University of Georgia Athletics
Quick Chat: Charlotte Augenstein
November 10, 2022 | Cross Country, Track & Field, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
Shortly before sitting down for an interview Thursday morning, Charlotte Augenstein was taking a test in her organic chemistry class. It's one of the hardest classes at Georgia, just as it is at every school, and it's a necessary challenge if science or medicine is in your future.
Augenstein, a sophomore from Albany, Ga., is a Biology major whose parents, Ralf Augenstein and Hanna Lin, are doctors. Augenstein doesn't plan to follow in her parents' footsteps completely, but she does hope for a future in medicine.
During a Quick Chat Thursday, before she and the Georgia men's and women's cross country teams headed to Huntsville, Ala., for Friday's NCAA South Regional meet, Augenstein talked about everything from her favorite post-run meals to where she'd like to be in 10 years. Here's some of what she had to say:
Frierson: Do you have a favorite meal to eat after a race or a long training run?
Augenstein: I'd say, if I'm coming from a race, I love to get a big, jumbo smoothie, or something sweet — I have a sweet tooth. When it comes to after a morning long run, just a huge breakfast. We always go to Waffle House as a team and it's always a fun thing.
Frierson: Do you have a standard Waffle House order, something scattered, smothered and covered perhaps?
Augenstein: I get the hash brown bowl — it's smothered in cheese and sausage and stuff.
Frierson: Given how much you all train, is one of the perks of being a distance runner that, when you want to, you can almost eat whatever you want? You're going to burn right through most anything, I would imagine.
Augenstein: For sure. I think that's one of the big perks. I eat almost anything and everything, all of the time. I think I'm going to have problems with that later [laughs], when I finish running, just getting used to having to limit myself.
Frierson: Do you envision yourself down the road, maybe 35 or so, maybe doing a marathon and still running a lot of miles? Or are your distance days over once your Bulldog career is finished?
Augenstein: I think a marathon is not in my future [laughs]. In general, I'm not really a person that enjoys the super long distances. I think I'll go on runs, but marathons, no.
Frierson: Given that, have you had to make peace with the necessary long runs because they'll help you with the shorter races?
Augenstein: Yeah, especially for me because I'm more of a mid-distance runner in track. Having to do cross country is a learning experience, realizing how important this time of the year is for building endurance.
Frierson: What is your perfect distance? And how did you go about finding it?
Augenstein: In high school, I used to run everything: I used to run the 200, 400, I did triple jump — it took time until my junior year, when I started to focus on the distance races. Over time, and in college, I've realized that my best event is probably the 1,500.
The 800 is my favorite just because it's the shortest, but I'm probably better at the 1,500.
Frierson: The triple jump is such an odd event because it's kind of unnatural. What was it like training for that while you're also training for things like the 1,500?
Augenstein: It was definitely completely different. It was more technique-based and coordination, and oftentimes I was thinking a lot more about each step and each movement. During that time, I was also involved in other sports, so it was easier for me to do it back then.
Frierson: What other sports were you playing?
Augenstein: I used to play soccer, that was my biggest sport, doing travel soccer, and basketball was always a big one. Up until sophomore year, I ran track, cross country, and did basketball and soccer.
I started realizing that what made me good at soccer and basketball was the running part and being quicker than the other players. I had a good track season and realized that I should probably focus on track.
Frierson: In a perfect world, what are you doing in 10 years?
Augenstein: In 10 years, I hope to be a P.A. (physician's assistant) and, I don't know, living a comfortable life somewhere, I don't know where.
Frierson: How much did having two parents that are doctors influence what you want to do for a living?
Augenstein: I think it influenced me a lot, definitely. I enjoy hearing them talk about everything they see, but it definitely at the same time also pushed me away from med school and to P.A. school because I know how the process is, and they know how the process is, and how expensive the process is in the U.S. I definitely chose P.A. because of them.
Frierson: Who is the funniest person on the team?
Augenstein: To me, it's the Heron twins (Cole and KC, sophomores on the men's team). They came in with me, they're in my class, and they've just always been that bright spirit on the team. They make everybody laugh.
(This Q&A was lightly edited for length and clarity.)
Staff Writer
Shortly before sitting down for an interview Thursday morning, Charlotte Augenstein was taking a test in her organic chemistry class. It's one of the hardest classes at Georgia, just as it is at every school, and it's a necessary challenge if science or medicine is in your future.
Augenstein, a sophomore from Albany, Ga., is a Biology major whose parents, Ralf Augenstein and Hanna Lin, are doctors. Augenstein doesn't plan to follow in her parents' footsteps completely, but she does hope for a future in medicine.
During a Quick Chat Thursday, before she and the Georgia men's and women's cross country teams headed to Huntsville, Ala., for Friday's NCAA South Regional meet, Augenstein talked about everything from her favorite post-run meals to where she'd like to be in 10 years. Here's some of what she had to say:
Frierson: Do you have a favorite meal to eat after a race or a long training run?
Augenstein: I'd say, if I'm coming from a race, I love to get a big, jumbo smoothie, or something sweet — I have a sweet tooth. When it comes to after a morning long run, just a huge breakfast. We always go to Waffle House as a team and it's always a fun thing.
Frierson: Do you have a standard Waffle House order, something scattered, smothered and covered perhaps?
Augenstein: I get the hash brown bowl — it's smothered in cheese and sausage and stuff.
Frierson: Given how much you all train, is one of the perks of being a distance runner that, when you want to, you can almost eat whatever you want? You're going to burn right through most anything, I would imagine.
Augenstein: For sure. I think that's one of the big perks. I eat almost anything and everything, all of the time. I think I'm going to have problems with that later [laughs], when I finish running, just getting used to having to limit myself.
Frierson: Do you envision yourself down the road, maybe 35 or so, maybe doing a marathon and still running a lot of miles? Or are your distance days over once your Bulldog career is finished?
Augenstein: I think a marathon is not in my future [laughs]. In general, I'm not really a person that enjoys the super long distances. I think I'll go on runs, but marathons, no.
Frierson: Given that, have you had to make peace with the necessary long runs because they'll help you with the shorter races?
Augenstein: Yeah, especially for me because I'm more of a mid-distance runner in track. Having to do cross country is a learning experience, realizing how important this time of the year is for building endurance.
Frierson: What is your perfect distance? And how did you go about finding it?
Augenstein: In high school, I used to run everything: I used to run the 200, 400, I did triple jump — it took time until my junior year, when I started to focus on the distance races. Over time, and in college, I've realized that my best event is probably the 1,500.
The 800 is my favorite just because it's the shortest, but I'm probably better at the 1,500.
Frierson: The triple jump is such an odd event because it's kind of unnatural. What was it like training for that while you're also training for things like the 1,500?
Augenstein: It was definitely completely different. It was more technique-based and coordination, and oftentimes I was thinking a lot more about each step and each movement. During that time, I was also involved in other sports, so it was easier for me to do it back then.
Frierson: What other sports were you playing?
Augenstein: I used to play soccer, that was my biggest sport, doing travel soccer, and basketball was always a big one. Up until sophomore year, I ran track, cross country, and did basketball and soccer.
I started realizing that what made me good at soccer and basketball was the running part and being quicker than the other players. I had a good track season and realized that I should probably focus on track.
Frierson: In a perfect world, what are you doing in 10 years?
Augenstein: In 10 years, I hope to be a P.A. (physician's assistant) and, I don't know, living a comfortable life somewhere, I don't know where.
Frierson: How much did having two parents that are doctors influence what you want to do for a living?
Augenstein: I think it influenced me a lot, definitely. I enjoy hearing them talk about everything they see, but it definitely at the same time also pushed me away from med school and to P.A. school because I know how the process is, and they know how the process is, and how expensive the process is in the U.S. I definitely chose P.A. because of them.
Frierson: Who is the funniest person on the team?
Augenstein: To me, it's the Heron twins (Cole and KC, sophomores on the men's team). They came in with me, they're in my class, and they've just always been that bright spirit on the team. They make everybody laugh.
(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.
Georgia Cross Country NCAA South Regional Championship Video Recap
Friday, November 10
Georgia Cross Country SEC Championship Video Recap
Friday, October 27
Georgia Cross Country Regionals Highlights
Friday, November 11
Georgia Cross Country SEC Championships Postmeet Recap
Saturday, October 29