2004 FOOT LOCKER CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS
Post-race interview with Jenny Barringer

by Ricky Quintana

Jenny Barringer, a senior at Oviedo High School in Oviedo, Florida, finished 10th at the 2004 Foot Locker Cross Country Championships in 18:16. She qualified for nationals winning the Foot Locker South Regional.

Jenny Barringer (Photo: Alison Wade/NYRR)

Fast-Women.com: How did it go?
Jenny Barringer: My whole four years of running, I've never had bad race. You look at all my races, conditions and the times, and I always rise to the occasion and do well. I came out here and I can say that I tried hard. I've never had a race where I got into the middle of it and felt like 'Alright, just finish.' That's kind of how I felt. I placed 10th. I can't complain. Tenth in the nation. I definitely had higher expectations. I think I've trained to be a top runner in the nation, I know I have it in me, just today wasn't the day.

FW: Did you know from the beginning that you didn't have it?
JB: I felt good a the beginning. I went out quick. It was so weird. It wasn't like a lost confidence. I felt confident. It wasn't that I got scared either. I went with the girls for a while. All of the sudden, all my muscles started aching and hurting. I don't know. I just didn't feel good the entire race. Cross country is like that. Some days there are just no explanations, you just don't feel so good. I went out and raced as hard as I could today. When you watch me race, I kind of have this fire. I think I was missing that today. I don't necessarily know why. Yeah, I definitely miss the fire. I'm a little upset with my finish, but I'm happy that I'm here. Once you get here, you don't have really anything to lose. One out of 40 has a chance to win, I just wasn't that one today.

FW: It seems a lot hotter than last year. Did you notice the heat?
JB: I didn't think about the heat once during the race. I'm so used to the heat. It's drier so it doesn't seem as hot as it does in Florida when it's this temperature. I've been doing hill training. I didn't necessarily feel worse on the hills. When I went up the second time, I was really hurting. There was no particular part that was harder than the other. I felt like my heart was racing so much faster than my legs wanted to go. That's exactly how I felt the whole way.

(Interview conducted on December 11, 2004, and posted on December 15, 2004.)