A Walk With Eric Alldritt

Junior distance runner Eric Alldritt was recently named the men's Sooner-Athlete of the Month by the University of Oklahoma Prentice Gautt Student Life staff. The Bend, Ore., native transferred to OU to find sunny weather and specifically to enroll in the petroleum engineering program, a major that few universities in the country offer. Alldritt has managed to excel in a challenging and uncommon major maintaining a 3.56 GPA since he's been at OU, while becoming one of the Sooners' top distance runners on the cross country course. He wakes up every morning at 4:30 a.m. as he continues to prepare for his first competition of the 2015 season. He took a brief moment from his structured day to talk about his philosophies, academics, and "Vitamin D" walks.

On what made him choose petroleum engineering as his major:

"Ever since elementary school, I was very good at math and science. Pretty much I'm just a math, science, and logic kind of guy. I specifically chose petroleum engineering because I saw it as a great challenge. One of my main philosophies is that the greater the challenges you have in life, the greater the experiences and with those, you'll get a greater reward. I get happiness from experiences, accomplishments, and achievements. I want to be able to achieve as much as I can while I'm here. I want to treat my four years (at OU) as serious as if I was at the White House."

On what it means to be recognized as the Sooner-Athlete of the Month:

"I think what got me that award was the work I've put in with the academic center and career services. I went in there needing advice, and I learned a lot. I got my elevator speech ready, a résumé completed, and made a few business cards that are in my wallet. The first two weeks of school I showed up every day to study and just be by myself. I think one of the ways to succeed is to have a strong passion for what you're doing, while surrounding yourself with individuals who want you to succeed just as much, or maybe even more, than you do."

On how he prepared this summer for the cross country and track and field seasons:

"This summer I worked my way up from about 50 miles a week in mid-May to about 90 miles a week now. Besides running, I do core and body movements that activate different muscles in the body. In some of my workouts, I was able to cut a 5:30-timed mile into a 4:30-mile. I also worked a job with my brother as a busser and that's kind of how my 4:30 a.m. morning thing got started. Our shifts started at 6:30 a.m. and we'd leave sometimes as late as 4 p.m. It was tough, but it makes school feel easy when I compare it to those days. Now, I want our team to make nationals. I think we could've made it last year and this year we have another real shot at it."

Eric Alldritt paces ahead of a runner from Big 12 rival, Texas.

On what his "Vitamin D" walks are and why he takes them:

"After 60 to 75 minutes of studying, my work starts to get sloppy. After that period of time, I'll go outside for 10 or 15 minutes and walk around with my shirt off. I just get a bunch of Vitamin D and a suntan. One of the reasons I moved here was because of the heat. I love it. I think I'll retire somewhere like Southern California or a place with lots of heat, mountains, and forests. The walks are relaxing and a good escape for me. I know what too much work or stress can do so I try to stay balanced. For instance, last year I studied too hard and was so stressed out, I had the flu for a week. I believe I totally could have prevented that. I was so caught up in my work, that I didn't even realize it."

On what he watches on Netflix and listens to on his iPod:

"About three months ago, I discovered Pandora which is amazing. I'm kind of like 'Why didn't I listen to this sooner?' I listen to "Chris Brown Radio," "Today's Hits Radio," "Dance Radio," "Pitbull Radio,"and Fast and Furious soundtracks to name a few. On Netflix, I may range from something kid-oriented like the Penguins of Madagascar or SpongeBob to shows for mature audiences like South Park or Blue Mountain State. I have a wide variety of shows to say the least."

For more information on the OU Cross Country team go to SoonerSports.com.

On what made him choose petroleum engineering as his major:

On what it means to be recognized as the Sooner-Athlete of the Month:

On how he prepared this summer for the cross country and track and field seasons:

On what his "Vitamin D" walks are and why he takes them:

On what he watches on Netflix and listens to on his iPod:

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Eric Alldritt

Eric Alldritt

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