LAKEWOOD, CO – "You just have to keep showing up. Day after day..." - Shannon King
 
Breaking records is nothing new to athlete Shannon King. After all, the records she has broken include the indoor mile, indoor 3k, indoor 5k, and the outdoor steeple chase. At first glance, it appears as though King has got it all figured out, but in reality she has confronted her fair share of trials. Nevertheless, King has navigated through them with resilience, and prevailed.
 
Shannon transferred to CCU in 2021. Her previous school held a competitive and cutthroat environment that constantly caused her to question where her identity was found. It was an environment where her worth was determined by her performance on the track rather than who she was as an individual. King recalls needing to earn recognition from coaches through her performance in practices and events in order for them to mention her by name. This intense drive for success can be seen in the athletic environment, leaving many individuals feeling pressured to deliver results rather than fostering their personal well-being. King stated, "It kind of felt like you were a number, it didn't really feel like you were a person." Eventually King transferred to CCU where the difference in coaching styles was evident. At CCU the coaches see "everyone as a person first, not an athlete first" and they care about each players spiritual growth above how well the athlete can perform.
 
In today's athletic industry, there are many athletes struggling with balancing their mental health and their athletic career. Sometimes athletes believe they have to choose one over the other. According to King, the solution to this battle is a balance of priorities. "I always tell myself that it is just running, like before races or before workouts and practices. You kind of just have to put it in its place," said King. There are many pressures that athletes face including expectations to perform at high levels. These high, and occasionally unreasonable expectations can affect athletes' mental health. How they choose to prioritize their sport in their lives makes the biggest impact on their mental health. King acknowledges that while running is a big part of her life, it isn't everything to her. She places high importance on other aspects of her life such as her friends, school, and most importantly her relationship with God. King states that this new perspective on her sport has positively impacted both her mental health and athletic career.

When asked about the trials she has faced in her sport, King recalls the moment she collapsed at Nationals. King was in the top 30, going into the last 800 meters when she collapsed. "I don't really know what happened, but my body just started shutting down. I tried to fight it really hard, but then my body started locking up and I couldn't feel anything and everything just kind of started going numb…I remember trying so hard to sprint, but my body was basically walking. And at this point we were 400 meters from the finish-line, and I just collapsed on the sidelines." Failures and disappointments, in athletics, are inevitable and beyond one's control. Despite thorough training and preparation for a race, unexpected setbacks can still occur. It's the response following such moments that determine whether we remain stuck in the disappointment or rise above it and progress forward. After that race King was crushed and felt disappointed. Her goal that she was so close to reaching was gone at that moment. Upon reflecting on this moment King says, "I think it taught me a lot again about the sport, about always showing up, and always giving your all, even if it doesn't work. It doesn't mean you're a failure."
 
Similar to this event was the time that King was racing in the indoor RMAC championships. She qualified for two events, the 5k on Friday and the mile on Saturday. Going into the Friday 5k, her goal was to run her best, but that is not what occurred. King recalls, "I thought it was going to go really well, and then I just kind of fell apart…something wasn't clicking, and I didn't feel great. But I knew that I had to finish in order to be able to run the next day." Although the circumstances surrounding the event were unfortunate and disappointing, King fixed her eyes on what Saturday would look like. She fixed her eyes on meeting her goal the next day. During the mile on Saturday, King ran her best race and qualified for nationals. Regardless of the events that occurred that day, King reset her focus on the next day and gave it her all.
 
King was originally a business major, but she eventually changed to psychology. A nudge from her friend was what made her realize that her calling was in this industry where she could have a relational impact on individuals, but specifically athletes. As an athlete herself, King knows the athletic industry and the pressure and effect that it can have on the mental health of athletes. With a degree in psychology, King believes that she will be able to relate and further impact athletes through becoming a counselor or sports psychologist. After all, King has faced her fair share of mental health trials within the sport. She understands that it's easy to feel lonely in the sport and that this can result in performance anxiety and depression. King states, "It's really hard and I'm not going to sugar coat it and say, 'you know, it gets better and look to the positives in your life'. Like sometimes it feels like nothing is good, and it sucks. And it's a really dark and lonely place and sometimes it feels like you can never get out of it." Especially as an athlete with the pressure to perform well, the battle of mental health can be obscured and pushed aside. It can be a dark and lonely place where no light shines. When asked what keeps her moving forwards, King says, "I think throughout the course in my life, I've seen time and time again that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. And you just have to keep showing up. Day after day. Even if it's minute by minute. I tell myself I'm going to get through the next 60 seconds of my day. And sometimes it's the most agonizing 60 seconds, but you're 60 seconds closer to healing than you were before." King encourages athletes and anyone struggling with mental health to keep moving forward and showing up no matter the pain. She promotes seeking help with loved ones and finding comfort that your identity is in God. As a sports psychologist, and with her background as an athlete, King hopes to be a person of safety for other athletes and to help them be able to find joy in their sport again.
 
Shannon King has been an outstanding athlete here at CCU and has had a great impact on the community of athletes. She recently graduated in December of 2023 and is pursuing her master's degree at CCU. In her free time, King loves to spend time with friends and has even picked up the guitar again. Her go-to bible verse as an athlete is John 1:5 "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." She states that this is a good reminder as an athlete – that there is hope in Jesus even when everything looks grim.
 
King's story shines a light on the darker side of college athletics. The overall impact that she desires to have on the athletic industry is that athletes will understand who they are, above any accomplishments or disappointments in their sport. She hopes athletes will prioritize their mental health over mere performance. Ultimately, King's vision is that athletes would begin to see themselves as a person rather than a number and that they will understand their worth as a child of God.