Morgan McDonald- Valleys and Peaks
"I was pretty mentally burnt out on running by the end of the indoor season"
Morgan McDonald is a professional runner for Under Armour, while on his way he would become an NCAA champion for the Wisconsin Badgers. The story though begins in his home country of Australia over a decade ago when he was not a competitive runner, rather a soccer player.
Being a young athlete in Australia, McDonald started playing soccer well before he ever started running competitively. Reflecting on his introduction to running, Morgan McDonald says, “Running was lots of fun back in Australia. Like many runners, I grew up playing a lot of soccer, however I was always lucky to have a great environment for running. I trained with a lot of older guys that really helped me grow as an athlete.” Though it took him a few years to get into the sport, he started to show potential early on when he would train with others who were multiple years older. Going forward the Aussie would get to experience multiple meets at a high level, McDonald says, “Along the way I was lucky enough to win few national titles in cross country and on the track, and the most memorable moments were being able to represent Australia a couple of times as a junior athlete in cross country and track. Placing 33rd in the junior race at the 2013 World Cross Country Championships as a 16 year old was probably the most special for me, this was a huge step forwards.” Having experienced these championship meets early into his career, it would help set himself up for the future.
Having worked hard to win multiple national titles and finishing well at World Cross Country, would lead to Morgan McDonald receiving multiple scholarship offers. Having to choose which offer he would accept, he took many things into consideration, McDonald Says, “In terms of choosing a college to run at, the most important things for me tended to revolve around finding a place that I felt like suited me as an individual and that would be enjoyable. I think that as a talented junior there were many places that I could go to and potentially have success at, so it really came down to finding the place that felt right for me and would help me to grow the most.” With this set of criteria in mind, he continues saying, “Wisconsin ended up being great for me, because I really trusted the coaches and really enjoyed being around the team. The city and the school also excited me a lot and made me want to go there.” Having come down to which coach he trusted and team McDonald connected most with, he choose Wisconsin and Coach Mick Byrne. This relationship of city, coach, and athlete would be filled with valleys and peaks but would not be a regrettable one.
Morgan McDonald would face multiple different low points in his career at Wisconsin which he would battle back from to find his way to the top of collegiate sports in the United States. Injuries in Morgan McDonald’s collegiate career were prevalent, he says, “Like many runners, I’ve had both physical and mental struggles along the way that have helped me to develop and become a better athlete. I’ve had a couple of injuries that have put me out of races and had big impacts on my season. Before winning NCAA’s in 2019, I missed out on both the 2017 (stress reaction in my foot) and 2018 (tendonitis in my tibialis posterior) NCAA outdoor races for this reason.” Throughout Morgan McDonald’s collegiate career, dealing with the physical struggles of running was only one half of the issue. McDonald emphasizes that “The mental part of running is huge for me as well and something that I’m always trying to work on. Perhaps the biggest obstacle in this regard was back during my freshman year in 2015 during the spring. I was pretty mentally burnt out on running by the end of the indoor season, and so I really just needed to take some time away for a refresher and some reflection. My coach Mick Byrne was huge in allowing me to take the time that I needed and guiding me through this.” Being able to overcome the mental barriers in athletics is a major part of sports and for Morgan McDonald he would break down many of these barriers in his 2015 season. Being able to overcome these barriers would lead Morgan McDonald to much more then just NCAA Championships.
After competing for the Badgers, Morgan McDonald was presented with an opportunity to run professionally. With multiple options, McDonald says, “this was a pretty tough decision as I was lucky enough to have lots [of] great options. However, after weighing everything that was important to me up, I decided that I wanted to stay in Wisconsin with Mick and continue with what we had been working on. I feel like there is still more for us to achieve.” After choosing where he wanted to live and train over the next few years, McDonald was now looking for a sponsor. Morgan McDonald would find a willing partner, saying, “I was very lucky to have Under Armour step in and allow me to do this. Because they are newer to the running game, they had a real enthusiasm for how they can create positive value in the sport, and this potential excited me a lot. They have been great to me and continue to be extremely supportive with everything that I could ever need.” With a contract secured, McDonald would transition into the professional life with all the help he needed with Under Armour and his support system in Wisconsin.
Transitioning from the collegiate system to a professional career can be rocky, no different then going from high school to college running. Morgan McDonald says that as he transitions, he is realizing the difference between levels, he says, “I think that I didn’t totally appreciate how valuable it was to be a part of a team like we had at Wisconsin, so now that things are a lot more individual there was a bit of a process of reflecting back on why I’m doing this and what I want to achieve as an individual.” Realizing the importance that a team has on training is eye-opening for Morgan McDonald in his first year professionally. When asked about wanting to surround himself with other runners that are at the same level as he is, McDonald responded saying, “Obviously I would love to have people come and join me here, but the reality is that it’s a huge commitment on someone else’s part, and it’s tough to count on that opportunity even existing for someone else from a life standpoint. So for now my attitude is to make the most of what I’ve got (which I think is great), and see what happens in the future. Things can change for sure.” Now that McDonald has transitioned into professional running, he is settling in and looks to build on what he did in college.
From playing soccer in Australia to moving across the world to be a student-athlete at the University of Wisconsin, Morgan McDonald has gone through multiple struggles to become the runner he is today. Even though McDonald has had a successful career to this point, many would be surprised at the adversity he as gone through.
Sources: Direct quotes from Morgan McDonald via Direct Message to Evan Smith (May 2020)
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