In July 2012, Binghamton middle distance star Jesse Garn sat in the parking lot of a Red Lobster and first pondered his potential as a professional runner. To Garn, who had just completed his freshman year, the possibility seemed distant and its path unpredictable.
On Tuesday, Garn, who graduated from Binghamton in May, announced on social media that he had been signed to run professionally with the New Jersey*New York Track Club. He credits his inspiration to go pro to the example set by Erik van Ingen, ‘12, who holds the Binghamton record for individual NCAA Championship appearances at seven.
“I only had one year to train with Erik [van Ingen], but he was a huge running role model for me,” Garn said. “It was pretty much watching him and realizing that an athlete like him, coming from his background, could do it and he inspired hope in me that maybe down the road I could.”
It was van Ingen who first asked Garn whether he could see himself running professionally. The conversation, which took place as they sat parked outside the Red Lobster prior to van Ingen’s departure for the Oregon Track Club, was a pivotal moment in Garn’s career.
“I was picking his brain about what it was going to be like for him and his options and how he arrived at it,” Garn said. “The future was so unpredictable, I really had no idea where I was going to go from there. I was very, very fortunate that I continued to improve the way that I did.”
Garn didn’t just improve. He transformed from an average collegiate runner to one who achieved All-American honors three separate times, making him one of the most successful runners in program history.
As a junior, Garn became only the second Binghamton runner to break four minutes in the mile, recording a time of 3:59.37 at the Boston University Last Chance Indoor Meet. That same year, he placed eighth in the mile at the prestigious Millrose Games. In 2015, Garn made a name for himself on the national stage by placing fourth in the 800-meter at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. This past July, he qualified to compete at the U.S. Olympic trials.
The achievements Garn made over his collegiate career were recognized by several coaches and clubs who expressed interest in his talent over the past year. He eventually decided on the New Jersey*New York Track Club, whose website states its mission as “developing each athlete to compete at the highest level of the sport-U.S.A. Championships, World Championships and the Olympic Games,” and was founded by head coach Frank Gagliano and Olympian Erin Donohue in 2009.
“I’ve actually competed against a lot of the guys on the team before at some track meets while I was at Binghamton,” Garn said. “They’ve just been supportive of me and with the resources that they have and where the program is going, I just thought that it was the best fit.”
Despite his accomplishments while at Binghamton, Garn knows that the transition to running professionally will require quite an adjustment.
“Joining a professional running club, the intensity will be greater, even the weekly mileage,” he said. “I’m pretty much going to be running more and it’s going to be a lot harder.”
BU cross country head coach Annette Acuff said that deciding to run professionally was the right choice for Garn.
“It’s the best opportunity for him to continue to grow and get to the next level, post-collegiately and more on a professional level,” she said. “Now he’ll be surrounded by a lot of other athletes that have similar talent levels to him and if not, obviously, better. I couldn’t be more ecstatic.”
Kyle McDonald contributed reporting to this story.