Riley you’ve had a breakout indoor season this year, going from 4:07-down to 3:59.97 in the mile. Coming off a XC season where you were injured, did you think it was going to go as well as it did? Based on your training, what did you think you were capable of running?
Thank you, it means a lot to know people from Maine follow my running career! Cross country was very frustrating and a little frightening at times. That was my first injury ever so I spent a lot of time this fall questioning if I would ever be able to get back to where I was last year, it was a tough experience. When indoor rolled around I wanted to make sure I put cross country behind me and I really pushed myself to get back into shape. My work outs started to go well by late November, early December and that boosted my confidence heading into the season. Looking back at it, I am thankful I was able to take a break this fall. My body was well rested for the indoor season. I knew I was going to be able to run some decent times but with cross country not going my way I never thought sub4 would be in the picture.
Heading into the meet at BU where you first cracked 4 minutes (3:59.97), did you know that you were in that kind of shape? What type of workout had you been doing in the two weeks prior to popping the big one?
My coach and I knew that Valentines was going to be a good opportunity for me to run a fast time and we were pretty confident I would be able to squeeze into the seeded section so we did some fine tuning in the workouts before that week. I had been doing a lot of longer speed work outs leading up to Valentines. One workout that really stands out was a 400 workout the Tuesday before the meet (4x400 in 59 with 20 seconds rest). I knew when I got through that workout I was ready to go. Did I think I was going to be able to break 4? I wanted go after it and I knew it would be a good opportunity to try it but I wanted to make sure I wasn’t getting to excited about doing it because I didn’t want to be disappointed if I wasn’t able to at that meet. My main focus was taking down out school record which was somewhere in the 4:04 range.
By the look of your face when you saw the clock, you were obviously excited, and without question should have been. You became just the 2nd Maine athlete to officially run under 4 minute in the mile (Although others have run the 1500m equivalent); did you ever see yourself getting to this level? In HS you ran 4:16.18 placing 5th in the NE meet for 1600m, that was just two years ago, what has been the key to your rapid improvement?
Truthfully, I wasn’t sure if I would ever get to this level. When I arrived at UMaine I saw some rapid improvement in my running and I was starting to learn more and more about the sport. I was never fully devoted to running in high school and the moment I got to college I knew if I wanted to go places with this sport I needed to buckle down. I started increasing my mileage and got into some serious workouts. My coach, Mark Lech, is brilliant. I have so much faith in him, his coaching style and workouts. I owe a large part of my success and steady improvement to him.
Now you raced a lot indoors, just about every weekend starting in December until March, how were you able to continue to improve throughout the whole season?
The first half of the season was mostly about me getting my feet back under me after redshirting cross country. I wanted to make sure I had some race experience for when I got into the bigger meets.
Even though you brought 4 minutes, it was no guarantee you were going to qualify for NCAA’s, so you had to continue to chase a faster time, can you talk about your race at Columbia where you finally solidified your spot in the national meet with a new pr of 3:59.07? How fast do you can run in the Mile think in the future?
It was almost bitter sweet when I broke 4 for the first time. As exciting as it was, it was hard for me to be satisfied because my big goal was to qualify for the NCAA meet. Mark (Lech) and I knew we would have to find a meet for me to chase after a faster time, the hard part was finding the right meet. Our first attempt was at the Armory, a week before the Columbia meet. That didn’t really work out for me, there was some confusion with the rabbits and things just didn’t fall into place as planned. The Columbia meet was a week later and Liam Boylan-Pett was pacing. We knew he was a reliable guy and there were several other guys chasing fast times as well. It was all about running a fast time at that meet so I tried to stay on the inside and correct everything that went wrong at Valentines, every split second was going to make a difference. The race was strictly business, there weren’t a lot of big moves made. We went out hard and tried to hold it. The big difference in this meet was the final 200, I feel like I was able to tough it out a little more. Like I said, every split second count and I knew that this time. As for how fast I think I can run in the mile…I haven’t really thought about it. I surprised a lot of people including myself this year so I am going to roll with it and see how things go in the future, I would rather not put a time on it.
This was your first time at NCAA’S which I can only imagine is a little nerve wracking; going into the meet what was your goal in the prelims? After the prelims went so well (You finished 2nd in your heat, advancing to the final) did that relax you and increase your expectations in the final?
It was very exciting and I was unbelievably nervous. Before the trials I was standing in the warm up area and my body felt completely numb, I’m not sure I have ever been that nervous! However, I didn’t want to let my nerves get to me and affect my performance. The main goal was to get through to the finals, once I was able to do that, all of the pressure was off. I was able to relax a bit after the prelims. I had a lot more confidence coming off that race, I knew the toughest part was behind me and if I ran the finals like I ran the prelims then I would be fine.
Talk about the Mile final, it seemed like no one really wanted to push other than eventually race winner Lee Emmanuel. Where you content to just stay in the pack and try to finish with a strong kick?
Like I said, all of the pressure was off at that point; the goal was to keep contact and cover any moves that were made by the leaders. The pace started slow and wasn’t too demanding but as it picked up I began to fall off and fought to keep contact. I wanted to go with Emanuel when he took off but my legs wouldn’t let me. I can’t really explain what happened between the half mile and the 1200 mark but as I passed the three quarter mile I looked up and found myself in last place. A couple guys made some early moves so I was able to reel them back in; the leaders put themselves in a good position to secure their spots and they were a little out of reach. I guess I have to say I was both pleased and upset with how I raced; I can’t complain about 5th but I took my head out of it for a bit and it cost me.
Now the indoor season is over, and you achieved some pretty big things, what’s in store for the outdoor season, do you plan on focusing on 1500/Mile? Or will you move up in distance to 5k? Any times will you be looking to run, and any big invitational’s you plan on being in?
We are thinking about sticking with the 1500 for outdoor. I would really like to get back to NCAAs outdoor and maybe the USA championships. As for the 5k, I’m sure I will run the 5k once or twice but the focus will most likely remain on the 15 for this year. There are a couple invites I would like to go to but I don’t think anything is set in stone yet. Most likely I will run the 1500 at the Florida relays and 5k at Penns with a few other races thrown in there somewhere.
Being from Maine, you certainly have inspired some of the younger generation, you’ll be one of the runners HS kids are talking about for years to come given you success. What advice can you give to a HS kid from Maine looking to run fast at the collegiate level? What do you think the most important thing is to being successful?
The best advice I can give to those Maine guys moving on to the college level is to believe in yourself and realize that you are just as capable as every other runner out there. I think the success will come for everyone who is devoted to running and goes after their goals. However, the most important thing is to enjoy yourself, if you do that you will always have success.