Post-Race
Interview with Julie Allen, December 8, 2001
By Alison Wade
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Julie
Allen runs behind Tracey Brauksieck midway through the 2001 Foot
Locker Cross Country Championships.
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On
the course tour the day before the race.
(Both photos Alison Wade/New York Road Runners)
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Julie
Allen Bio
It
sounded like you were just happy to have made it here, and you ended up
finishing so well (11th), what's your reaction?
Well, I'm definitely grateful to be here and have this opportunity but
I just feel like on any given day - I was eleventh, which is pretty good
- but if we ran tomorrow, that might change. It was great to meet all
these girls and I really feel like I belong here. It's the last cross
country race of high school, but it's also just the beginning. I feel
like I'm going to see these girls in the future, so that's exciting.
Has
this experience - being here and how well you ran at the end of the season
- changed your thinking about what you can accomplish in the future?
I think it's just made me see that there are other people just like me
and I have so much in common with them... When you really pursue something
and when you're at a certain level you have the same experiences and the
same feelings in having those goals... It's just neat to see what's possible
and what you can do.
Can
you tell us where you were at different points during today's race and
how you thought it went overall?
I got out pretty fast, it was comfortable, I was probabably in sixth or
seventh, but there was a big group... Amber Trotter got out, but I felt
that if I had stayed on the shoulders of some of the runners in the front
of the pack around 2.5 miles and not drifted back a little it would have
been a little bit easier. At the end I got passed by a couple of runners.
Eleventh
is still great though.
Yeah, I'm definitely grateful. I feel like everyone did well.
How
was your time compared to other races you've run?
It actually wasn't one of my faster times. It seemed like it was a course
built for me, I love running on golf courses. Being a soccer player it
just makes me excited every time I see this green, perfectly cut grass...
I've gotten used to running Mt. SAC with all of the hills, but I feel
like flat courses are better for me. It seems weird that I didn't run
a better time but the conditions are different, the humidity...
Did
the heat really bother you?
Well you know I try not to let it bother me, but I definitely noticed
it.
You
mentioned soccer, do you still play?
No, I don't. I stopped a little more than a year ago. That was a difficult
decision because soccer was my first love. Our soccer team had gone to
Far West Regionals and won, so I was at a pretty high level in that too.
I just kind of felt this desire to run and see where I could take it.
When
you were playing soccer did you do both sports in the same season?
Actually my sophomore year before the state meet there was a pretty big
soccer tournament in San Diego. I played two games on Friday, drove up
to Fresno for the race, ran, and went back to play soccer. I actually
did pretty well, that was when I was runner-up to Anita (Siraki) by 5
or 7 seconds, it was a neat race. So you never know, you can do both,
but it was just too much. I'd get home from cross country, eat my dinner
in the car on the way up to Long Beach, and not get home until late. And
I like that there is something unique about running because it's all you.
It's all courage and you can't hide behind a teammate at all.
Can
you tell us a little bit about how your train?
During the summer and winter I usually get up to 55 (miles per week),
usually between 50 and 60. I do long runs - I love running on the beach
and in the hills, even though our hills probably aren't that big in comparison.
I was talking to Lauren (Jespersen) from Oregon and where he trains sounds
great... For cross country I do hill workouts in the beginning of the
season. And then starting in the end of October until November my mileage
decreases to 30-40 miles per week and we do some speed workouts on the
track.
How
long are the hills that you do?
Usually we go up for a minute or two.
And
what's an example of a track workout you might do?
Well two weeks ago I was doing 5x1200 at 75 second pace with about a minute
rest.
Do
you train by yourself?
I usually train with the guys' team. But as far as going out on long runs,
I just kind of enjoy getting away on my own.
Do
you have college plans yet?
At this point I'm undecided. I have some schools in mind but at this point
I'm open to new ideas.
Which
schools do you have in mind?
I've applied to Stanford and Principia - a small (NCAA Division III) private
college. I feel like even though I wouldn't have as many people to run
with (at Principia) the motivation to run comes from within... I'm going
to make some visits to Dartmouth and Yale, and I did apply to UCLA...
We'll see what happens, I obviously haven't committed to anything yet.
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