City Times

Issue date: 11/10/09 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Carlos Maia Coach Peter Gregory meets with the cross country team before heading to a race. [Click to enlarge]

As most San Diegans hit the snooze button on their alarm clock for the third consecutive time on a misty Saturday morning, Peter Gregory unzips his windbreaker and yells to his young team of chiseled runners to warm up and come back to talk through some strategy.
Gregory, head coach of the San Diego City College Men's Cross Country team, quickly stretches his hamstrings and tells one of his athletes to jog with him. To Gregory, this dainty four-mile run compared to his abundant race record seems as though a walk in the park. Balboa Park, that is.
Gregory has been an avid runner ever since the age 11. Starting his running career at Pelican High School in Long Beach, he soon made a big leap and joined Everett High School his senior year. There, he started his coaching career as well.
"I remember when the coach asked me to look over the training schedule and I quickly made changes," Gregory said. "We put that into test and we were very successful, and I guess you could say that was my first act as a coach."
After graduation from Everett, Gregory went on a four-year hiatus from running to try and accomplish his childhood dreams.
"I took four years off to make it as a drummer before returning back to school," said the 47-year-old.
Needless to say, Gregory and his then band didn't make it to the big time, but he actively remains a student of the craft and plays shows in the local area.
When Gregory was 22, he returned to Long Beach to live with his aunt and to work as a tour guide at the Los Angeles Olympics.
It was there where he found inspiration and began to train as the runner he was supposed to be. The following fall of 1984, he received a scholarship to University of Massachusetts Lowell.
After an injury his first year, Gregory soon transferred to UMASS Boston where he trained under Bill Squires, the dedicated coach with a now laundry list of great runners he's trained. With Squires, Gregory's team finished fifth at the Division 3 National Championships and was named an All-American.

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