FW: So, your high school track season ended a few weeks ago, is that right?
MP: Yes, our state meet was the first weekend in May, so it’s a long way in between that and the nationals, which is kind of hard. We kind of struggled with how to deal with that in the past, and this year we decided to kind of do a mini-cycle I guess, do a couple weeks of base, and then some interval work, so now, it’s coming back together again.

FW: That makes sense. So, you have a lot of time now to dedicate to running because you are done with school as well.
MP: Yep, we finished school. Well, as a senior [laughs], we didn’t really have to go to school for the last few weeks, which was nice. Our official last day was the 23rd of May.

FW: Tell me more about the Presidential Scholar award that you received this year.
MP: I guess there are 140 or 150 presidential scholars and we get to go to Washington, D.C. for a few days and they do some recognition events for us. To be a nominee, it’s based on your SAT scores. To be a semi- finalist, we sent in a bunch of essays and forms and stuff. Then, you’re a finalist and the finalists are the 150 people or so.

FW: That’s great. Do you know what you are going to major in?
MP: [Laughs] No, I have no idea! Everybody asks me that; maybe something with chemistry or something. I’m not exactly sure though.

FW: You have nothing to worry about. Most people don’t know and it’s better to try out different interests and then pick a major.

Let’s switch gears back to running. When you first started running, did you have any idea how successful you would become? The fact that you have won more state championships than any other person in South Carolina history is absolutely remarkable!
MP: No [laughs]! I just kind of started running and I had no idea at all what to expect. I didn’t even know that I would be the best on the team. So, my successes were very surprising at first.

FW: So what is your training like in terms of mileage and types of workouts that you do?
MP: During cross country, I got up to 45 miles a week and during the track season I was at about 40 miles a week. I either have a long run at the beginning of the week and then I do either an interval workout or a tempo run in the middle of the week. At the beginning of the season, I usually do a lot of hill workouts. Also, at the end of my long runs, I’ll do strides.

FW: So, how is it to be so fast on a high school team? Did you have to run with the guys? When I was in high school, there were times when I trained with the guys. There were a couple of girls on the cross country team who almost always ran with the guys.
MP: During cross country season, I was running by myself a lot and it got to be kind of hard. There are boys around here that I run with a few times both during the season and now after the season too. It does make it easier to get through the daily runs. It’s especially easy now that school is out because my schedule is more flexible.

FW: This is the longest summer you have probably ever had seeing as Stanford starts pretty late and you are used to going back to school very early in August. Do you have exciting plans for the summer with running or anything else?
MP: After Nike, my family is going up to Cincinnati and then to Indianapolis for junior nationals and then I’ll go straight to Washington, D.C. for the Presidential Scholars thing, so that pretty much takes up June. Then, my family might go to the beach. I don’t know if I’ll go anywhere else.

FW: Do you ever run road races?
MP: No, not really. I guess they’ve always interfered with my schedule. A couple of years ago, my team ran one. It has been fun, the ones that I have run.

FW: So, what event do you enjoy running the most?
MP: I really like the 4x800. That’s a really fun event. My favorite individual event is the two-mile on the track. I ran one 5000 on the track last year and I liked that. I’ll probably do that again at junior nationals.

FW: Do you have any idea what events you would like to run at Stanford, especially since there is more of a selection at the collegiate level?
MP: I haven’t talked about this with the coaches, but I think I’ll probably end up doing the 10,000. I’m more of a distance runner; the longer the distance, the better I am.

FW: Do you know what to expect for your workouts and mileage at Stanford?
MP: I’m not sure exactly. When I talked to some of the girls, it seemed like the coaches focused more on the workouts and you could kind of fill in the mileage however you wanted to do it. They have official practice three days a week, so the rest of the time, I’m not sure exactly how it works, but most of the freshman girls I talked to were doing about 50 miles a week.

FW: So are you excited to have other fast girls to run with?
MP: Yeah, that’s something I’m really excited about in college, to be able to run with other girls. I mean, I loved my high school team, but it was very hard to always run by myself, so I’m really looking forward to having others to run with in college.

FW: That’s great. I’m sure you will have a great time running in college. Do you have any last words for your final Fast-women interview as a high school runner?
MP: I’d like to say thank you to my coaches, my family, and my teammates. They’re all very supportive of me and it’s so nice to have them cheering me on.

Interview conducted on June 6, 2006, and posted on June 13, 2006.