Jacory Patterson worked the overnight shift loading UPS trucks. Now he's one of the world's top 400 runners.

Chicago Tribune

a day ago

At night, Jacory Patterson loaded delivery trucks at UPS. That way he could train by day.
This routine went on for nearly a year to support his true dream job — sprinting.
Patterson's time in the 400 meters this season never has been speedier, even if he's sometimes sleep-deprived. At 25, he finally is finding his stride and along with it earning a paycheck from track.
His life began to change after winning a Grand Slam Track event in Miami, which led to Diamond League meet invitations and a sponsorship deal from Nike.
Business is booming so much for him that Patterson was able to clock out for the final time in June from his position at UPS. He has the third-fastest time (43.98 seconds) in the world this season heading into the U.S. championships this week in Eugene, Oregon, where he is eager to make even more of a name for himself.
'If everything in life was easy, everybody would be at the top,' said Patterson, who advanced to the 400 final by winning his heat Friday night. 'But everybody's not at the top. We've just got to understand everything won't be smooth, green grass. There's going to be some hills and some bumps and some potholes.'
Each time he steps into the the starting blocks for a race, Patterson tells himself the same thing: Show the world. Show everyone what he can do, even if it took him a little bit longer to get here.
A standout at Florida, he watched friends and rivals sign lucrative deals while he patiently waited for his time. His personal-best time before this season was 44.18 in 2021.
'I knew it was there. I just had to figure it out,' he said. 'I would tell myself, 'Man, you're young, there's no way that you're done.''
He moved back home to Columbia, South Carolina, and was hired at UPS last August for the overnight shift. He worked from 10:45 p.m. to around 4:30 a.m. He would sleep for a few hours and be at practice by 8:30 a.m., ready to learn from coach Alleyne Francique, a three-time Olympian who represented Grenada.
'The hardest part was definitely the three hours of sleep,' said Patterson, who also found time to nap after training. 'That was tough.'
Hanging in his room was a slogan: 'Mind over matter.' It helped him focus on the job in front of him — getting stronger to run faster.
'I just told myself: 'Let's just go to the track, put the deposits in. After you leave the track, you can get your rest,'' he recounted.
He also read novels to train his mind. In particular, a book titled, 'Hung by the Tongue,' by Francis P. Martin, which, in simplest terms, is a reminder that what you say is what you get.
'Just making sure that you are telling yourself the right things before you go on a track,' explained Patterson, who credits his family and faith for providing support until his track career took off. 'That book was powerful.'
So are his prerace pep talks with himself.
'I tell myself, 'They can't run with you,'' he said. 'Just things that give me that boost, that grit.'
Patterson gained notice in April at the Tom Jones Memorial meet in Gainesville, Florida. He won his 400-meter heat in 44.27 seconds. In his heat that day was reigning Olympic 100-meter champion Noah Lyles.
'But Noah doesn't run the 400,' Patterson said.
He wanted to go against the big names in the 400 game.
His time to shine was at a stop in Miami for Michael Johnson's new Grand Slam Track series. In the race, Patterson finished in a personal-best 43.98 to edge Jereem Richards and Matthew Hudson-Smith, a silver medalist last summer at the Paris Olympics.
During a postrace interview, Richards walked by Patterson and said: 'Somebody give this man a deal. Please, give this man a deal.'
It was a career-altering win in numerous ways.
First, there was the $50,000 payday (he estimates that check will hit his bank account in September, with Grand Slam Track shutting down its season early). The win also opened doors to other meets, like the one in Rabat, Morocco, where he won over a field that included Olympic champion Quincy Hall.
In addition, Patterson also got to chat at the meet with Wayde van Niekerk, who set a world record (43.03) in winning gold at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.
'I was like, 'What's the key to running 43 low?'' Patterson said. 'He says, 'It's just a mental thing.''
Soon after, Patterson finalized his deal with Nike.
'My ideal dream was to sign after college, but that wasn't the plan for me,' said Patterson, who graduated from Florida in December 2023. 'It just gave me an extra chip on my shoulder too. … If something doesn't go my way, I always feel like there's another way.'
His last day at UPS was June 5. Now he's training full time.
'I would tell myself at work at night, 'This is going to pay off,'' said Patterson, who has been invited by UPS to speak at an upcoming company event. 'I've seen so many stories where it might not be going their way when they wanted it to, but eventually things fell together for them.
'I know that as quick as you can get something, like the (Nike) deal and all the blessings that have come my way since May, it can go away that quick too. … You can't get comfortable. You've just got to keep going, keep working.'