KLAMATH FALLS, Ore.— It was a coach who helped convince him he could run again. It was teammates who encouraged, pushed and ran with him to help facilitate the return.
"I could go on every day with the people who helped me," Oregon Tech senior
Mark French said of his return to distance running which helped him attain All-American status in cross country for a third time.
Now, he has become the first male athlete at OIT to win All-American honors four times in the same sport.
Having won All-American honors as a freshman and sophomore, French seemed destined to join Joelle Swanson, a four-time All-American in the javelin. All of Tech's other multiple All-American winners did so in more than a single event.
"Then," French said, "I got hurt."
A serious foot injury, a broken bone in the bottom of the foot, made walking, let alone running, a challenge.
"I felt pain in the bottom of my foot at nationals (in outdoor track and field)," French said. "I took two weeks off, but there still was pain. I came back to compete, but redshirted. The pain was not going away. It was unbearable to run on."
Surgery followed for the 23-year-old mechanical engineering major from Tualatin, and the prospectus was not promising.
First came a boot. Then crutches.
Two different doctors told him he likely never would run again.
Challenge accepted.
"I was hating life," French said. "It was not a fun experience, but the support system of the team was amazing. Coming back was the pivotal experience of my college career."
Following a conservative route to recovery, including rehabilitation which included both time on a stationary bike and in the swimming pool, he finally began running, limited miles at first.
"I was used to going 45-50 miles a week, and I was just doing 10 or less (miles)," he said. "It was most painful because I hadn't been running."
When classes started in what would be his junior year, he was doing no more than 15 miles a week.
"The hard part was just getting back into running and at the Bushnell Invitational (then Northwest Christian Invitational), I ran my slowest time ever," French said, "by over three minutes."
With each ensuing event, his times dropped.
"It helped build my confidence," he said.
Then, the conference and national meets loomed, and the applied mathematics and humanities minor was forced into serious race mode.
"I was told I couldn't do," French said.
With the helped of Coach
Jack Kegg and his teammates, French was able to finish eighth in the conference meet and 23
rd in the national championships (where the top 30 gain All-American honors).
"It was an amazing progression for the times I had," he said. "It shocked me how I could get back so fast.
"I went from the down, when I hit rock bottom in coach's office, but he kept reassuring me and told me that every successful athlete has a comeback story. He told me I had what it takes to come back."
"You have struggles to go through, and you have to have them," French said.
"The biggest challenge is coming back. It's not just mental. You have to do the work required to maintain some level of fitness and go through the pain after surgery. After rest, I went from long walks (which hurt) to progress into running."
There still is pain since the foot could not be completely repaired, but French has learned to adjust to make the effort, and, if he accepts the additional year of cross country which seniors have been offered because of the COVID-19 pandemic, he could win a fifth All-American honor.
The 2021 fall season, which is standard for the sport, French could complete his career in a meet at Fort Vancouver National Memorial in Vancouver, Washington, which almost would be appropriate.
He had been contacted by California's Occidental and Pomona-Pitzer colleges, Yale University and Boise State University.
"But," French said, "Oregon is home and I wanted to stay in state if I could. (Oregon Tech) was an easy decision, plus there were the good academics. To be part of the cross country team, and I like the guys, made my mind up."
"Plus, Coach Kegg is a genius for running."
Steve Matthies is the sports editor emeritus of the Klamath Falls Herald and News. He covered Oregon Tech athletics for more than 30 years.
