited for it. And just to have it canceled by a hurricane and not even the coronavirus was really disappointing. But it does give us some more time to look forward to FSU and UAB (the Blazer Invitational on Oct. 16) and SECs (the SEC Championships on Oct. 30), so we'll take it as an opportunity to just get more fit and more ready for the season.
Frierson: Do you like running in the rain?
Petit: I actually do like running in the rain sometimes, because it kind of provides a good distraction to get your mind of the things you're going through, and it cools you off a little bit. It would have been kind of exciting, actually, to run through the mud on the UGA Golf Course.
Frierson: What is the longest you've ever run on a treadmill?
Petit: I went on a cruise my senior year of high school and it was right before state (the GHSA 6A state championship meet), so we had to do all of our mileage on the treadmills on the boat. We had to do, me and my sister, 10-mile runs on the treadmill, so I think 10 miles is the longest I've ever gone, and it was on a boat, so it was very interesting.
Frierson: We share June 4th as a birthday and we also have something else in common, which is I have twin brothers and one played tennis here at Georgia and the other played at North Carolina.
Petit: Oh my gosh, that's just like us. That's so cool.
Frierson: What is it like to be off at college at separate schools, away from your twin sister?
Petit: It definitely is kind of hard sometimes not being together, but we do talk all the time on the phone and stay connected that way. We also get to race each other sometimes, like indoor track, at Clemson, we have a few meets together and it's always exciting to see how our different training will make us perform. It's great to connect and see what each other are up to at college, and just kind of see how the different programs are so different but also so special to us.
Frierson: With three of you running in college, was running the family sport?
Petit: Actually, none of us started running until high school. Neither of my parents were runners; I did cheerleading my freshman year of high school and my twin sister and my older sister had just started cross country, and I just saw after a year of them doing the sport that they were doing well at it and they loved it, and I just thought, Oh, my gosh, maybe I should do that with them, that could be really fun.
I started my sophomore year and all three of us were on the team together in high school, and I just loved it and it was so fun with all three of us competing together. We really just developed a huge love for the sport and then we all really wanted to do it in college. We thought maybe we could do it at the same school but we all ended up going separate ways.
Frierson: When you're home this spring because of school shutting down, I'm guessing it was nice to have two really good training partners in the house with you.
Petit: Yes, I always feel so lucky to have both of them. Every break, like Christmas break or summer break, I never have to do workouts by myself, I can always have them there pushing me and motivating me to wake up early and get it done with. We are all long-distance runners so we can all do high mileage together — it's just really nice having training partners with you all the time. I definitely feel very lucky.
Frierson: Do you have a preferred pre- or post-race meal? Is there something you crave after a meet?
Petit: Before a race I have to always have a bagel with peanut butter and a banana, and then a little bit of coffee. That's just a must. And after a race, I usually get ice cream or something to reward myself not that the pressure is finally off after a race. ...
One of my favorite things about run has always been that after a long mileage day, I know that I can just eat whatever I want and feel good about it. I definitely do eat really healthy and I am conscious of nutrition, especially with my major being Dietetics, but I do love to eat lots of food after a race and celebrate with some ice cream.
Frierson: I have to ask, what's your favorite flavor of ice cream?
Petit: Oh, man, this might be an unpopular opinion but I love butter pecan. Every time I go get ice cream, it's always butter pecan. If I eat Ben & Jerry's, that's my second-favorite, I'm getting Phish Food.
Frierson: Do you have a creative side? Is there anything creative you do or wish you could do?
Petit: I have been kind of getting into painting a little bit over quarantine. I painted a couple of decorations for my house this year, so just a little bit of painting. I've always liked art — I'm definitely not the most artistic person but I try and I have fun doing it.
Frierson: If you could be great at anything for a day, just to experience it, what would it be?
Petit: I've always wanted to be really great at gymnastics, that would be really fun to be able to do the things that the Gym Dogs do. They just make it look so easy doing flips and everything they do just looks so cool to me.
(This Q&A was lightly edited for length and clarity.)
Staff Writer
All Georgia student-athletes had to make a lot of adjustments when they went home in March, once the coronavirus pandemic hit and classes were moved online. For distance runner Marisa Petit, a junior from Braselton, Ga., she didn't have to look far and wide for training partners.
Petit has a twin sister, Camryn, that is a runner at North Carolina — they're fraternal, with Camryn born nine minutes before Marisa — and their older sister, Hannah, runs at Georgia Tech. Petit said during a Quick Chat on Thursday that she didn't get into running until her sophomore year of high school, after seeing her sisters doing it.
The Georgia men's and women's cross country teams were scheduled to begin their pandemic-adjusted seasons Thursday morning with the Bulldog Invitational at the UGA Golf Course, but the meet had to be canceled because of heavy rains coming from Hurricane Sandy. It's 2020, after all, and nothing is coming easy. Georgia will instead (hopefully) open its seasons on Oct. 2 at the Florida State Invitational.
During our Quick Chat, Petit talked about running in the rain and on a cruise ship, her pre- and post-race meals, running with her sisters, and much more. Here's some of what she had to say:
Frierson: Instead of racing this morning, you're talking to me on the phone. How frustrating is it to have come so close to actually racing again, only to have the meet canceled because of the heavy rain?
Petit: It was very frustrating. We kept thinking as the meet was approaching, OK, this is finally happening and we're going to get to race for the first time in so long, and we were getting really excited for it. And just to have it canceled by a hurricane and not even the coronavirus was really disappointing. But it does give us some more time to look forward to FSU and UAB (the Blazer Invitational on Oct. 16) and SECs (the SEC Championships on Oct. 30), so we'll take it as an opportunity to just get more fit and more ready for the season.
Frierson: Do you like running in the rain?
Petit: I actually do like running in the rain sometimes, because it kind of provides a good distraction to get your mind of the things you're going through, and it cools you off a little bit. It would have been kind of exciting, actually, to run through the mud on the UGA Golf Course.
Frierson: What is the longest you've ever run on a treadmill?
Petit: I went on a cruise my senior year of high school and it was right before state (the GHSA 6A state championship meet), so we had to do all of our mileage on the treadmills on the boat. We had to do, me and my sister, 10-mile runs on the treadmill, so I think 10 miles is the longest I've ever gone, and it was on a boat, so it was very interesting.
Frierson: We share June 4th as a birthday and we also have something else in common, which is I have twin brothers and one played tennis here at Georgia and the other played at North Carolina.
Petit: Oh my gosh, that's just like us. That's so cool.
Frierson: What is it like to be off at college at separate schools, away from your twin sister?
Petit: It definitely is kind of hard sometimes not being together, but we do talk all the time on the phone and stay connected that way. We also get to race each other sometimes, like indoor track, at Clemson, we have a few meets together and it's always exciting to see how our different training will make us perform. It's great to connect and see what each other are up to at college, and just kind of see how the different programs are so different but also so special to us.
Frierson: With three of you running in college, was running the family sport?
Petit: Actually, none of us started running until high school. Neither of my parents were runners; I did cheerleading my freshman year of high school and my twin sister and my older sister had just started cross country, and I just saw after a year of them doing the sport that they were doing well at it and they loved it, and I just thought, Oh, my gosh, maybe I should do that with them, that could be really fun.
I started my sophomore year and all three of us were on the team together in high school, and I just loved it and it was so fun with all three of us competing together. We really just developed a huge love for the sport and then we all really wanted to do it in college. We thought maybe we could do it at the same school but we all ended up going separate ways.
Frierson: When you're home this spring because of school shutting down, I'm guessing it was nice to have two really good training partners in the house with you.
Petit: Yes, I always feel so lucky to have both of them. Every break, like Christmas break or summer break, I never have to do workouts by myself, I can always have them there pushing me and motivating me to wake up early and get it done with. We are all long-distance runners so we can all do high mileage together — it's just really nice having training partners with you all the time. I definitely feel very lucky.
Frierson: Do you have a preferred pre- or post-race meal? Is there something you crave after a meet?
Petit: Before a race I have to always have a bagel with peanut butter and a banana, and then a little bit of coffee. That's just a must. And after a race, I usually get ice cream or something to reward myself not that the pressure is finally off after a race. ...
One of my favorite things about run has always been that after a long mileage day, I know that I can just eat whatever I want and feel good about it. I definitely do eat really healthy and I am conscious of nutrition, especially with my major being Dietetics, but I do love to eat lots of food after a race and celebrate with some ice cream.
Frierson: I have to ask, what's your favorite flavor of ice cream?
Petit: Oh, man, this might be an unpopular opinion but I love butter pecan. Every time I go get ice cream, it's always butter pecan. If I eat Ben & Jerry's, that's my second-favorite, I'm getting Phish Food.
Frierson: Do you have a creative side? Is there anything creative you do or wish you could do?
Petit: I have been kind of getting into painting a little bit over quarantine. I painted a couple of decorations for my house this year, so just a little bit of painting. I've always liked art — I'm definitely not the most artistic person but I try and I have fun doing it.
Frierson: If you could be great at anything for a day, just to experience it, what would it be?
Petit: I've always wanted to be really great at gymnastics, that would be really fun to be able to do the things that the Gym Dogs do. They just make it look so easy doing flips and everything they do just looks so cool to me.
(This Q&A was lightly edited for length and clarity.)
Assistant Sports Communications Director John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files. He's also on Twitter: @FriersonFiles and @ITAHallofFame.
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