Post Edinburgh Interview with Garrett Heath

Outside interview with Garrett Heath HERE.

News: NSIC Championships; MIAC AOW; XC Ski Medals; Saying Sorry: Pan Am XC Highlight Video; USATF Championships Preview

NSIC Indoor Championships begin on Thursday.  Schedule, links to live results, video HERE.

MIAC AOW HERE

Stillwater XC skiers make history HERE and HERE.  Are interviewed HERE.

An English teacher's view of the continuing Lance Armstrong saga HERE.

Highlight video of the Pan American XC Cup from last Sunday HERE.

USATF Indoor Championship preview is HERE.

Ben Sathre joins Team USA Minnesota

Hassan Mead, Chris Rombough, and Ben Sathre
at the 2012 Jack Johnson Classic 3K
Photo by Gene Niemi

 Team USA Minnesota has added Ben Sathre – a six-time All American in track and cross country from the University of St. Thomas – to its roster of distance runners.  Sathre won the NCAA Division III Cross Country Championship in 2011 and was the runner-up in the event in 2010.

Sathre grew up in the Twin Cities and is a 2008 graduate of Chaska High School where he started competing in cross country and track in his junior year, along with being on the school’s Nordic ski team.  His senior year he won the MIAC Cross Country Championship and the NCAA DIII Regional Cross Country Championship.

He was also named a scholar athlete at St. Thomas and was a mention for the 2012 Bowerman Watch List of outstanding distance runners.  Sathre completed his collegiate career last spring and graduated with a bachelor of science degree in Entrepreneurship.   Often outspoken, Sathre has sometimes received as much attention for what he says as what he does on the roads or on the track.

Run 'N Fun helped Sathre in the transition from college to professional running, putting him on their squad last Fall.  Running for the Run 'N Fun team, Sathre won the City of Lakes 25K in Minneapolis last September and then competed in the USA 15K Championships in Jacksonville in March.  He was second at the Irish Run 8K in St. Paul with a time of 23:35 on March 24 and followed that up with a personal best in the distance of 23:19 on April 7 at the Shamrock Shuffle 8K in Chicago, where he finished fifth.  

“Ben has the ability and drive necessary to be a successful professional distance runner,” said Dennis Barker, Team USA Minnesota coach.  “He is a good addition to the team and I look forward to working with him.”

Sathre's upcoming races include the Bloomsday 7.46 Mile race in Spokane on May 5, the USA 25K Championships in Grand Rapids on May 11, and the USA Half Marathon Championships in Duluth on June 22.

US Wins First XC Gold--Nordic XC Ski Gold--at World Champs

It's not running, but it is worth noting, the US team of   Kikkan Randall and Jessie Diggins won the Cross Country Skiing World Championship gold medal in the team sprint on Sunday in Italy.  Randall is from Alaska, Diggins is from Afton, MN. Story is HERE, HERE and HERE.

MIAC Spotlight on St Olaf's Emma Lee

Photo courtesy of St Olaf

Emma Lee, St. Olaf College
Senior, Cross country, Nordic skiing, outdoor track
St. Paul, MN/Como Park
Major: Biology
 
Do you have any nicknames?
Sometimes people call me “Em” or “E.”  I’m hoping that “E-Money” catches on.

Why did you choose to be a Division III student-athlete? 
The main reason I chose St. Olaf over any non-DIII schools was that it is one of the few colleges in the Midwest with a Nordic ski team.  Only a couple of DI and DII schools showed any interest in me as a runner.  I knew that I wanted to continue to do varsity sports in college, but I also wanted to go to a small school with a strong academic background.  St. Olaf fit the bill: I knew that I would be able to train and compete in the sports that I loved, but my coaches and teammates would also support my aspirations as a student.
 
What do you like most about competing in the MIAC?  
The range of ability levels of MIAC athletes continually amazes me.  I have run and skied against all-Americans and against people who have never participated in sports before.  I value the spirit of inclusiveness that most of the MIAC schools show, and I also enjoy being able to compete with extremely talented individuals at conference and national levels. 
 
What has been the greatest part of your collegiate athletic career thus far?  
Being a student-athlete has turned me into much more of a team player, even though my sports are considered individual.  In high school, few of my teammates were very dedicated to running or skiing, so I accepted a program of training hard and training alone in order to be successful.  When I came to college, I discovered that not only were most of my teammates extremely passionate about athletics, this passion was present regardless of their ability level.  I love feeling like I am part of a cause greater than myself—where everyone works his or her tail off to be a better athlete and to boost the team, even if it doesn’t mean scoring points or qualifying for a race.  It’s not just about me doing my own thing anymore; my teams are my family, and I can help myself by helping them.
 
What is your greatest sports moment? 
The most incredible experience I ever had was at the national cross country meet my sophomore year.  I knew I was having a good race—I kept moving up and didn’t feel tired.  With about a mile to go, I saw my coach’s husband, and he yelled at me, “Yes you can!”  At that moment, I felt like I could do anything.  I knew I was in an All-American spot.  Someone told me what place I was in, and I count down as I picked people off: 20… 19… 18…  I was in 17^th place coming into the last 600 meters.  I gave everything I could and passed seven people.  When I saw my name on the finishers’ board in 10^th place, I was elated—I couldn’t believe it had happened.