Part I: Shortly after the race
Fast-Women.com: You had surgery at the beginning of the season?
Katie Harrington: I had surgery at the end of July.

FW: So when did you start running again?
KH: I started back in early September, but it took me a long time to kind of build back up.

FW: Do you think, in retrospect, that that's helped you at all, in terms of peaking a little bit later? Or has it been a pretty tough road back?
KH: You know, I think there are two ways to look at it. One, I'm always thinking what could I have done if I had all that base training and had just been able to train really hard this summer? And then another way you could look at it is that it allowed me to really focus on the end, rather than earlier in the season.

FW: Has it been nice having three girls from Indiana here? (Harrington, Racheal Marchand and Alissa McKaig)
KH: Yeah, it's so great. You know, we had to represent (laughs). I was really excited to have them here.

FW: Was your training pretty similar to what you had done in the past, or did you have to do less because [you were coming back from surgery]?
KH: I did do a little less this season... I kind of tapered a little bit more. I think it really helps to have run this race before.

FW: You've already signed with a college, right?
KH: I've signed with Stanford... I'm so excited... They're great, they're all the nicest people, and Dena (Evans) is an outstanding coach, so I'm really excited.

FW: And NCAAs will be in Terre Haute for the next three years...
KH: Yeah, I've run that course many times before, so I'm really excited to be familiar with it.

(At this point, the boys' introductions began and the background noise became very loud, so we opted to end the interview and try again later.)

Part II: Several hours after the race
FW: Can you tell us a little bit about how the race developed for you?
KH: Well, after last year, I wanted to go out a lot faster. I knew that you have to establish a position towards the front if you want to be able to do anything in the race, at least for me, that's how it had to be. So went out and I was about top 15, top 10-ish, I think, and then I just stayed solid and worked up to about sixth place past the two-mile. I just kind of stayed there, and then I picked off the last two girls...

FW: Were you ever with the leaders?
KH: Yeah, I mean I could have reached out and touched the leaders, but they just had a little bit more left at the end.

FW: Did you think at any point, wow, I could win this?
KH: I had it in the back in my mind that maybe if things fell right, I'd like to win. At the end, I was hoping to maybe kick down the third place girl (Jennifer Barringer) but I just couldn't pull it out.

FW: Does this make finishing second at your state meet a little bit easier?
KH: Yeah, it does. It's really hard not to be upset with things that happen throughout the season if they don't go as well as you want. It's been so important to just keep focusing on the long-term. For me, that was the most important thing, just my long-term goal. For this to work out the way it did is just really exciting. I'm really happy with everything.

FW: You've had a big smile on your face ever since you finished the race. What do you think you're going to do for the rest of the day?
KH: Well, a little bit of beach volleyball, eat, hang out, hopefully get some sun...

FW: So are you focusing on indoor and outdoor track now?
KH: Yeah, I love indoor, it's my favorite. I haven't quite decided what meets I'll do... I think I'll be at the Nike Indoor meet again, and I think I might do the Millrose Games, but I'm not quite sure... [Millrose] is the same weekend as the qualifier for Worlds.

FW: Are you thinking about doing [the USA Junior Cross Country Championships]?
KH: I'm thinking about it, it just depends how my training goes this winter...

FW: Is the course (in Indianapolis) near where you live?
KH: Yeah, it's like 25 minutes away, so I figure if I don't end up going to Millrose, I might as well give it a shot, since it's right there.

FW: Back to your college choice (Stanford), how did you narrow it down, or was it an easy choice for you?
KH: Well, it came down to Wake Forest, Notre Dame and Stanford, and I just felt like Stanford was the best fit for me. It opened up a lot of doors in the future, I just think I'll really be able to excel in other areas, beyond running.

FW: Do you know what you want to pursue academically?
KH: I change my mind every day. Sometimes I think English or Journalism, sometimes Sports Medicine...

FW: Have you talked to Lauren Fleshman or anyone else from Stanford while you've been here?
KH: I haven't really seen her around too much, but I e-mail the girls on the team, they're all so nice.