Interview with Briana Shook
By Bob Ramsak

Above: Leading the steeplechase at the 2002 NCAA Outdoor T&F Championships. Below: Leading the 2002 NCAA Cross Country Championships. (Both Photos: Alison Wade/New York Road Runners)

Briana Shook will never be characterized as a conventional runner. With an aggressive front-running style that catapults her into huge early-race leads, the University of Toledo junior turned a lot of heads last June at the NCAA Track & Field Championships. In her qualifying heat in the steeplechase, she led by ninety meters at one point en route to a 9:58.97, a personal best by nearly six seconds. In the final, she forged a fifty-meter lead, before finishing fifth in 10:03.93. Last November, Shook was the first Mid American Conference runner to win a women's NCAA Cross Country regional title, leading virtually from the start. At the NCAA Nationals two weeks later, she again took a strong early lead, but eventually finished 24th.

A native of Tiffin, Ohio, Shook won four state titles in the 1,600 and 3,200 meter runs while at Seneca East High School, before embarking on a collegiate career in which she's claimed All-American honors twice and won seven individual MAC track and cross country titles.

Maligned by some for her front-running tactics, and lauded by others, Shook intends on sticking to her guns. Fast-Women.com caught up with Shook a few days after she lowered her 1,500 PR to 4:28. 66 at the Jesse Owens Classic in Columbus.

Fast-Women.com: You decided to red shirt outdoors this year. Why?

Briana Shook: I'm going to be here for five years. I have a double major and I added that towards the end of my sophomore year. Since I'm going to be here five years I would only have indoor left. So this way I'll have both track seasons left.

FW: Are you going to miss cross country?
BS: Yeah, I'll definitely miss it. I plan on training through the season, training with the team.

FW: So does that change the focus for your season? Will you be training more specifically for US Nationals?
BS: Yeah, I guess that's what we're doing. I'll also be doing the [Freihofer's Run For Women, the USA 5k Championships] in New York at the end of the month.

FW: You ran your first steeple of the year at Penn a few weeks, and ran a 9:56.63. Did you think going into the race that you were in PR shape?
BS: Well, I had talked with my coach ahead of time. He likes to know what I think I can run. He can usually guess, based on the week before, how well we're going to run. And I told him I just wanted to run a 10:05. That's what I was hoping for. But I thought it would be a struggle to hit that. So I was pretty surprised when I finished and saw my time.

FW: Many people were introduced to you as a racer at last year's NCAA Track Championships in Baton Rouge and were surprised by your strong front-running style. Has that always been the way you race?
BS: I've always run like that. In junior high is probably when I started that. I wasn't very good (laughs). My mom used to travel to all these places and watch me race and she'd say, 'I'm so tired of seeing you in the back socializing during a race. I know what it takes to win. The front girl just always goes out really hard and stays there. Just try it for me one time.' So I tried it and that's how I've raced since. I like to get out in front, I seem to stay there more if I go out there first as opposed to trying to catch up. That's just how I work, I guess.

FW: Your were the fourth fastest steepler among Americans last season, among the top 25 in the world, and dipped under 10 minutes for the first time. That must have been a real confidence booster for you.
BS: Definitely. It was nice, considering the first year I did it I missed nationals by five seconds or something. Being able to go in [to NCAAs] the next year with a 10:04 was definitely nice... I had struggled the first year of doing steeple with a heel injury, because of the steeple. I sat out and watched some races part of the season and saw a girl go under 10:00 at Penn for the first time and I just thought it was amazing. So it's nice to be known in it now.

FW: Do you remember your first steeplechase race?
BS: It was a really low-key meet here in Toledo. My coach wasn't even interested in letting me do it... I wanted to do something different besides just run, it was something I [wanted to] try. He wasn't going to let me do it, but he let me do it at that meet. He was like, 'Try to get around 11 minutes.' I think I ran a 10:45. So I think he was a little more interested in letting me try it after that.

FW: Besides the obvious—the hurdles and water pit—are there any other differences between racing the steeplechase and, say, a 5,000?
BS: I really don't think there's any difference for me. Most of the girls have really good hurdle form, and mine's awful. I just step over them. I think that's because I have longer legs... For me it's like just running a 3,000, besides the water jump.

FW: You transferred to Toledo from Miami University (Ohio) after your freshman year. Why the switch?
BS: It just wasn't for me. I just didn't like it there. When I was in high school, the coach here, Kevin Hadsell, had just gotten here and I had already verbally committed to Miami before he had called me. He had this huge two-hour conversation with me, even though he already knew I had already verbally committed. Once I told him, he was still extremely nice and we kept talking. Once I got off the phone with him, I thought, 'Man, I might have made the wrong decision.' I hadn't really shopped around in a way. Once I realized I wasn't happy at Miami, this was like my first and second choice actually. So I picked [Toledo].

FW: Kevin Hadsell has really turned the program around at Toledo. What's the program like? What's it like working with him?
BS: I think, by far, that he's the best coach I ever had. He's an awesome coach but I would say he relates to everyone as a friend. He's younger, so it's easier to relate to him, I think. Program-wise, it's hard, but I know and can feel myself getting stronger every week from what we do. He alters training based on the girl or guy, and each week it's different for each person. He looks [at each runner] individually...

FW: You said the program's hard. In what way?
BS: We have hard workouts, just like any team. We do some stuff that a lot of people would think is crazy. We do twenty quarters, forty 200s, with 30 seconds rest. We do a lot of strength stuff. He knows what we can handle. I love to say that I have done those workouts and I know that they've made me better.

FW: Do you have a favorite workout?
BS: I would say the twenty quarters. And I've grown to like our hill workouts.

FW: What sort of weekly mileage do you do?
BS: It varies, but now it averages to about 70 to 75 miles.

FW: Can you reflect a little on your race at cross country nationals last November?
BS: I don't know. Obviously I had higher expectations. But I'm not at all disappointed with getting 24th place and getting All-American in cross country, finally. I think that a lot of people thought I'd be disappointed. I wasn't disappointed. I don't like when people criticize how I race when they're not racing. It's easy to do, to say that this is what you would have done. But what I needed to do was start out in the front. I don't do well when I start in the back. If that's how I have to start out to be All-American, than that's how I'll start out. I was happy with that. I know I can get better. I'm not going to complain because the year before that no one knew who I was.

FW: Has your coach ever tried to talk you out of your front-running strategy?
BS: No, because that is like a way Toledo thing. A lot of girls here do that. Some people think it's suicide, but if that's what's going to pull me to a fast time, and a good place, then I'll do it. It might not feel good though (laughs).

FW: You're primarily viewed as a steeplechaser. How do you define yourself as a runner? Are you a steepler? Do you see yourself as a distance runner or more specifically as a steepler?
BS: By far steeple is my favorite thing. I used to be a cross country girl, but now I way look forward to track. I think that I'm getting a little more speed than I used to have, so that's nice, because I never had any kind of kick or leg speed. Now that I look forward to track so much more, I can look to running things like the 1,500 and dropping my times considerably. I think in my head I am a distance runner but I think that right now steeple is by far my best event.

FW: You improved from around 4:40 to 4:28 this season in 1,500. What do you attribute that improvement to?
BS: My training, really. My mileage is 70-75 miles a week and last year it wasn't that. I'm stronger, that has a lot to do with it. Mentally and physically.

FW: What have been the biggest changes for you mentally?
BS: I just think that I'm a lot more confident. Like when I race, I don't ever read any articles about any other girls. Some people think that's stupid, but for me, if I go into a race thinking I'm the best, eventually maybe I will be. So I don't read [about the runners] who I'm racing against. Until I line up, I don't even know who's going to be in a race or what they're best times are. I'm not real intelligent when it comes to who I'm running against. I think that for me, it doesn't psych me out. I'm thinking, 'Oh man, I raced against her last year, she beat me last year.' I would say that's what keeps me confident. Now, I'm trying to be a little more open minded, and look at results, and try to see who my competition is, because now I think that's how I'm going to get better. Right now, that's just how I work.

FW: What's your race schedule coming up?
BS: I'll run a race in Michigan in a few weeks, then the 5k in New York, and then the Minnesota Distance Classic. That's going to be a steeple. Then the US Nationals.

FW: Have you had any injury problems through your collegiate career?
BS: My first year at Toledo I redshirted indoors, mainly because I wasn't in good shape, but because of a knee problem. I have a chronic knee problem—a torn meniscus. It's fine, I can run on it, but sometimes in winter it poses some real problems. I just started, this past indoor season, wearing a knee brace. It helps. It makes it [feel] like there's no problem. I also had a heel problem that made me miss a few meets, but that wasn't real bad.

FW: Have you noticed any added stress on your body since starting the steeplechase?
BS: No, I wouldn't say so. For me it's just like running. I just step over the hurdles. It's a lot different than, say, the stress a hurdler puts on their body, because I don't really hurdle.

FW: Do you put in a lot of work on your hurdling technique?
BS: I've worked on it, but there's no perfecting it. I guess. If it's not broke, then don't fix it. Right now, it's not really posing any problems. I would like for it to look better because I know that sometimes it's not real pretty (laughs). But as long as I finish well, then it doesn't really matter.

FW: What are your majors?
BS: Photography and communications.

FW: What direction in communications?
BS: Journalism. Written journalism.

FW: Do you do any writing now?
BS: I love to write. I don't have a lot of free time. I love all kinds of artsy stuff. I love to paint, to draw. I'd like to write a book one day, that's another goal.

FW: Do you have any other hobbies or things you enjoy in your spare time?
BS: As I said, I like to write, I take pictures. I do all kinds of art stuff like painting. I paint my furniture. It's extremely gaudy. And I go home when I can, to see my family.

FW: Do you have any time goals in mind for this season?
BS: I always set my goals extremely high. I know that the American Record is 9:41, and as long as I can keep that in sight, you know, that's at least a thought.

FW: What do you consider your biggest strength?
BS: I don't even know. I get out fast. I think that's really intimidating sometimes. I don't do it because it's intimidating, I do it because that's what feels good to me. I think some girls don't even attempt to get out that fast and then fall back because they think the pace is way too fast. The fact that the hurdles are not extremely hard for me probably helps too.

FW: And weaknesses?
BS: [My] hurdle form (Laughs). At Penn, because I don't have really good form, I slammed the knee of my trail leg on the barrier. I had this big bone bruise. It was hard to walk the next day. So I know I need to perfect it in some ways.

FW: 80 seconds a lap is 10 flat for the steeple. What do you generally shoot for before a race? 75s or 78s?
BS: I don't do any of that. I just run. I always have a faster first lap. I base it more on when they call out the mile [split].

FW: Do you do most of your training in groups or do you do any training on your own?
BS: We have training groups, especially on the hard days. I usually train with Everlyne Lagat (Bernard Lagat's younger sister) on the hard days. On easier days, like long over-distance runs, it's mainly anyone who wants to run, runs. Sundays I usually run on my own.

FW: Beyond this season, what are some of your long-term goals in the sport?
BS: I definitely plan to keep running. But I'm not real sure exactly what I'm going to do. I'd like to coach some day. But I want to take some time and run for myself. I don't really know how far I'm going to go.

(Interview conducted May 8, 2003, posted May 19, 2003)