Interview with standout distance star Will Geoghegan (Brunswick, ME). Geoghegan has had a great senior year, winning the Class A XC title in the fall, finishing ru
nner-up in the New England XC meet, and 11th place in the footlocker Northeast race. Will has continued his excellence on the track this winter, leading his team to the Class A title, and in the process becoming the first male distance runner to win the 800, Mile, & 2 mile in the Class A meet. Will won the New England mile title last week, clocking 4:14.94, the #13 time in the country. This weekend Geoghegan is entered in the 2 mile at the NSIC meet at the Armory in NY. Will currently has the #2 unconverted 2 mile time in the country from his win at the Dartmouth Relays back in early January, 9:18.7.
1. Congrats on your victory in the New England Mile last week. What was your race plan? Did you have any time goals in mind? When the inside lane opened up with 100m to go, what were you thinking?
I was planning on hanging back in the pack for the first 1K or so and then making a big move. When Mark went by with three laps to go I knew I had to go with him, and from there I was just trying to hang on to him and take my chances on the last lap. I was going to try to get around him on the last turn, but when I saw the opening I just went for it. I wanted to break 4:15, so I’d say the race worked out pretty well.
2. You’re running the 2 mile at NSIC at the Armory this weekend, you have the 2nd fastest non-converted 2 mile in the country, what are you goals heading into the race? The all-time state best is 9:09.5 by Bruce Bickford (1975) (former Olympian-#1 ranked 10k runner in 1985), what would it mean to surpass his record?
Seeds for NSIC haven’t been posted yet so I don’t know what I’ll be up against as far as converted 3200s and 3Ks, but I’m planning on going for the win. Bickford’s record is definitely a target, and if everything goes well I think I have a shot at getting it. It’s one of the oldest records in the books and I’ve been looking at it since my freshman year, so it would mean a lot to me to be able to break it.
3. You’ve had a great 2009-2010 Indoor season, can you talk about what it meant to win all three individual distance races at the Class A state meet (Mile, 800, 2 mile)? Also what made you decide to go for it, in the past you’ve always run on the 4x800 then run the Mile & 2 mile?
I had a cold going into states and I wasn’t feeling my best, so to still come away with the three victories felt good. I decided to go for it for a couple reasons. First, there’s the obvious allure of being the first Class A runner to win all the individual distance events at the state meet. I knew Brunswick was favored to win the team title, but there are so many things that can go wrong. Last year, we lost Matt Hatke in the prelims due to an ankle injury. Any additional points I could get were extra insurance for the team in case something like that happened.
4. You have great range; you qualified in every event from the 400-2 mile. What has your training been like this winter? What has been your staple workout? What’s your favorite workout to do during your peaking phase?
In general, we do low mileage – anywhere from 15 to 30 miles per week. Every Monday during the season we do the dreaded 400 repeats. We only have an hour to warm up, stretch, do our workout, and cool down, so we only do 6-8 repeats, but we do them hard. As we get closer to the championship meets, especially after states, we tend to do more sharpening work, such as 200 repeats or 100s and 300s.
5. You applied early decision to Dartmouth, and were accepted. Did you apply anywhere else? Why did you choose Dartmouth? What event do you see yourselves focusing on next year? Rumor has it you got a 2400 on your SAT’S a perfect score, is that true?
Since I did early decision, I didn’t apply anywhere else, but I did go on official visits to Harvard and Columbia in addition to Dartmouth. I liked all three, but I really felt at home on my visit to Dartmouth, and they have a great team as well as strong programs in computer science and economics, which are my two biggest interests. At this point I’m not sure what I’ll focus on between the 3K and mile; I might also do some steeplechase. The rumor is true, and if I remember correctly I wrote my essay about Steve Prefontaine.
6. Looking ahead to this spring, what are your goals in each of your events? Have you given any thought to attempting the same Distance triple plus add the 4x800 outdoors at the state meet?
My goals for the outdoor season are a team state championship, sub-9:00 in the 2 mile/3200, and Sintayehu Taye’s record of 4:09.69 for the 1600. If it looks like I need to do the quadruple to give Brunswick a chance at winning, then I’ll do it, but otherwise I’ll stick with a triple of some sort. I might also attempt to take down Mark McCauley’s record for most badass facial hair.
7. You have had a pretty training partner in Liam Cassidy at Brunswick this year, can you talk about how having someone of his caliber to train with each day has help you out this year?
Having Liam to train with is huge. We push each other in speed work, and he takes the monotony out of long runs. It helps always having someone right there in every race to keep me sharp. Also, WilLiam will be releasing their first single towards the end of the month. Look for it in the iTunes Top 10.