Final Preparations

Yesterday I ran an easy 40 minutes out and back from my house. Then I did a 4x200 at mile pace to test the gears for Sunday. Today, I had the typical pre-meet practice except I wasn’t on the course. I ran 4 miles then got a real good stretch in.

Tomorrow morning I’ll leave at around 6:45 with my dad and Coach Traughber. We have to be in Terre Haute by 11:30 (Eastern Time) to get my number and stuff. The race isn’t until 2:15 so I will have plenty of time to check out the course and get warm-uped. The forecast looks good: upper 40s, low 50s, mostly sunny, probably about 53 at race time.

In keeping with how we’ve done things all year Potter sent me some questions.

Last week, you raced against a huge field. This week will be even bigger, is there anything to change from last week?
Yeah, there are supposed to be over 350 kids racing in the Championship Race so it will be packed. I’m going to try and run my race. Get out smart, probably a little faster than last week, then compete the rest of the way and pass as many guys as I can. I just have to be very aware of where I am the whole time and be sure to not get caught in the wrong pack. I’m going to look for some familiar faces like the Everetts and Lambert so I have a feel of where I am. With it being a flat course I’m going to try and run a faster second mile because there aren’t all the hills to worry about in the third like State. I’m ready. I’m excited.

What does it mean to you to be able to race against the best from many different states?
It’s really special. To think back to my humble beginning in the DeSmet XC program as a sophomore and to be in a race like this against great runners. It’s incredible. And besides the guys from the other States its cool to be able to race from the Missouri guys another time, too. I can’t wait. It’s going to be an awful lot of fun.


Do you know what to expect from the course at all?
Well, I know it’s the same location as the National Championship this year, so that’s pretty cool. I’ve checked out the course map and a preview video from MileSplit. It’s all wide open grass that reminds me a bit of the first part of Rim Rock. What’s makes the Laverne Gibson Cross Country Course different is that it’s flat for the most part. And flat means fast, especially the first mile. I think Boyle might have ran there earlier in the year with Maryville so I might try to talk to him tomorrow and get some thoughts. The preview showed haybails, which would be awesome!!