Many Virginians are familiar with the risk of hitting a deer on the roadway. In fact, according to State Farm, one in every 94 drivers in Virginia struck a large animal on the road between July 2015 and July 2016.

But how many runners can say they’ve been struck by a deer?

FCHS Cross Country runner James White can, after a strange recent encounter with a buck in August.

White, who is in 8th grade and in his first season on the Cross Country team, was running along a trail during practice at Pleasant Grove with his 9th grade friend Ben Lopez.  All of a sudden, a deer jumped over them, and the bottom of its hoof caught the edge of White’s face, right under his right eye.

“We heard a sound coming from the bushes and then the deer came out of nowhere. I got lucky because I ducked. I saw it hit James and I was scared he had gotten severely hurt,” said Lopez.

White remembers the event vividly. “It felt like someone kicked me in the face. The pain was nine out of 10,” he said. White dropped to the ground and covered his face. Then another teammate, Senior Conrad Graham, ran up to them. “At first I didn’t think anything was wrong, until James started screaming. Then once he stood up, I saw the blood running down his face. That’s when I realized I needed to go get help,” said Graham, who ran back to the school to get Coach Rose Brogan.

Brogan got in her car and drove to the scene of the event, then took White back to the school where his injuries were assessed by FCHS Athletic Trainer Sara Miles. It was decided that he needed to go to the emergency room at Martha Jefferson Hospital.  Three hours later, White had gotten a Cat scan and three stitches under his eye, and also learned he’d bruised his upper jaw.

This was certainly not how White had imagined starting off his first season of cross country, but he is determined to keep running throughout his high school career. “I’m still kinda scared to run, but now I have a once-in-a-lifetime story to tell,” he said.

Two weeks later, White had seen some improvement. “I still have a scar on my face that will probably be there for a while, but I feel normal now. I’m completely healed,” he said.

As for cross country, White finished in first in all of his races during four different meets. He believes he has gotten faster as the season has gone on, although he acknowledges that running may never be the same for him– at least when he runs the trails at Pleasant Grove.

After all, to White, deer are no longer just friendly does…they’re foes.