Consistency is key.
This sentiment holds true for many aspects of life. From school to work to athletics, consistency elevates success in all endeavors.
For Bradley senior cross country and track runner Kaitlyn Sheppard, that sentiment has helped her become one of the best runners in the Missouri Valley Conference.
“I think consistency has played a key role into my running faster this year,” Sheppard said. “I tried to maintain a level of consistency of fitness over the summer, and I think that’s benefited me in a big way.”
Of the Braves’ first three meets, Sheppard has placed first twice and set a new personal best 5K at her most recent meet, where she placed 16th. That personal best time of 16:34.0 became the second fastest time in program history.
“My goal for the first two meets was to win,” Sheppard said. “Going into Friday, a big goal of mine was to place in the top 30, as I came in 74th last year. My goals for this year are to be better than I was last year.”
So far, Sheppard has met and even exceeded her expectations. With just one meet remaining until the MVC Championships, she has her sights set on an even bigger goal.
“I want to win MVCs this year,” Sheppard said. “I came third last year, so it would be awesome to be able to take that title this year. It would be cool to make the NCAA Championships, but I want to be all-regional again like I was last year.”
Roots in Running
Sheppard hails from Cheltenham, England, where she grew up with a love for running from an early age. Her father, Kevin, competed in the steeplechase event at the 2007 Commonwealth Games, while her mother, Sarah, learned the sport during her time in the army.
“My dad has been a big inspiration to me,” Sheppard said. “I run exactly like my dad, we look the same and I have the same build as him. My mom is really familiar with the sport as she ran in the army. My parents are where the main love of running came from.”
While in high school, Sheppard dominated and claimed the 3000m England Championship in 2021 and 2022. She also won first place in the 3000m English Schools Championship in 2021.
Upon graduation, Sheppard had to decide where to pursue her higher education. Initially, she wanted to remain close to home and shrugged off schools in America.
That was until Bradley called.
“They were really persistent with their messaging,” Sheppard said. “I went on a Zoom call with them, and they sold me the dream. The old coach who was here was originally from Scotland, so I felt a connection because it felt like someone closer to home. I also met some of the girls on the team on a call, and they just seemed really welcoming. Bradley has a really good team atmosphere here, and I think that’s kind of what sold me the most.”
Sheppard’s first meet with the Braves was at the Bradley Pink Classic on Oct. 14, 2022. She finished at 22:20.4, the worst of the eight runners who competed for Bradley that day.
“My first cross country meet in the States was not good, it was awful,” Sheppard said. “I remember going into it pretty nervous, because I’d heard that American cross-country races are fast, and I got a shock going into that. Getting that shock into the system made it easier as I went for more races, though.”
Sheppard turned it around quickly, as she would place tenth at the Illini Open just a week later. After a strong start to her track season, where she placed in the top ten at three events, it appeared that Sheppard had turned a corner and was ready to have a big sophomore season.
Unfortunately, her body had other plans.
Setback to Comeback
Sheppard competed at the Drake Relays on the weekend of Apr. 27-29, 2023. Her performance helped lift her team to third place in the 4×1600 relay race in the final meet before Bradley competed at the MVC Championships.
For Sheppard, it was the final time she stepped onto the course for nine months.
“At the end of my freshman year outdoors, I picked up a femoral stress fracture and couldn’t compete at MVCs,” Sheppard said. “We decided it would be best if I redshirted cross country because I wasn’t fully running until I got back to Bradley.”
Without the chance to compete in cross country, Sheppard focused on rehabbing her injury to become even better once track season arrived.
“We kind of just used the cross country season as a build-up, and then I could attack indoors,” Sheppard said. “Over the summer, I was kind of building back up. I was running, but I wasn’t fit, so we saw there wasn’t really any point in racing and wasting that season.”
Sheppard made her return at the Larry Wieczorek Invite on Jan. 19, 2024. There, she took first place in the Mile, marking the first time she had taken first place in a collegiate competition. She would place in the top 10 at the 3000m events she competed in during the indoor season and was the lead runner in a championship-winning, record-setting run at the Distance Medley Relays at the MVC Indoor Championships.
“[Kaitlyn] is very intentional in her approach and it has allowed her to perform at a high level for the past two years,” head coach Andrew Carlson said. “We found a program that works for her, and she’s shown significant improvement in how she operates the program and the consistency she has developed. Kaitlyn has always been very competitive and driven to push herself very hard.”
Following her first healthy offseason since arriving at Bradley, Sheppard returned to cross country for the 2024 season. She began her year with a second-place finish at the Hawkeye Invitational and a third-place finish at the Bradley Intercollegiate, setting the tone for a great season. Eventually, it all culminated in a third-place finish at the MVC Championships, earning her first-team All-MVC Cross Country.
“Kaitlyn’s always had a very strong mindset when it comes to running,” fellow senior runner Trixie Wraith said. “She’s a very tough runner, she really enjoys it. It’s been nice to see and inspiring for not only me, but for the other girls to see that she works hard and it pays off. I think she’ll just continue to grow, because she has such a good mindset when it comes to running.”
Sheppard and Wraith participated in a program-record-setting run at the Distance Medley Race at the Drake Relays in the spring of 2025. Wraith, also from England, first met Sheppard before becoming teammates at Bradley.
“I met her in 2022 before coming here at our national championships,” Wraith said. “She won that year in the 3K, and that was my first interaction meeting her. It was really awesome to see that she was already so successful as well as seeing how she’s progressed in the last four years. She’s always been talented, but you can really see that she’s starting to flourish as a really strong athlete.”
Consistency Pays Off
Entering this season, Sheppard had never won a cross-country race despite multiple first-place finishes in track.
That changed with the season’s first meet, as Sheppard placed first in the Fighting Illini Open. She then repeated as a winner in the Bradley Intercollegiate, and then set a career-best at Notre Dame’s Joe Piane Invitational. These runs have made her a three-time MVC Runner of the Week in this season alone.
“I was really excited to be the first across the line, especially because I led a lot of races last year but got overtaken at the end,” Sheppard said. “I had a lot more confidence this year knowing I was able to go out and do that, and I was happy knowing that even though I was dying out, I was still able to maintain what I was.”
With just one more run remaining before the Conference Championships, Sheppard is focused on the present and future.
“I want to stay in America and pursue running,” Sheppard said. “I like America a lot, the only thing that kind of draws me back is my family. But the plans would hopefully be to stay here and pursue running, and if I can’t, I’m working towards being a clinical dietician with my degree.”
Time will tell whether Sheppard will be able to achieve her goals of making the NCAA championships and whatever comes after. She’s shown this year has the confidence, consistency and work ethic to reach new heights – proof that consistency isn’t just the key, it’s the foundation of success.
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