Interview with Christine Bolf
by Ricky Quintana

Christine Bolf helps Colorado to a national title by finishing 14th at the 2004 NCAA Cross Country Championships. (Photo by Alison Wade/New York Road Runners)

Los Angeles, California native and University of Colorado senior Christine Bolf has made the most of her four years in Boulder. She arrived in the fall of 2002 with a modest 3,200m PR of 10:32.03 (which she ran in finishing fifth at the Golden West Invitational behind such notables as Megan Kaltenbach, and future teammate Laura Zeigle) and ranked 15th nationally by DyeStat.com. Bolf steadily improved each year at the NCAA Cross Country Championships, culminating in a career best 14th place finish in Terre Haute, Indiana, last year. Her first All-American cross country honor helped Colorado win its second team title in four years. Bolf also improved from ninth to fifth place in the 10,000 meters at the 2005 NCAA Track & Field Championship with a PR of 33:26.97.

"Christine has been the perfect college athlete: personable, serious, and calm-minded," says Colorado head coach, Mark Wetmore. "She has made reliable improvement every year, and I think she can continue to after [leaving] CU. Not every athlete is cut out to continue beyond college, but her trajectory of improvement certainly suggests she should consider post-college running. I'll miss her a ton. She's an oasis of tranquility in my normal day of chaos."

The Buffaloes will look to Bolf, the lone returning senior from last year's national championship team, to lead the way at NCAAs this year.

Fast-Women.com spoke with Bolf after the Buffaloes' first time trial of the season. There she finished seventh behind four of her of teammates.

Fast-Women.com: Were you pleased with the first time trial?
Christine Bolf: Yes, I was. The girls looked pretty good. Liza [Pasciuto] and Kalin [Toedebusch] were out because they were just getting over some small soreness type things. It would have been a little bit different had they run the time trial. I think we looked good.

FW: You mentioned afterward that each year is different for the team. What are some positives that you see right off the bat from this team?
CB: It's really different just because we are a really young team this year. We have a couple of new freshman who I think are going to make contributions. Obviously, we lost three really good girls from last year [NCAA Cross Country runner-up Renee Metivier, 30th-place finisher Natalie Florence, and 2005 NCAA 10,000m champion Sara Slattery] which is going to make it really hard. I think we have a lot of room for development. We're different from last year.

FW: You've ascended through the Colorado system. Can you talk about your progression?
CB: As far as progression goes, it's been really dramatic. I don't know if you've talked to Mark [Wetmore], but he'll say the same thing. My freshman year, I was 186th at nationals and last year I was 14th, so obviously, that was a huge jump. As far as what I did to improve, I was really patient as far as reading my body and knowing when to push myself and when to not. It was a lot of little things to like going to bed early, eating right, and those sort of things. Every year, I have made a significant improvement.

FW: You've steadily moved up in race distance on the track, finishing fifth last year in the NCAA 10,000. Did you ever imagine running the 10,000 when you arrived at Colorado?
CB: No, not really. Actually, I was really opposed to running it my freshman year. I ran it at conference for the first time ever and I did really bad [37:40.17 for 10th place]. I was pretty upset about it. Yeah, I never really would have thought that it would be my event.

FW: How did you feel about the fifth-place finish at NCAAs in the 10,000?
CB: I was actually pretty pleased with it because there were so many good girls in that race. That was the race to be in last year. It was a PR for me, so I was pleased about that. The year before I had finished ninth and last year I moved up a few spots up so that was good. The competition was really good so I have no complaints.

FW: Did your performance at the NCAA Cross Country Championships give you confidence that you could do well in the 10,000 at the NCAA track championships?
CB: Yes, I think it did. It motivated me. Up to that point, I didn't really know if I could run with those top girls. I finished 14th at the cross country championships so that was a pretty solid placing. I figured I could place high at NCAA [outdoors].

FW: You have run the national championship course at Indiana State several times now. What do you think of the course?
CB: I have. I'm kind of glad we are running there again because I'm comfortable with the course now. I'm really familiar with it. If we are going to do well this year, I think it is good that we are familiar with the course.

FW: Last year, the course conditions changed overnight before the NCAA meet. What were your thoughts?
CB: As far as conditions go, whether it's a muddy course, snowing outside or really cold outside, our team doesn't really [get concerned about] those sorts of things because we know that every other team is going to have to go through the same conditions in every race. I think we are a really tough team. We overlook those things and focus on how tough we are. We train in the snow so we are used to it.

FW: It takes a lot of discipline to run a race at pace. What are some of the sort of workouts that give you the confidence to be patient?
CB: I think the toughest workouts for me are probably our long runs because we like to run them a little steadier than other teams. It helps me with my endurance.

FW: Mentally, what do you think about during the race? How do you keep your focus when conditions may be hard to ignore?
CB: A lot of things go through my mind. I tell myself to be tough. Just stick in it. I try not to psych myself out.

FW: Last year you PRed in the 5,000 (15:57.13) and 10,000 (33:26.97). What do you think your best event will be?
CB: I think I am going to continue to focus on the 10K. I think I will focus on that at outdoor nationals. I want to PR in the 5K. I want to get a pretty good time in that one too. It's really hard right now to really say what my goals are for track season because I'm just focused on cross country.

FW: How does it feel to be considered at top 5-10 candidate after not receiving that much fanfare coming out of high school?
CB: It feels really really awesome. I know Mark has a lot of faith in me and that gives me faith in myself, in how I am going to do this year. I'm really excited about it and I am going to try to do the best I can.

FW: You are the elder statesman now. How do your teammates regard you?
CB: I think they look up to me because I am a senior and I have come a long way [since] my freshman year. It's kind of my job this year to guide them in a good direction.

FW: Are you comfortable in that role?
CB: Yes, I am. It's something I am not used to. I feel like ever since I've been at Colorado, I've always looked up to someone else. Last year, it was Renee. There has always been someone better than me. This year, it's my year to be the top girl and I am going to be the one that is looked up to and that sort of thing.

FW: I've read that you really downplay what the team accomplished last year. Is it hard to with all the attention?
CB: Not really. As far as the women's team goes, we are a really different team than last year. We don't have Sara, Renee, or Natalie. Just thinking about that, we don't have a big ego about winning this year. We are a completely different team than last year and we are going to do the best we can with the girls that we have this year.

FW: What are you studying?
CB: I'm an accounting major. I'm applying to grad school for [CU's] one-year program. Hopefully, I will be in Boulder and continue to run under Mark.

FW: What are your post-collegiate aspirations?
CB: I definitely want to run post-collegiately, just because I will be here for another year of school. I just want to test out the waters and see how that goes for me. I definitely want to continue to run after college.

FW: Do you think you will continue to concentrate on the 10,000, or maybe the marathon?
CB: I don't know. Maybe a marathon when I'm more mature, but I'm going to focus on the 10K and see how that goes.

FW: Are any of your former teammates still training with you?
CB: Yes. I actually see Renee a lot. Not very much this summer because she was in Europe, but she just came back a couple of days ago. I'll see them during the season a lot. Renee is still running under Mark. She's taking some time off right now just because her season is over.

FW: Do they offer you advice?
CB: Yes. Renee gives us advice because she is our volunteer assistant coach this year. That's pretty cool. She's there at practice every day. She sees the broad perspective of everyone's training. She's one of my best friends so we always talk about running and that sort of stuff.

FW: How have the media, folks around town, etc. received the team?
CB: They are really supportive. They do give us a lot of press because this is a huge running town. Everyone here is really athletic. If they don't run they bike, mountain climb, or do something outdoors. I think they are excited and they think it's cool.

FW: Does it sometime feel like a fish bowl because there are so many runners in town?
CB: It is kind of like a little bubble. I'm originally from LA. Boulder and LA are very different as far as diversity. I wish Boulder was a little more diverse, but I like it. It's really grown on me.

(Interview conducted September 5, 2005, and posted September 13, 2005.)