Pre-Race Interview with Nef Araia
By Alison Wade

Nef Araia during Friday's practice introductions. (Photo by Alison Wade/NYRR)

MensRacing.com: You seem really comfortable here. Is it easier coming back for a second year?
Nef Araia: It's a lot easier. My coach and I were even talking about how much more relaxed you feel, there's not as much pressure to feel like you have to show people up or something. I know Chris (Solinsky), Bobby (Curtis) and Matt (DeBole) -- it can be really intense, like 'I've got to beat them, I've got to beat them tomorrow.' But we're all just hanging around, being really buddy-buddy just because all the work we've put in isn't going to be sacrificed just because we're friendly. You realize that being intense before the race really isn't going to help you get anywhere.

What do you think of this course, compared to the Orlando course?
I like this course a lot more. When we were walking it, everyone was like, 'Oh, this isn't so bad.' But, doing strides, [I realized] it's pretty tough. So I'm excited for that. I don't have much of a kick and I think this course is really going to take the kick out of people, which will help me.

You were second at the Midwest Regional. Is there something left in the tank?
My dad always jokes around -- when I run 5ks in cross country, I'll go back out to the [course] to cheer on my teammates and get them in to the line. He's like, 'You'll run the 10k, you're not even tired after 5k.' I get to the finish line and I always wish there was a little bit extra... But after [the Midwest Regional], in the cold and not really preparing myself -- I thought I prepared myself mentally, but getting in there, being frozen in half and running next to Chris (Solinsky), I just lost focus. I just felt comfortable that day, like [I settled] and that's never been a part of my attitude. I think it was due to my brain being frozen. I just couldn't process the situation around me. So I think I can improve on my position tomorrow, hopefully. That's the plan.

Was the weather colder at the Regional than any race you'd run all season?
Oh yeah. It was getting progressively colder in all my races, so I was prepared for it. Prior to the Foot Locker Midwest Regional, I ran in the Mid-East Meet of Champions for seniors and there were standing puddles and we had to run through two creeks, and it was drizzling during the race. I felt like after that, I could handle this. I was really excited about the mud and the freezing cold temperatures, but it didn't occur to me that the course would freeze. So then Saturday we woke up and coach was like, 'They changed the course because it's really bad.' So running in zero degrees and then coming here, I think I'm ready.

What has your training been like this season?
My coaches don't want to put me up on a level where I'm not going to have much room to improve after high school. So, in the summer -- maybe the end of July through September -- I ran about 50-60 miles. And then, during the season, I'd run about 45, and I only did morning [pool running] Tuesdays and Thursdays, like two days a week.

A lot of the guys here do a lot more mileage than I do. I think it helps make me feel stronger but, for me, running less mileage than everyone else here makes me feel more confident that I have more room to grow. So it's great.

How did you arrive at the decision to attend Stanford next year?
I think it started at the end of my sophomore year, I was just in awe of Stanford. I never really thought I was the kind of person who could get in or even help that kind of team, because they're just so great. During track season my junior year, I had mono, and that's when the coaches were contacting the colleges to let them know we're interested. I was too busy trying to salvage my track season to get into that. So the summertime came, and a lot of the schools I was looking at didn't know I was interested. In mid July, Coach (Michael) Reilly called, and at first I thought he said [he was from] 'Samford' but later he said 'Stanford' and I was like, 'Okay, this is great!' Because I'd wanted to go there for so long and to know that it would be actualized was this dream come true. So I'm really excited that I was admitted and I'll be there next year.

Have you followed the Stanford team much this year? Are you the kind of person who pays attention to that stuff?
Yeah, I think the most exciting thing I've seen this year in running, besides [the NCAA Cross Country Championships] was the Notre Dame Invite. It's just so beautiful to watch four or five (Stanford) jerseys just run around the course, looking so smooth, like it's a tempo run. It's really exciting to know that maybe that can be me, in the long run.

So you went to watch NCAAs as well?
It was so... just wow. I don't even know how to describe it.

(Interview conducted December 13, 2002, posted January 8, 2003)