Short Prep Time, But Good Results for Stephanie Price

Photo courtesy of Twin Cities Track Club

After a short hiatus, Stephanie Price returned to the sport in style at the USATF XC Club Nationals in Lexington, KY.  She talks about her return on the Twin Cities Track Club's site HERE, and below.

Down the Backstretch: The US women's team for Scotland is almost "team Minnesota."  When did you find out that you were going to go?

Stephanie Price: Last week on Thursday I received an email from Aron McGuire(of USATF) informing me that I made both the Scotland and Jamaica(NACAC) teams. I was beyond ecstatic to be selected as this is such a great opportunity for me to represent the USA, to get a solid race in, and to travel to Scotland.

DtB:  You’re running with the Twin Cities Track Club(TCTC).  How did you get hooked up with them?

SP: It was sort of a random event that led to me getting hooked up with TCTC. I met someone who knew Mike Reneau, the driving force for getting the TCTC restarted in the Minneapolis-St Paul area. After meeting with Mike and learning more about the TCTC, I decided that this club was something I would be honored to be involved in and represent in races. 

The Twin Cities Track Club has a great community focus and philosophy of promoting the enjoyment and positive benefits of running for all levels of runners in the Greater Twin Cities Area. This ideal aligns with what I feel running should represent and it is important for me to support values that I believe strongly in.

DtB:  What prompted you to run the Club championships? 

SP: Running Club Championships was somewhat of a last minute decision. I had heard of the race opportunity and it was in the back of my mind. However, when I first started working with Chris Lundstrom, we had talked about just getting in some good training while focusing on finishing my nursing degree. 

However, I started to get the itch to run again and have always loved XC. So, ultimately I could not pass up this opportunity to race in a competitive XC race, especially when my TCTC teammates Joe Moore(who has also been selected to run on the US team in Scotland and Jamaica) and Mike Reneau(who is running the Houston Marathon on January 13, but might run the NACAC meet if selected based on his 14th place finish at USATF XC Club Nationals) were making the trip to compete. 

So without much planning in advance, I ended up in Kentucky and had a blast getting back out there to compete on a muddy cross country course!

DtB:  Mike (Reneau) said that you had only six weeks of training going into the USATF meet.  Pretty impressive results.  He said you weren’t even sure you had spikes, but that you pulled a spike bag out of your closet when you left for the meet and when you opened it up the shoes still had the grass and mud on them from the 2011 NCAA Championships.

SP: This is true. Prior to starting to work with Chris, which was about six weeks before Club cross, I hadn't been doing any specific training. And, yes, a bit embarrassing but true about the muddy spikes. I had to dig up my old XC spikes, which I had assumed I would never wear again. They still had the spikes and caked-on mud from the 2011 NCAA Championships, so we all had a good laugh about that.

DtB: You have sort of been on a hiatus from competitive running at the top level until the USATF meet, what were you doing in the interim?

SP:  I finished my career as a Golden Gopher last spring and have been fairly busy since. This past summer, I moved to Sioux Falls for 12 weeks for a full-time nursing internship in the neonatal intensive care unit of Sanford Health. I then traveled to the Philippines at the end of the summer for three weeks to do some healthcare volunteer work in Leyte. I returned to Minneapolis in September to finish my last semester of school, and just graduated this December 2012 with my Bachelor of Science in Nursing. 

I am now studying for my nursing boards to get my license as a registered nurse. I will potentially take my boards in February. In the meantime, I am in the process of doing job applications and interviews for potential positions in the nursing field. In addition to studying for my boards, I am working part-time at Gear Running Store and training. My nursing career is a priority to me, but I am also very passionate about running and competing at a very high level

.

My short-term goals are to get stronger with some specific training, get back into racing fitness and confidence, and to just go out and be very competitive at a variety of longer distances. My long term goals include eventually the marathon, and balancing a nursing career with a professional running career.

I am training fairly intensely right now with specific, focused volume and intensity under Coach Chris Lundstrom. I run with a variety of people, and on my own, as I do enjoy the freedom of my independence with training. I do a majority of my training and runs with other athletes coached by Chris such as Michelle Frey, Katie McGregor, Jenna Boren, Mike Reneau and Joe Moore.

I also try to get out on my own for runs, and to run with other friends I have in the running community such as old teammates or people who come to community runs we hold at Gear Running Store. It makes my training much more enjoyable to spend it with a variety of people, especially good friends that I can have great conversations and laughs with that make the miles pass quickly.

DtB:  Sounds like you had to sort out all the requirements of doing what amounts to a dual career of nursing and elite running.  Both are pretty demanding professions, both physically and mentally. What went into making the decision to pursue both?  What do you see as the challenges?

SP: For me, it is very important to have balance and maintain perspective in life. I know that personally I would not be happy with a running career being my main focus and priority in life. But I also would not be satisfied giving up my love for competing to solely pursue a career in nursing. 

I am passionate about both a career in nursing and pursuing running at an elite level. So for me it was an easy decision. I think many people will question the ability to manage both professions, but I strongly believe it is not only feasible for me to manage, but feasible for me to excel at both. I know that most importantly I have my priorities straight, have taken the time to really evaluate what I want in my future careers, and I have maintained my passion, determination, and dedication to both. 

There will definitely be times when it will be a struggle or requires me to be flexible with what life brings. I learned this firsthand while managing nursing school with Division I athletics, and also during my internship completing 12-hour shifts while training. Some of the challenges will involve managing the limited time I will have for training, adapting my body to nursing shifts while getting in quality runs, managing a work schedule with racing plans, and prioritizing life/family and friend/running/work balance. 

But if I never forget that running is a gift in my life, and not the definition of my life, and I take what work and training gives me one day at a time, and really listen to my body and learn to be flexible, I have no doubt that I can have both a nursing and running career. 

Jamie Cheever is Going Back to Scotland

Photo by Becky Miller

Team USA Minnesota's Jamie Cheever booked her second trip to Scotland with her seventh place finish at the USATF Club XC Championships in Lexington, KY.  She'd qualified last year in the same event, but without a full team.  This year, she and her teammates took the team title and Minnesotans will make up most of the US women's team that goes to the the BUPA Great Edinburgh International Cross Country Team Challenge on January 5. Here she talks about her 2012 season, the Club Championships, and her goals for 2013.

Down the Backstretch:  You’re making a return trip to Scotland.  Does that make you the team leader as you already know the “ropes” on this adventure?

 Jamie Cheever: I hope to provide some leadership with running the race last year, especially for my teammates Ladia, McKenzie, and Jon who are on their first US team.  As well as my former Gopher teammate, Stephanie Price, who is on her first US team.  I had a great experience last year, and I am so glad to be sharing it with so many friends.

DtB:  You have had a strong 2012--finals of the OT, PRs, now the Club team championships.  How did the results match up with your goals, expectations going into the year? What were the highlights and low points of the season?

JC: I had a great experience running track last spring.  I am coming into this racing year with many high goals, one of which was to make the Scotland team by placing well at the Club Cross Country race.  I was disappointed I wasn't able to break into the top eight at the Olympic Trials, but I raced my heart out, and had to PR in the prelims just to make it to finals.  I think with another year of training, I'll be able to handle the back-to-back steeple races better.

DtB:  Heather (Kampf) says that the “plot” for going for the team championship was hatched over dinner at her place.  Where all the other team members there?  Had you worked out a strategy to convince Heather to run if she would have said no initially to being on the team?

JC: Meghan and I had already decided we wanted to run Club Cross in order to qualify for Scotland.  We knew Ladia and Mckenzie would be up for the race.  I remember talking to Heather about the race in her kitchen and being surprised she was so excited about racing cross country again.  We all had a lot of fun, and we're planning on running in Bend, OR at the race next year.

DtB: You went out faster than your teammates at the USATF Club Championships.  Any reason for this strategy?

JC: One of our board members ran in the masters race, and he warned us before our race that we needed to get out quick in the beginning because the course was a difficult one to catch people on.  I went out with my Team USA Minnesota teammates in the top pack for the first mile.  I felt great, so when Maddie (Suver), Breanne (Nelson), and Katie (Mackey)  started to break away, I went with them.  I lost some steam the last 1200 meters, but I'm glad I took a risk and went for it.

DtB:  What were your thoughts as the race unfolded?  When did you realize you weren’t going to be able to break away from or hang onto the lead pack?

JC: I was nervous since it was our first race, and I didn't know where my fitness was at.  I started to lose the top three during the second half of the third mile, and I knew I would have to be tough to finish in the top group.  Three people passed me in the last 1200 meters, but I was proud of my effort.

DtB: What went through your mind for the last portion of the race when Meghan and Ladia came by you?

JC: I was happy it was them, and not anyone else.  I've trained a lot with Meghan in the past couple years, and a lot with Ladia during college, so I know what it's like to get my butt kicked by them.  I tried to key off of their energy.  Meghan was enouraging me to keep up, but I just couldn't!

DtB:  Aside from the race in Scotland, what are your goals for 2013?  Are you sticking with the steeple or going to try other events?

JC: I hope to place in the top ten at the US Cross Country Championships.  On the track, I hope to continue breaking PR's in the steeple, 1500 meters, and 5K. 

Jon Peterson: A Californian Learning to Like the Snow

Jon Peterson has made the journey from his native California to Minnesota this year to join Team USA Minnesota.  He's already had an impact, both in his running and helping out coaching with the Edina boy's high school team.  Here he talks about his adventure and plans for the future.
Down the Backstretch:  What were your objectives going into the USATF Club Championships?  How does it feel to be on the US team for Scotland?

Jonathan Peterson: My main objective was to get onto the team.  Ideally I wanted a win, but making the team was the main objective so I made sure to race accordingly, and raced in a more tactical way.  Making the team was exciting, especially since it's my first time making a US team.

DtB:  Has the adjustment from being a Californian to a Minnesotan a tough one?  Are you running a lot on the treadmill now or braving the ice and snow?

JP: It hasn't been anything too out of the ordinary yet.  I've had to adjust a bit by becoming more acquainted with the treadmill for longer, threshold type of workouts, but other than that I've been enjoying recovery days in the snow and have actually come to enjoy the cold a bit.

DtB: Has the shift from being a Californian to a Minnesotan been a mental and/or physical challenge or is it too early to tell as winter is just beginning?

JP: In terms of training, the toughest part is getting out the door when it's completely miserable out, mostly because I still dread doing anything on a treadmill.  But when the workout (i.e., short interval work) allows us to be outside then it's much more enjoyable than the treadmill, no matter what the weather is like, including doing hill sprints in the sleeting rain, which was only miserable during the cool down.

DtB:  Why did you choose Team USA Minnesota?  What attracted you to the program?

JP: In discussing training with the coach (Dennis Barker) prior to my decision, it seemed relatively similar to what I had experienced at UCD with a bit more emphasis on longer distance and building overall threshold while also maintaining a bit of my speed element.  And, of all the groups I was looking at, Team USA Minnesota had the best track record in terms of individual performances on the national level. 

DtB:  You could be classified as something of a “late bloomer,” though 4:13 and 9:11 bests in high school certainly indicated early that you have talent, and you were the first All American for UC Davis(UCD), so you have had success, but it has been more of a roller coaster than a straight shot to the top.  Can you give sort of a brief sketch of your career, the highs and lows?

JP: I had high hopes for my college career, but I wasn't exactly sure how to get there.  The culture of UCD at the time when I was recruited was a much different one than it is now since we had just transitioned out of Division II.  Thus we had to adjust our definition of success and change the overall structure of our training regimen to fit that of a Division I program.  Small injuries and illness also kept me from having a solid block of training that was necessary to compete at the national level.  

In discussing my goals with Coach Wartenburg, we knew we had to focus on getting through the season healthy while finding ways to approach each race hungry to compete.  Once I had discovered the crucial aspect of maintaining health throughout the season by changing the small necessities within my daily routine, both on and off the track/course, I saw huge improvements in my racing as well as my overall fitness.

DtB: How has coaching at Edina factored into your development.  The team had a good year with second in the State Meet, then third in the NXN Heartland Regional Meet.  What was the experience like for you being a coach?  What did you learn from it?  Any things you could apply to your own running?

JP: It was great having the opportunity to discuss my own experience and training with a young group of men with a similar passion.  Since I was completely new to the team, most of what I did was take in the training and atmosphere of the team itself to get a feel for how the team, as well as each individual, functioned and adapted within the multiple factors that comprises the overall training and culture at that level.  

One thing that is much easier to see at that level is the amount of fun that everyone has in the sport, and I think it's essential that I continue to seek the fun within the training while keeping my sights on my goals.  

DtB:  What are your plans for 2013?  Will you try US XC Nationals?  Go straight to track?  What event/events will you be focusing on for 2013?  Long term goals?

JP: My main goal for the season is to make the US team for XC so I will be competing at XC Nationals along with a few indoor meets for tuneup work.  Outside of that, I look to improve on the track, and possibly road, in the 5K and 10K, with a bit more emphasis on 10K.  

Much further down the road, once I've exhausted my 5K and 10K abilities, I believe I have a lot of potential in the marathon and look to compete anywhere from the 5K to the marathon in 2016 for a spot on the US Olympic team, depending on where I'm at in my development.  

Heather Kampf Talks About 2012, Plans for 2013-2016

Photo courtesy of ASICS

Heather Kampf's 2012 running season was "bookended" by US Championships.  In May she won the USATF Road Mile title in Minneapolis and in December she was part of the Team USA Minnesota team that won the USATF Club Championship title in Lexington, KY.  Here she talks about  her road mile success, the Olympic Trials, the Club Champs, and her goals for 2013 and 2016.

Down the Backstretch: You were the Road Mile “Queen” this year.  Was that something that just evolved as you continued to win or was the plan going into the year to focus on those events?

Heather Kampf:  Oh gosh, that term is certainly not one I made up for myself, but I guess it's nice to be called the "Queen" of anything! It's funny, my coach even was answering my calls this fall by saying, "Your Highness..." 

But to answer your question, no, this wasn't necessarily the plan going into the year. The primary focus was obviously the Olympic Trials, and when I didn't make the team, I initially thought I'd try to go out for another European racing tour, but with the Games taking place mid-summer, there didn't seem to be enough races to get in either prior or immediately after the Olympics. Instead, I just started expressing interest in every road mile I could find in the US. 

Obviously I felt I had something to prove/defend after winning the US Road Mile Champs this spring, but really I think that each success built more momentum and confidence for me for the next. It was a fun way to spend the late summer fall, and was really excited to end it all with a new personal best road mile time of 4:27 in New York.

DtB:  You jumped into a cross country race—the Club Champs.  That’s a departure from your post collegiate routine.  Did something change that resulted in racing cross country, one it just a “one-off” for the team, or will it be part of your yearly cycle in the future?

HK: Honestly, I think I was just hosting some teammates at my house for dinner awhile back, and they mentioned they wanted to run Club Cross, but needed one more for a team. Of course I said I would do it! In the fall, most of our training is more like cross country training anyway, so it fits right into the basic plan to race a 6K at this time of year. I would be happy to make this part of my annual schedule, though I have to say, in hindsight, it was tougher than I remember it feeling!! 

DtB:  You achieved a lot of recognition for your fall and recovery during the indoor season when you were a Gopher.  Now you had another fall that ended with a team title.  Seems like a hard road to success. What happened that led to the fall at the USATF Club Champs?  Where in the race was it?  What caused the fall?  What went through your mind when it happened?  How did your teammates react? Or didn’t they see you until the end of the race with a mud coating?

HK: Well, I think I probably got out a little bit too fast in this race, so even before the first mile (in 5:14), I was battling some side-aches on both sides. The fall itself took place just before the 2-mile mark, about halfway through the race. 

As far as I can remember, I hit something on the ground while I was taking a muddy corner, and just slid rather than catching myself. I'm sure I was hunched over due to the side-aches so my center of gravity was probably off a little bit. Honestly, I kind of just thought, 'oh great...', got up pretty quick, and kept running. I already felt as if I were way behind where I wanted to be in the race, so it was just one more thing. 

The mud was pretty soft, so it wasn't a painful fall by any means, but to add insult to injury, I caught a bug in the eye immediately after the fall, but had too much mud caked on my hands to do anything about it.  Not long after I fell, I heard someone yell to me, "Your team has four in the top ten! Keep it up!" I was really worried I was ruining our chances for the team title, but obviously knew I needed to keep running in order for us to have any chance of scoring as a team of 5. 

My teammates were well ahead, but they all responded kindly to my less than stellar race. I kept apologizing, but they kept telling me it was fine, and that they wouldn't have had a team at all if I didn't come. They're some pretty awesome teammates!

DtB:  Did the team think the team championship was a realistic goal going into the event?  Was there a pre-race strategy/plan?

HK: Yes, we went in with that goal in mind. We thought it was realistic, and were aware of who our biggest competition was. There wasn't a specific plan, but since the course was slick, we were told just get out well because people weren't changing positions in the race much after the first mile. I was the exception to that rule, unfortunately!

DtB:  When did you find out the team won the championship? How did everyone react?

HK: We looked at the individual results during our cool-down and as far as we could calculate, we believed we had pulled it off. We didn't want to say it for sure until we saw it on paper though! When results came through we were all by the team van changing after our cool downs, I think I exuberantly called out: "YES! I didn't suck enough to ruin it for everyone!" 

It was quite the relief. I know that my race wasn't absolutely horrible, but it certainly wasn't up to what I was hoping to do, nor was it near the caliber of my teammates that deserve this win. I kind of feel as though I was just lucky enough to associate myself with these women. Everybody hugged and were happy, and I think we were especially pumped for the girls who will be competing in Scotland in January---Meghan, Ladia, and Jamie.

DtB:  What are the plans for track season?  Will you run indoors, if so any specific plans for races or goals?

HK: So far, I'm planning to start my 2013 track season with, drum roll please, a road mile! There's one in Bermuda on the 18th that would be great to try. I want to try to do at least one good competitive indoor track mile, hopefully at the New Balance Indoor Games which always brings a good field of women. My goal is get more experience in this event so I will be better equipped/aware of what I should do in the outdoor season.

DtB:  You broke through to being a contender for the Olympic team at the Trials this year.  Was the result what you expected?  Disappointing or encouraging?

HK: It certainly was a great experience to race in an Olympic Trials Final, and think that I really had a shot for the team. It wasn't necessarily what I expected, but it felt like it was exactly what I needed. I found it necessary for me to make a final in order to justify what I am doing as a professional runner. 

It was both encouraging to be moving forward and higher in the US Ranks, and disappointing that I couldn't put together a stronger/faster race for that final. The next necessity it to break 2:00, I feel like I am just knocking at the door for that one.

DtB:  Are you thinking of moving up to 1,500, doubling, or experimenting over the next four years to see if you should stay focused on 800 or expand your horizon’s beyond the 800?

HK: I think we will continue to experiment more with the 1,500, but the nice thing is that these two events compliment each other so well, so competing in both over the next four years is not a matter of being uncertain about what I should do, but rather keeping all my tools sharp. By the Trials for Rio, it would be nice to be focusing on one event, but I can't tell you which event that may be right now!

Perham XC Coach Jeff Morris is NHSCA Coach of the Year

Perham's NHSCA top ranked boys' Division II HS team.
Photo courtesy of xcnation.com

A bit late getting to this, but better late than never.  An East Otter Tail Focus story on Perham High School "seventh man," Ben Sullivan, is HERE. A documentary video was made of the 2012 season of the Perham team, link is HERE(subscription required). Perham coach Jeff Morris honored as National High School Coaches Association Coach of the Year, reprint of the article is HERE(article is third one on the page).  Internet radio chat with Morris(starts at 17:54 minutes and goes to 32:20  for Morris's interview) is HERE.

Rankings for the Top 25 Division II HS teams is HERE.  St. Cloud Cathedral is ranked fourth among the boys' teams.  For the girls, Esko is at #7 and Annandale is #23.

Minnesota Updates

A few updates on some Minnesota runners.  As noted in Meghan Peyton's interview, her teammate Jamie Cheever was "on the bubble" for being on the US team going to Scotland in January for the BUPA Great Edinburgh International Cross Country Team Challenge.  Team USA Minnesota's Pat Goodwin confirmed that they were notified that Cheever does have a spot on the team in addition to McKenzie Melander.  Also that Augsburg and Team USA Minnesota coach Dennis Barker will be part of the US coaching staff for that event.  Twin Cities Track Club runners Stephanie Price and Joe Moore also were selected to represent the US in Scotland.

Another Team USA Minnesota member, Andrew Carlson, who was supposed to run the ING New York City Marathon, which was cancelled after Superstorm Sandy hit,  will make a return trip to Houston in January, where he ran his debut marathon at the US Olympic Trials in 2012, to compete in the Chevron Houston Marathon on 1-13-13.  So will TCTC's Mike Reneau.

Meghan Peyton Talks About 2012, the USATF XC Club Championships, and 2013

Photo by Gene Niemi

Team USA Minnesota's Meghan Peyton finished off 2012 with a bang.  She led the team to the USATF Club XC team Championship, earned a trip to Scotland, and took a step toward her first goal of 2013.

Down the Backstretch: Winning a National Championships is always nice.  Did you go into USATF Club Nationals confident, hopeful, with or without expectations in regards to the team championship? 

Meghan Peyton: We went into the Championships confident that we could win. We knew that there would be some other strong teams like the Boulder team, but thought that as long as we all had solid races that we could achieve our goal of winning the national title.  

DtB:  Once you got to Lexington and saw the mud, aside from thinking: “This is real cross country,” did the conditions change any of the plans, expectations going into the race?

MP: Personally, the mud didn't change any of my own expectations. The mud was a factor for every runner out there. It being a championship race, I knew that it would take a strong race to place in the top six(she finished fourth), which is what it took to qualify for the USA team going to Scotland.

DtB:  Seems like the team members had different approaches to the race: Jamie took off with the leaders, you and Ladia sort of worked together, McKenzie was trailing behind you two(could she see where you two were or was the course too hilly and twisty for her to see runners ahead of her), and Heather took a tumble.  When did Heather go down and did any of you see or know that Heather fell during the race?  Give us something of a summary of how things unfolded.

MP: The race got out fast, the first mile being the most flat section on the course -- we went through the mile at 5:11 pace. I felt that it was a good pace, putting me near the front but I still felt in control. For the next mile and a half it was just grinding away at the hills and mud. 

There was a little pack of us behind the lead pack pushing each other. We could see the leaders the entire time. At about 2.5 miles the pack started coming back to us, Jamie (Cheever) with them. I knew we would catch up. So on the last downhill before the long climb to the finish I pushed hard so that I would catch up with Jamie. I knew she needed some support because she was in no-woman's land, which is a hard place to be when you are hurting. 

As I caught her I cheered for her telling her "You can do it, come on Jamie". We all needed to finish strong, and I think it was pretty admirable how she had put it out there on the line and, even once her early fast pace caught up to her, Jamie still finished really strong. None of us knew that Heather had fallen until we had all crossed the finish line.  

DtB:  When did you know you won the team title?  Was there a big celebration or a more retrained one?

MP: When we all finished the race we didn't know if we had won or not for about half an hour or so. We knew that Boulder would be our biggest competition, and they had taken first and second place. We didn't know where their other runners had finished, but we did know that Heather had taken an unfortunate spill in the mud, but had the strength to get up and keep running for the team. 

So we waited anxiously for about 30 minutes until they finally posted the results. When the results went up, Lance Elliott (one of our team's board members who was traveling with us and also raced) came running back to our van with the results and said: "We Won!". We were all excited, but Heather was excited most of all...jumping up and down with relief.

DtB:  Are the three of you that qualified planning on taking the trip to Scotland in January?  Did Jamie or McKenzie get spots on the US team because others in front of them aren’t going?

MP: Yes, Ladia, Jon (Peterson, fifth in the men's race), and I are going to Scotland for sure. We think that Jamie(who was seventh) will also likely make the team based on other competitors who said that they will not go, and because she also did well at this year's USA Open Cross Country Championships which took place in February.

DtB:  You’ve had a busy life this Fall with school, helping out with the Augsburg team, and your own running.  How do you juggle all those “balls in the air?”

MP: Very carefully! I don't need any of them falling to the ground. I think the only reason that I am able to juggle all of them is because I have good support groups in each area of my life, and because I'm a planner. I always try and stay ahead of the curve. I did have to start using a paper planner again this year (which I have not done since I graduated college) because my life is going in a lot of different directions.  No day is the same as the day before. A busy life keeps things interesting. 

DtB:  Was 2012 a productive year?  Did you achieve any or all of the goals you set—if you set any—at the beginning of the year?

MP: 2012 for me was a learning year. Anyone who looks at my results from the past year could probably safely assume that I unfortunately didn't achieve the goals that I had set at the beginning of it. From 2008-2011 I had steadily improved -- moving from consistently placing in the teens in races and working my way up to finishing in the top seven at most National Championships.

As with most people in this sport, I had big aspirations for 2012. However, some inexperience with the marathon, and also finding out that I had low B12 and low Iron (both essential for energy production) put those goals out of reach this year. But, I haven't given up. I still have the same big goals -- I've just had to push them out a year or two. 

DtB:  What are the plans, goals of 2013?

MP: My goals for 2013 are to, first of all, continue to improve as an athlete and person. Secondly, I want to represent our country at the World Cross Country Championships, and also want to compete at the World Outdoor Track and Field Championships. In the Fall I plan on competing in a marathon -- maybe one that is near and dear to us all--Twin Cities in Motion's Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon.  

Brief Report on Gopher Women Intrasquad Meet

The University of Minnesota women’s track and field team closed out fall practice with an intrasquad meet last Friday at the Minnesota Fieldhouse.

Director of track and field and cross country Matt Bingle said that he was pleased with several Golden Gophers’ improvement from this point in the season last year. Alena Brooks (1:30.99 in the 600 meters), Christina DeLakis (48 feet, 10 inches in the shot put), Todea-Kay Willis(19-3 1/4 in the long jump) and Jess Herauf (3,703 points in the pentathlon) highlighted the afternoon.

“We have seen a lot of improvement, but we still need to be in work mode,” Bingle said. “We have lots of things to do before the heart of the season. I’m pleased with everybody’s efforts, and they’re all excited to compete.”

The Gophers will have a short rest period to regroup for the start of the season. Minnesota opens its indoor season on Jan. 12. Some of the team will travel to the North Dakota State Invite in Fargo, and the Gophers will host the Northwest Open at the fieldhouse.

Gopher Men and Women Earn Academic All Big Ten Honors

Nineteen members of the University of Minnesota women’s country team and four of the Gopher  men were awarded Academic All-Big Ten status for the fall season.  To qualify for Academic All-Big Ten honors student-athletes must be letter winners in at least their second academic year at their institution and carry a career grade-point average (GPA) of 3.0 or better.

Women’s Cross Country Academic All-Big Ten Selections

Liz Berkholtz - So., Undeclared, Sun Prairie, Wis.
Maggie Bollig - Sr., Psychology, Cross Plains, Wis.
Heather Brunn - Sr., Mathematics, Rogers, Minn.
Kate Bucknam - So., Undeclared, Fayetteville, Ark.
Kelli Budd - Sr., Accounting, Omaha, Neb.
Ashlie Decker - Jr., Sport Management, Des Moines, Iowa
Laura Docherty - Sr., Inter-College Program, St. Paul, Minn.
Lauren Domski - So., Pre-Major, Woodbury, Minn.
Rachel Drake - Sr., Spanish Studies, White Bear Lake, Minn.
Becca Dyson - So., Journalism, Roseville, Minn.
Becca Gusmer - Sr., Kinesiology, Green Bay, Wis.
Molly Kayfes - Jr., Business and Marketing Education, Maple Grove, Minn.
Katie Moraczewski - Sr., Graphic Design, White Bear Lake, Minn.
Cassy Opitz - Sr., Inter-College Program, Eden Prairie, Minn.
Kathryn Ritter - Sr., Genetics/Cell Biology, Mukwonago, Wis.
Jessica Schmidt - Sr., Accounting, DePere, Wis.
Annie Talajkowski - Jr., English, Whitefish Bay, Wis.
Hannah Trasser - So., Psychology, Brookfield, Wis.
Bre Valle - Sr., Family Social Science, Minnetonka, Minn.

Men's

Blayne Dulian - So., Business and Marketing Education, Coon Rapids, Minn.
Pieter Gagnon - Sr., Mechanical Engineering, Minneapolis, Minn.
Bob Nicolls - Jr., Accounting, Parker, Colo.
Adam Zutz - So., Undeclared, St. Francis, Minn.

All seven of the Gopher women's NCAA Championships competitors qualified for the academic honor, including Molly Kayfes and Laura Docherty, the team’s top two runners throughout the season. Kayfes led the Gophers at both the NCAA Midwest Regional and the NCAA Championships. She earned All-Region honors with an eighth-place finish. Laura Docherty led the way at the Big Ten Championships, running to All-Conference acclaim with a ninth-place showing. She was also an All-Region performer. Maggie Bollig, Katie Moraczewski, Ashlie Decker, Rachel Drake and Liz Berkholtz rounded out the NCAA Championships roster.

The men's and women's track teams began their indoor season last Friday with an intrasquad meet at the U of M Fieldhouse.  The indoor season continues on January 12 with the Northwest Open at the U of M.  Both the men's and women's teams will be competing.  Part of the women's team will compete at the North Dakota State Invitational in Fargo, ND on the same day. 

GopherSports.com will continue to preview the indoor season before true competitions begin in January. Click on the links for previews of the throws and the sprints, jumps and hurdles.

Hauger Ranked Fifth, Five Other MN HS Runners Earn Honorable Mention in MileSplit Girls HS National Rankings

Maria Hauger(33) finishing at Foot Locker Nationals. Second place finisher Catarina Rocha(in black) just nipped her at the line. Photo courtesy of MileSplit

Shakopee's Maria Hauger was ranked fifth in the final 2012 MileSplit National Rankings for high school girls.  Five other Minnesotans--Wayzata's Anna French, Blake's Clare Flanagan, Alexandria's Megan and Bethany Hasz, and Bemidji's Jenna Truedson--earned Honorable Mentions.

MileSplit video interview with Hauger is HERE, along with race video and complete race coverage.

Wayzata Girls Surprise Themselves with End of Year Run

"We never set out to be a Nationals team," said Wayzata girl's cross country coach Dave Emmans.  On December 1 they finished their season by placing seventh in the NXN cross country meet in Portland and  maintained their seventh place ranking in the US compiled by the Harrier's Marc Bloom.

The NXN performance topped an end-of-season run that resulted in a wins at the MSHSL XC Championships and the NXN Heartland Region, as well as the NXN Nationals result.  Going into the season, the goal was to improve on last year's third place finish in the MSHSL Championships.  That seemed a realistic challenge because the 2011 team was all returning for 2012.

"We knew we could be very good," said Emmans.  "I told the kids: "Hey, you can win this thing(State Meet).  Get enough miles in during the summer.  Be together as a team.'"  The group did what they were told, but, Emmans added: "They didn't go crazy.  They didn't try and do a lot (dramatically increase mileage or training over the summer).  Just added a little more...Most kids have a ceiling, a limit to how much they can do or achieve.  We just happen to have quite a few kids who don't appear to have a ceiling."

A common theory among those who watch the sport is that high school girls peak as freshman and sophomores, said Emmans, but Wayzata girls appear to have not yet reached their "ceilings." That's how they have improved, Emmans noted, one "small step" at a time, and with unity and selflessness as a team.  Perhaps Wayzata's most valuable commodity is their depth, he noted, as next year's team will have four girls who have run sub-15 for 4K and another eight who have broken 16.

Like in Kenya, where extraordinary depth in distance running talent has resulted in stiff competition for national team spots and opportunities to make it internationally, the Wayzata team has internal vying for positions on the team as daunting as the competition they will encounter in races.  While this depth makes Wayzata a force to be reckoned with in 2013, Emmans knows from his 20 year coaching career, that nothing is guaranteed.

This year was different: "The stars aligned," said Emmans.  "No injuries, no sickness.  That never happens." The team also bonded together, not letting individual disappointments become issues.  For example, senior Emily Holscher, who was a member of the 2011 team that finished third at State, did not make the top seven  for this year's State team.  "She didn't make one, big dramatic scene," says Emmans.  She accepted it and supported the team, he added.

Emmans also give his assistant coach, Ady Hallen, much of the credit for keeping the team together and aiding their success.  "We wouldn't be there without her<" said Emmans of Hallen.  "She understands (the team).  She talks me off the ledge."  And helps deal with the benefits and potential problems of having the great depth the Wayzata team possess.  Emmans said one of the year's accomplishments of which he is most proud is that they split the team up early in the year and ran one team at two separate invitational meets and Wayzata won both of them.

A bit of good fortune, call it luck, this year also helped. during 2011 three runners on the team had to deal with illness, cases of Whooping Cough, during the season, along with the other normal interruptions of training and preparation.  They went into the 2011 State meet with less than an ideal attitude, said Emmans.  He remembers hearing them talking before going to the starting line about how tired they felt, in essence talking themselves out of a good performance before the starting gun fired.

This year they were simply on a mission, one they accomplished impressively.  After that the challenge became one of simply fielding a team, rather than how well that team would perform.  Four of the team members go right from cross country running into cross country skiing, another plays on the basketball team.  The skiers, who had gone on a trip to Colorado over Thanksgiving for training at altitude and on snow, the basketball team did wind sprints to get ready for their season.

While State meet triumph was sort of a natural end to the season, Emmans talked to the runners and their ski and basketball coaches, all of whom agreed to give it a try.  After winning the NXN regional meet, things became even looser, Emmans noted.  Their attitude going into NXN, said Emmans, was: "'We made it.  If we take last, it won't be the end of the world.' So they went into it with no expectations.  Not having that pressure (to perform), they were just having a blast." And it was the basketball player, McKenna Evans who stepped up on race day to lift to team to seventh place.

The seventh finisher on the team at Regions, Evans was the fourth team finisher at Nationals.  Without her performance we would have dropped out of the top ten, said Emmans.  It was that kind of season, girls "stepping up" when needed and making a difference.  "The kids got along," said Emmans.  "They respected each other."

Was that "loose" attitude and no pressure that may have been a help at Nationals the key to success?  Emmans says he doesn't know.  The team was loose enough at the Griak Invitational earlier in the year to make their "Call Me Maybe" video, but the results on course did not mirror the triumphs at the end of the season.  "It was probably our worst performance," said Emmans.  No guarantees.  No magic formula that always work.

Things change from year to year, and although Wayzata will no doubt go into 2013 as the team to watch, Emmans knows from experience that the challenge is to accept new goals, put in the necessary work to achieve your them, and having a bit of luck or good fortune is a definite, yet unprogramable, asset for success.

"Time demands on kids is ten times greater now(than in the past)," says Emmans.  "Trying to get kids to commit(to a particular task or goal), that's where you make your money."

Team USA Minnesota Women Win USATF Club XC Team Title

The Team USA Minnesota women’s squad – Meghan Peyton, Ladia Albertson-Junkans, Jamie Cheever, McKenzie Melander and Heather Kampf – won the open women’s 6K team title at the USATF National Club Cross Country Championships on Saturday in Lexington, KY.  In the open men’s 10K  Jon Peterson finished fifth.

For the women, Peyton was 4th, Albertson-Junkans 5th, Cheever 7th, Melander 11th, and Kampf, who fell in the mud, got up to finish 63rd. Three of the Team USA Minnesota athletes – Peyton, Albertson-Junkans and Peterson – automatically qualified for the BUPA Great Edinburgh International Cross Country Team Challenge by finishing in the top six of their event.  The Challenge will be held in Scotland on January 5, 2013.  Nine women and nine men will be on the US senior teams for the event.

“It was a hilly course, and there had been lots of precipitation the last couple of days, so it was slick and very muddy,” said Peyton.  “Even given the conditions, the race got out fast, and we went through the first mile in 5:11.  I got out quick, but in control, so I would have enough to finish the race.  I was in 10th place in the first mile while my teammate, Jamie, went out with the leaders and was in a top group of four.

“Ladia and I were running together.  We caught up with Jamie in the last mile...It was definitely a strength course.  My legs were really burning toward the end, but I felt strong.  We are all pretty happy with the team win.”

“I wanted to get ahead of most of the crowd, so I got out in the top 30 or so and waited for it to thin out,” said Peterson.  “It was quite muddy and mucky out there, so it was true cross country.

“By the last mile I was in seventh place.  I started making a move with 800 meters to go.  I picked up the pace, made it hurt, and outkicked two runners in the last 400 meters (Sean Quigley and Alan Webb, who finished sixth and seventh, respectively).  I knew I needed enough in me at the end to do a kick knowing who was in the field.

“It’s nice to be out there racing cross country again.  I’m really excited to be a member of the US team that will compete in Edinburgh.  That was my goal.”

The Run N Fun womens' team finished 10th.  The Run N Fun B team was 14th in the men's team race.  Twin Cities Track Club had only two runners(Joe Moore in 9th and Mike Reneau in 13th) finish the men's race and one(Stephanie Price, 12th) the women's.  Full results can be found HERE.

This was the first time that Team USA Minnesota sent a women’s team to compete at Club Cross.  In 2011, the Club Cross men’s race was won by Team USA Minnesota’s Jon Grey.

Hauger Third at Foot Locker; Adam Goucher/Carrie Tollefson Tell Stories

Shakopee's Maria Hauger finished third at the Foot Locker National XC Championships in San Diego Saturday.  Winner Anna Rohrer, a sophomore from Mishawaka High School in  Indiana broke away in the last mile of the 5K race to win in an unofficial time of 17:25.  Runner-up Catarina Rocha, a senior from Peadbody HS in Massachusetts, just nipped Hauger with a finish straight sprint with a time of 17:29,  Hauger finished in 17:30.

Carrie Tollefson was at the meet working.  She did the play- by-play for the race and was among the former Footlocker stars at an interview session where Adam Goucher tells a Kara/Carrie story HERE. Tollefson shares her own memories of her Footlocker experience HERE.

In the boys' race defending champion Edward Cheserek(14:58) of St. Benedict’s Prep in New Jersey outkicked Sean McGorty(second in 15:03) of Chantilly High School in Virginia and North Dakota's Jake Leingang(15:05) from Bismark HS in the last quarter mile.

Video of girls' race is HERE.

Ben Blankenship is on the Comeback Trail

Photo by Donald Gruener.
Courtesy
of OTC Elite

When Ben Blankenship looks out the window of the "house on the hill" in Eugene, that he shares with Hassan Mead, he sees "the cathedral," Hayward Field at the University of Oregon.  It has become one of the training sites Blankenship will use to launch his comeback into the track world after an extended absence.

Blankenship had a breakout year in 2011 on the US and European track circuit.  He dropped his PR in his main event, the 1,500 meters to 3:37.23, and seemed on the verge of breaking into the upper echelon of the rapidly rising US middle distance corps.  But then he started to slide down the other side of the "roller coaster" that is one's fortunes as a distance runner.  A pain in his hip that he had been ignoring did not go away, so he had to have an operation to "clean out" the joint in September of 2011. It was not a hip replacement, as has been reported elsewhere, but rather an outpatient laparoscopic surgery that repaired the pain-inducing, minor damage to the joint.

In a rush to get back for his final indoor and outdoor seasons of eligibility at the University of Minnesota, he tried to do too much, too soon.  That resulted in stress fractures in his leg and wiped out his remaining track season.  "After that I took a step back," said Blankenship.  Having graduated, but with no athletic outlet, Ben said, he found himself "hanging out, just to hang out."

Moving to Oregon, signing up with the Oregon Track Club elite squad, and continuing his athletic development had "always been part of the plan."  He had contemplated doing it his senior year, but stayed on to finish his final seasons in cross country(2011) and the aborted 2012 indoor and outdoor seasons. The string of physical setbacks caused him to "resort my plans."  He moved to Colorado for awhile to work for his uncle.  He wasn't running regularly, but his body was healing.

He spent some time in Washington, DC and began to run more regularly.  It felt good.  No more aches and pains.  He started doing rehab exercises and running more.  There was some unfinished business in the running world, he concluded, and it was time to see if he could get back to where he was in 2011, back on track for the elite running circuit. The offer from OTC was still available, and Mead was heading there as well, so the pair moved to the house on the hill.

Both had been through physical setbacks.  Mead with an Achilles tendon injury, then a collapsed lung.  Blankenship with his hip injury and stress fractures.  The friendship they had developed at the University made the decision easier.  They both had ridden the injury roller coaster and now were on the way back up. "It's good to have somebody to talk to who understands," said Blankenship.  "Someone to bounce ideas off of."  For both of them the transition has been working.  Mead, says Blankenship, is doing well, looking fit and enjoying the environment.

Blankenship's recovery has been progressing well, but he's not sure what the intermediate goals are or what event he will eventually focus upon.  He and Mead are both being coached by Mark Rowland, though Hassan will be focusing on the 5K this year, he said, with a possible step up to 10K.  Blankenship may stick with the 1,500 or move up in distance.  "I really don't know right now," he says."The plan is to get my name back out there.  Get a couple of solid races."  The ultimate goal being the US Outdoor championships and World Championship qualifier races this summer.

"The training has been going well for the last three months," said Blankenship.  "I'm excited to get out there, see where I'm at."

Medtronic TCM Marathon Will Be 2013-14 USATF Championships: Medtronic TC Mile Will Host 2015-16 USATF Championships

The Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon will crown the nation’s men’s and women’s marathon champions for the next two years.   The race was awarded the USA Men’s and Women’s Marathon Championships for 2013 and 2014 by USATF, the governing body of the sport in the United States.

Marathon organizer Twin Cities In Motion was also awarded the 2015 and 2016 USA Men’s and Women’s 1- Mile Road Championships which will take place in conjunction with the Medtronic TC 1 Mile contested on Nicollet Mall in the heart of downtown Minneapolis.

The 2013 Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon will take place Sunday, October 6.  The Medtronic TC 1 Mile takes place each May.  The 2013 Medtronic TC 1 Mile, set for May 9, along with the 2014 Medtronic TC 1 Mile, will still feature professional fields and prize money in continued support of post-collegiate athletes.

The championship designations were awarded at the USA Track & Field Annual Meeting in Daytona Beach, Florida.  Twin Cities In Motion has a storied history of hosting national championships.  USA Marathon champions have been crowned at Twin Cities on nine occasions, beginning in 1986. 

The USA 1 Mile Road Championships originated with TCM and have been contested Minneapolis for the past four years.  Twin Cities In Motion has also played host to the USA 10 Mile Championships for men and/or women from 2007 until this fall. 

“We’re excited to know that national champions will be crowned at our finish lines for the next four years,” Twin Cities In Motion Executive Director Virginia Brophy Achman said.  “We’ve hosted national championship events for the past eight years, because we believe in the sport at all its distances.  We think national champions inspire first-time marathoners and vice-versa.”

A total prize purse of $145,000 will be on offer to USA Marathon Championships participants, including matching $25,000 checks for the men’s and women’s victors. The USA 1 Mile Championships in 2015 and 2016 will feature $25,000 prize purses.

Additionally, the USA Masters Marathon Championships, for athletes 40-years and older, have been held in conjunction with the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon since 1991 – with the event slated to host the championship through 2015.

Twin Cities In Motion will also host two 2013 Minnesota state road racing championships sanctioned by USA Track & Field – Minnesota.  The top Minnesota runners and teams will race for state titles at the Medtronic TC 1 Mile and the Medtronic TC 10 Mile.

USATF Junior and Clubs XC Nationals

The USATF Junior XC Nationals are this weekend, December 8 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Meet info is HERE.  Belated Minnesota USATF Junior XC championship results are HERE.

The USATF Clubs XC Nationals are being held in Lexington, KY on December 8, info is HERE. Run 'N Fun has three men's teams and one women's team.  Team USA Minnesota has a woman's team and some individuals in the men's race.  The women’s team includes Jamie Cheever, Meghan Peyton, Heather Kampf, Ladia Albertson-Junkans and McKenzie Melander.  The men  are Jon Peterson and Chris Rombough.  Entry lists are HERE.

USATF preview of the Junior Meet is HERE.

U of M Profile of Kathryn Ritter, Mixing Academics and Athletics

Photo courtesy of U of M

Some of Kathryn Ritter’s favorite memories of Golden Gopher cross country came at the team’s annual preseason camps in Ely. She enjoyed the team bonding and the chance to run together after a summer apart. One might also suspect that part of the reason she liked those camps was that they came before the start of the school year.

Once the fall semester started, Ritter's calendar began to fill up. The fifth-year senior is a pre-medical student working toward a dual degree in biology, society, and environment and genetics, cell biology, and development.  She has completed the former and will finish the latter this spring.

“When I first came to the U, I knew that I was really interested in science, and I actually started taking some classes in chemistry my freshman year,” Ritter said. “Through further explorations in science classes at the U, I got interested in biology. I declared biology, society, and environment my sophomore year. I really like that major because it allows me to take those biology classes, but then there’s also a lot of freedom taking different types of classes like ethics classes and psychology. I’ve also taken an anthropology class. So that’s one thing that really drew me to that major, that there is a lot of freedom to pick and choose what you’re interested in.”

As a pre-med student, Ritter has also had to mix in volunteer experiences at local hospitals like Abbott Northwestern and Hennepin County Medical Center. Fitting in homework time around volunteering and sports would be a tall order for any student-athlete, but how about for someone who has three separate sport seasons—cross country, indoor track, and outdoor track—each year?

“The great thing about our team is that we definitely stress doing well in academics, too,” Ritter said. “So our coaches are very flexible with making sure that we’re taking the classes that we need to graduate and everything. I actually like having sports year-round because it forces me to stay organized and to work ahead in my class work and to always be on top of things and stay ahead of the game. I think that running helps me stay organized and focused for school, too.”

As a freshman, Ritter had mandatory study times at the athletic department’s McNamara Academic Center, but now she has more freedom to plan when and where she does her school work. Oftentimes, she will do homework on plane or bus rides to and from meets.

Even with her intense academic load and two-plus years of volunteering, Ritter has managed to stay competitive in athletics. She has raced at the Big Ten Championships in track and vied for a spot on the Gophers’ Big Ten cross country roster.

“I think that a big way to be competitive in running is to make sure that you have balance in your life,"
she said. “Our coach talks about the 'zone of discipline' all the time. Yes, you have your time where you’re at practice and you’re competing hard and you’re preparing for competitions, but then you also have your time where you’re studying, and also downtime where you give yourself time to relax and spend time socializing with family and friends.”

Ritter will compete in both indoor and outdoor track during the 2013 season. Next fall, she will begin medical school. She has interviewed with a handful of schools and has already been accepted at the University of Iowa. Emergency medicine is currently her main interest, but she looks forward to gaining new experience in other areas of medicine.

She offers advice to any high school athletes who may be nervous about taking on both athletics and tough academics: 
“I would reassure them that it’s definitely possible and they can do it. That was one of my big concerns when I was thinking about running in college and balancing the type of academic path that I was looking at pursuing, but especially with the coaches we have here, there’s a ton of people here who are willing to help you and support you throughout your collegiate journey through running and academics. I would encourage them to accept the challenge and do it, because it’s definitely been a great experience here at the U for me.”

Keller Demonstrates "What a Country Girl Can Do"

The University of Minnesota Morris women's  2012 XC team.  Linda Keller is fourth
from the left in the top row.  Photo courtesy of University of Minnesota Morris

University of Minnesota Morris senior Linda Keller and her coach, Jeremy Karger-Gatzow, began Keller's final cross country season at the school with lofty goals.  They coined a slogan: "In it to win it."  The it being the NCAA Division III individual title.  The season didn't have a storybook ending as Keller placed 18th at the NCAA meet in Terre Haute, good enough to be selected as an All American for the third straight year, but not her goal of climbing to the top of the podium.

She described the NCAA experience in almost clinical terms.  Starting with the long drive from Minnesota to Indiana with her coaches and culminating with crossing the finish line and collapsing: "everything went black," Keller said.  The next thing she remembers is someone picking her up, holding her upright with something of a "bear hug" that made it difficult to breathe, and getting transported that way to the medical tent.

Laying on the cot, the next thing she remembers is a woman touching her face, tapping her cheeks with her fingers, an action, that in Keller's still disoriented state, "felt like she was slapping my face," Keller said.  When Keller opened her eyes and began to get her bearings, the woman said, "You need to get up and walk around," and helped Keller up and held onto her as they walked around the tent.  Things began to return to normal and Keller looked out the "doorway" of the tent and saw Karger-Gatzow and her family waiting anxiously by the fence separating the spectators from the finish area.

At that point, she said, "it hit me.  This was my last college cross country race."  The tears started to come, so she turned away so that those outside couldn't see her.  She collected herself and left the medical tent to greet her coach and family.  Her sister was the first person she went to and they hugged. Keller held onto her  whispered in her ear: "You can't move.  I don't want people to see me crying."

The tears were not for her performance, but rather because this was another ending.  Endings are emotional for her, said Keller, noting that during her senior year of high school, "I cried at the end of every (season ending) meet."  In all likelihood, even if she had won, Keller would still have had the tears flowing because this was the end of something she valued, enjoyed.  The team.  The coaches. The comaraderie of the group.

Sports are a selfish endeavor when it comes to training, racing, and performance, but they also have a strong social component, which is what Keller values over the individual pursuits, the goal setting, the planning, the execution.  She and her coaches had prepared for the race like all the others.  When they got to Terre Haute, they ran over the course, checking out things like the start, the terrain, anything that might factor into the race.

As planned when the gun went off at the start of the race, Keller went to the front.  Her starting position in box 44 allowed her a pretty straight shot to the first turn and she arrived there "in first or second," she said, all going according to plan.  She goes to the front in races because she doesn't like pack running, the jostling, physical contact that is common in a group.  It is a mental thing that can often push her to go out too fast or use up energy too early in a race just to avoid  the pack more than any for any strategic value.

In her first NCAA championship race in 2009, there was a narrow bridge about 800 meters from the start where the entire field had to crunch onto the bridge, pushing, and jostling to get through the wave of bodies trying to navigate the tiny space.  She didn't cope well with it then, panicking a bit and finishing 86th.  Karger-Gatzow recognized Keller's trouble adapting to top level pack running, and to allow Keller to get used to those conditions, he had her train with the men's team.  Had them intentionally jostle her during training.  The practice helped, but didn't totally eliminate Keller's pack phobia.

From her subsequent NCAA races, Keller got more accustomed to being in a lead pack, so she expected that to be the conditions this year as the race progressed.  All was well until 3K of the 6K race, Keller said, when her legs "started burning.  I tried to pick up my knees," but she began to lose contact with the leaders.  She says she still doesn't know why she couldn't go when she had to, whether it was the fast early pace, loss of energy from pre-race nerves, but she couldn't hold on and kept drifting back.  "I tried to push toward the finish, but it seemed to take forever," Keller said.  " I started seeing little red dots."  Finally the finish came, the spent blackness of the collapse.

It was a more extreme replay of the NCAA regional meet at St. Olaf, where she had used the last bits of her energy to sprint to victory and fell into the arms of two finish chute workers, who had to keep her upright as she walked off the fatigue, all the time apologizing to her companions for having to use them as human crutches.  It is part of Keller's DNA to have more concern for others than herself, to be aware of their feelings as much as her own.

She had encountered her family, who had traveled separately to Indiana to watch the meet prior to the race. Keller was by herself near the start area, when she heard a familiar voice: "Hey lady, mind if we join you," her sister said.  "How did you know where to find me?"  Keller asked.  "We knew to look for the poor lost girl by herself,"  her sister joked.  As Keller was finishing her warm up run, she bumped into members of the men's and women's team who also made the journey to Indiana to see their captain(Keller was team captain for both the men's and women's team this year).

They survived a flat tire and not remembering that there was a time zone change to arrive five minutes before the start.  Her sister also hadn't had an easy journey, as she had to arrange child care for her daughter and didn't get much sleep the night before, so she was operating on "three hours of sleep and a lot of caffeine," in order to make the long drive to the race on time, said Keller.  After the race, the awards ceremony was delayed for over an hour because of a protest of the results in one of the races and one of the team members said: "Linda, you'll still love us if we have to leave right after the awards ceremony, won't you?"

"After the race you can just kind of joke about (things like that)," Keller said, somewhat overwhelmed by the show of support from her family and team.  It is there because Keller has fufiled her desire to "lead by example."  She notes that as overall team captain this year she has seen a closer bond forming between the combined team as instead of doing activities in gender groups, they do them together.  Bringing the teams together is as valuable to Keller as anything she has accomplished as an individual.

Asked what she had learned from her athletic experience thus far, she replied; "patience."  A skill/virtue that has served her well in her field, education, as she says her professors have taken note that she has applied that to her classroom student teaching, not rushing, but rather taking time to help her students understand things better, helping them develop patience as well, that everything doesn't have to happen right away.

In the end, she's following the "motivational speech" her coach started giving her in her sophomore year.  "You're just a country girl from Hawick,"  Karger-Gatzow said.  "Show all these people what a country girl can do."

Wayzata 7th, Eagan 19th in Girls' NXN Race; Three Area Boys in Top 10

Wayzata's girls' team led by Jean French(20:10, 19th) placed 7th in the NXN meet in Portland, OR on Saturday. Eagan's girls, led by Danielle Anderson(21:02, 66th ) were 19th.  Top individual girls' finisher from Minnesota was Maria Hauger(20:01, 14th) on the muddy 5K course.  Alexandria's Bethany Hasz was 37th in 20:31 and Blake's Clare Flanagan was 56th in 20:54.  In the boys' race Wayzata's Connor Olson finished 6th in 17:23, Hudson, WI's Ryan Kromer was in 9th in 17:25, Richfield's Obsa Ali was 10th in 17:30, and Stillwater's Eric Colvin was 116th in 18:34.

Full results are HERE. Boys' video is HERE. Girls' video is HERE.  Added video recorded at the Griak Invitational of the Wayzata girls vamping the Carly Rae Jepson song, Call Me Maybe is HERE. Another Wayzata girls video, of the State Meet win, is HERE.