4,500 miles in a lifetime. 1,700 miles in 2024. These are the distances Senior Jared Fairbanks has traversed through every season’s conditions, from the humid, sweltering heat to the biting winter frost. In August, his hard work accumulated in an 8th place finish of 15:32, breaking the 23-year-old school record in the 5K race. More recently, he placed 2nd in the region and 15th in the state, earning him a place on the podium for the first time.
Before he matured into the lightning-fast athlete we know and love today, he was a middle schooler who, contrary to what one may presume, disliked cross country. In fact, when his dad, biology teacher Jonathan Fairbanks, and former Bruin Marcus Abel first encouraged him to join, he was unsure about sticking with the sport.
“On my first day, I quit after my first practice. It was genuinely miserable, but my parents wouldn’t let me,” he laughed.
From his father’s encouragement, he learned a valuable lesson about perseverance – a quality that would change his life forever.
“I just kept going,” he said, “and then that eighth grade year I just kind of skyrocketed.”
In his 8th grade year, he became the first middle schooler to run varsity under the boy’s cross country coach, Tim Pennington. He quickly became one of the standout athletes on the team, and from there, the rest is school history.
“Having him drop over three minutes off a 5000 meter race time over the last four years has been a great accomplishment,” Pennington said. “To do this you have to be hungry and humble.”
As an upperclassman, Fairbanks has chased after his own goals but also kept in mind the mentors who encouraged him before, letting his competitive energy inspire the younger runners.
According to Pennington, Fairbanks’s presence on the team has been paramount to the boys’ team’s success, as they were the region champions this year.
“[Fairbanks’s] inspiration to his teammates has been an influencing factor to the boys’ squad,” Pennington said.
Although Fairbanks has achieved much and is already looking forward to running at Bellarmine University, his high school athletic journey is far from over. With track season coming around the corner, he is preparing for even more success in the spring.
“Just get some school records, go for the region titles,” Fairbanks said nonchalantly while listing his goals. He enjoys the rivalry he has with other exceptional runners in the area, namely Houston Brooks and Mikie Carnell from Grayson and Meade County, respectively. It fuels his competitive zeal.
“It’s just kind of ingrained in me, you know, this urge to just go faster, to get better placements,” he said.
Fairbanks is considering coaching – possibly at Central – after college, hoping to eventually cultivate a new community of runners.
As Fairbanks wraps up his high school career, he will muster up all his grit to train for the Track and Field State Championships, running as a Central student for one last time. Although he will one day take off his Colombia, navy and yellow jersey to put on a scarlet one, he will always be a Bruin.
