Part I: The day before the race
MensRacing.com: First of all, congratulations on winning the Midwest Regional. How did that race feel to you?
Matt Withrow: It didn't really go as expected or anything. I had a whole different plan going into the race and I did not expect to [make a move] that early. But we went out a little slower than I thought we were going to and, I don't know, I felt good, so I went at the mile. I tried to stay as strong as I could down that long downhill and I was able to really pick up the pace. Then I hit the last mile and it was really, really hilly and I'm not used to running any of that in Illinois, so I figured I just had to stay alive or I was in big trouble. It was a nice race, I was pretty tired at the end, the last mile I kind of fell apart a little bit, but I had build up enough over the course that I was still able to hold on strong, so that was good.

MR: How have things gone since then?
MW: Pretty good. I mean, training's rough towards the end of your season, it's a long season, I've been racing since August. It's been pretty good, the weather's been pretty cooperative where I've been. [We haven't had] the snow and the freezing cold temperatures like [we normally have] this time of year, so it's been really nice.

MR: Has it been hard mentally, waiting two weeks to run this race?
MW: I'd say the time off helped me a little more. I'm used to running week in, week out, in track I'm running two strong meets a week, and I'm just totally used to that, so it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. It was more [a matter of] coming to terms with it and kind of grasp it in your head. It's not like any other meet. I've never been here before, I've never been to anything of this caliber, so it's really hard to like bring it down to like a human level, so I can formulate a plan...

MR: Have you been able to focus while sitting in class at school, or have you been thinking about this a lot?
MW: (Laughs) I've been thinking about it a lot, it's been hard, but I've done all right in school...

MR: What do you think of the whole experience thus far? Is it what you expected?
MW: I don't know, I don't think you can really come and expect anything at a place like this. Everything they do here for you, it's really hard to put it all together. I mean, if any of these things happened at a normal meet, you'd be astounded — these kind of athletes here, all the stuff that they give you, meeting these top U.S. athletes and runners of the past. It's a really cool meet, it's really cool to just be able to be around all of this. It's just an awesome weekend in itself, but there's still a race on Saturday morning.

MR: How have you been balancing the social aspect of it with doing your own thing and focusing on your race? Did you have a plan coming in?
MW: I just knew there was going to be a lot going on and I knew I just needed to keep [my] head in it. You want to enjoy it, because if you don't, you're missing out on Foot Locker, but there's a line you have to not cross sometimes. You just have to know when you gotta stop and know when you gotta get your sleep and stuff.

MR: There's always the night after the race.
MW: That's going to be a lot of fun, too. It's already fun, just talking to different people and learning about how they train. It's really cool, being a high school runner, there's so many ways to get to point A. This isn't the international scene, there's not one formulated running style, there's not one technique. You've got guys here doing anywhere from 40 to 100 miles a week, all different ways... It's really cool to see everyone's own little thing. Because, in a way, we're all here, all 32 of us made it out of the same type of situation. In a way, we're all the same caliber, and it's really cool to see how everybody's gotten themselves here.

MR: In terms of training, it sounds like you're on the higher end of that spectrum. Correct?
MW: I'd say yeah, I'm a pretty high-mileage guy. The intensity isn't as high as some of these guys (laughs) but yeah, I'm really on the strength side, really on the higher mileage... It's just something that, over the years, has helped me. I don't have the training groups like some of these guys have, I do a lot of my training on my own. So it's been hard to increase the intensity each year, it's easier to go out for a longer run and do that by yourself, rather than, 'All right, I've gotta drop my half times from what I was doing last year.' Sometimes that gets a little harder...

MR: Do you have a lot of people here watching you?
MW: Yeah, my coach is out here on the course today, I've got my whole family down here, my cousin is down and my girlfriend is down here, so it's a really good support group down here for me. They've all been really good all season, it's really awesome to have them come down here for the last [race].

MR: Are you sick of being asked about college yet?
MW: I give the same answer...

MR: What is that?
MW: I have no idea. I've been putting it off for a while, I should start getting into it more.

MR: The coaches like people like you, because you haven't been snatched up by anyone else yet...
MW: There have been a lot of opportunities opening up lately. In the back of my mind, I was always thinking that. I was like, well, if I prove myself on the national scene, I might [have] a few more doors open for me. It's been going [well] so far, I hope I have a strong race tomorrow and just finish it out.

MR: If you thought the Midwest Regional course was hilly, how does this one (Balboa Park) compare?
MW: The course, I don't know... Not in my wildest dreams did I imagine something like this; this is completely out of my element. It's really different, different terrain, going over the streets... I mean, you're going over so much street, they might as well have made it a road 5k, there's no difference... I'm not exactly used to it, but in the end, it's really not all that different, it's still a lot of [grass] and stuff. It's different terrain than I'm used to.

MR: Is this hillier than the Midwest course?
MW: I can't say it is, just because these hills are more spaced and a lot of them are more gradual, but Midwest, you go up that first hill in the beginning and that just takes a lot out of you. Then you hit that last mile and it's just insane. I'd say it's more bumpy, it's more of a bumpy trail run at the Midwest and here it's just long, gradual hills, except for the one in the back there.

Part II: Several hours after the race
MR: You quickly learn that one of the drawbacks of winning is that you don't get any free time in the afternoon, because you're a celebrity and you have to give interviews the rest of the day.
MW: That's cool, it's all right, I'm fine with it.

MR: Small price to pay, I guess... So, how does it feel to win the national title?
MW: Ask me in about three weeks when it sets in (smiles). You can't compare it to anything... Everything about this place, like this hotel is about the size of my town, it's insane. I don't know, it's kind of something I've known I was going to be able to do, I knew three months ago that I had put in the work over the summer and during the season. I knew I could win this race. What it came down to was just coming out here and doing it. I mean, I was thrown a couple curve balls during the race, and I [didn't react well], but I was able to stay on my feet, keep my head in the game. I didn't get too discouraged that people were getting away. I was kind of fighting my own emotions, [I had to] stay calm and stay relaxed... But it was an awesome experience.

The experience of this was everything. Winning was nice, but coming here, meeting all these guys, [finding out] how they train...guys like Galen (Rupp) and Shadrack (Kiptoo) who are just amazing runners. I mean, this is the first year that I've ever actually done anything, I've never been that great of a runner, and then there are guys like Galen who have been running awesome since their freshman year. And Shadrack, wow... It's really cool because, as I said, there are 32 different guys who got here 32 different ways... If you're really going to take something out of the weekend, I think that's the most important part.

MR: Do you think your friends at home will understand the magnitude of this accomplishment?
MW: I get support like none other at my high school. My mom must have made like 50 phone calls after the race and my dad was saying, 'We had four cell phones just firing off numbers,' they had like a notebook with a list of people they had to call... The support that I get back home, I really don't see anywhere else. I can't see any other high school that gets behind a runner like mine did. We used to be a pretty football-crazed school, but it was nice that I was able to get support from the teachers and students. It's an awesome, awesome place to be.

MR: Can you tell us a little more about the emotions you went through as the race played out, and how it played out?
MW: The first mile, they went out fast. The first 200-300 meters...they went out hard. The South guys took it out hard, I kind of knew they were going to do that, I mean, how many of those guys broke 4:10 in the mile already? They're all fast guys. At first I was thinking maybe I wanted to get out hard...but I haven't really done that all year, so my legs just wouldn't take me too hard in that first 400... I think I was in about 20th or 22nd. I looked behind me and I saw like three people... It was surprisingly tight, when you're running the path, you think oh, this is nice and wide, but you've got 32 guys in there, this isn't your everyday invitational. You've got the best 32 runners in the country, all the same ability... I was panicking a little bit at first, but I looked to my right and I saw Kiptoo there and I thought maybe I'm not too worried. When we were coming back around, heading to the mile, I was like, 'I know I'm not going to be able to get right up with that pack right away, but I just gotta keep my eyes on them. I can't lose them.' I was stumbling a lot because I wasn't looking down, I was looking right at the back of so many people's heads...

We got up that first hill, and it wasn't too bad. I could tell a lot of guys were struggling, and as good of a runner as you are, that just took everything out of your legs. We came up it and then we went back down the hill and around. We got to about a mile and a half and I was like, 'Okay, I gotta get up there.' I think it was a combination of me knowing that I had to get up there and Galen throwing on the brakes, so I got up in the pack... There was just kind of a realization going on that no one was going to be able to run away, no one was going to be able to break this open. It was going to come down to something in the last mile.

We got to a little past the two mile, and all year, I've been making pretty hard surges in the middle of the race, trying to break it open, but I wasn't feeling very strong and I was kind of doubting whether I should or not... But I knew that if I would have lost and not made the move I did at two miles, I couldn't have been able to handle that, because I would have always wondered. I went, and then we hit that section of rolling hills and I was in trouble, I mean, before we got to that last hill, I was in big trouble. They came up on me and passed me, we went up the hill and then Josh McDougal passed me. I was like, 'Oh man, I'm getting fourth today. There is no way I'm going to survive this.' And then I hear Ben True breathing down my back. I'm like, 'This is just going to turn bad.' I worked my way back to get pretty even with McDougal and we went down the hill... I haven't really had a race all year where I had to turn it over as hard as I could. I looked up and I thought, they're not pulling away yet. I know I can get these guys. I know I can. I went past McDougal, and around that last curve I got Rupp, and I looked back and Shadrack kind of looked at me, and I looked back at him, and I could tell he just didn't have it. I'm like, 'All right, I'll finish this last 200 now.' And I was able to turn it over well. I looked back [once more] and I saw Shadrack dying. I think I put on the brakes a little too early, because Galen Rupp was coming up [quickly]. If that race had been 25 meters longer, I would have gotten second (laughs). But I went through the finish and it was just a surreal experience... Every ounce of any celebration I've ever had [over] any victory, this completely trounced it. It was unbelievable.

MR: Do you think you're going to be able to sleep tonight?
MW: I just want to go out there and sit for a long time. I've never been in the (Pacific) Ocean before. This is just amazing. This hotel, this whole area. I mean, I was running at 6:30 this morning, doing a shakeout run in a T-shirt and shorts. I looked at my watch and it's like, oh my gosh, it's December 13th, we're 12 days away from Christmas. This is not what I'm used to. I think it's about 20-25 degrees back home.

MR: We were talking yesterday about this maybe opening some college recruiting doors. I think maybe a few college coaches might be interested now...
MW: I guess (laughs).

MR: You might get a few more calls.
MW: There are definitely some decisions I'm going to have to start making. I've been putting it off, and there are no more excuses now. All along I've been saying, 'Oh, I'll wait until states is over,' or Foot Locker Regionals, or Nationals. I'm kind of pinned against the wall now, now I've got to start making some decisions. It's all right, I'm kind of excited, too, because it's the first step towards the rest of my running career and the rest of my life. It's exciting, but a little nerve-wracking at the same time. I'm really worried about making the right decision, but I'm pretty confident that everything will hopefully turn out all right.

MR: And there's probably more than one right decision, too.
MW: Yeah, that's the other thing I'm noticing...the colleges I've got it down to, I don't really see a wrong one. I've got about four or five roads I can take and hopefully none of them will be a bad decision, I just need to figure out which one will be the best fit for me.

MR: Have you considered doing the [USA Junior Cross Country Championships]?
MW: I was, but I decided that... I was kind of debating whether I wanted to get some indoor experience. I've never run indoor before, I think I had one race my sophomore year. [Indoor track] isn't big in Illinois. It's starting to get big but we don't have an indoor track, so you can't really get any quality work in... We have a conference meet that I've never run, because it's not scored, so I don't really feel like I'm letting my team down by not running. I hate indoors. I hate getting on an indoor track, I hate how stuffy it is... I don't know... We actually have [travel] restrictions in Illinois, so we can't really get out... I didn't think I'd be able to get in the shape I'd need to [have] a good shot at going to Worlds... It's not like Foot Locker, I don't think the experience is the same, I don't think I could be like, 'Oh, I just want to run and get the experience.' If I were going to go, I would want to go to qualify... The college freshmen that are running this year...it's going to be rough. Training in January and February is not easy, it's tough, there's a lot of snow, a lot of really cold days... The Windy City, there's some earthshattering wind there... I think [I'd like to] get used to running [indoor] track a little more.

I'm really looking forward to [having] a solid track season. I got hurt last year and I didn't do what I wanted to. It was just one of those seasons where you couldn't put three weeks of running together, it was just pretty bad. The week before my conference meet, I actually tore my calf. So I suffered through the section and state meet... I really want to put a solid track season together. I've always been a better track runner than cross country runner... I think things have changed a little bit, but I'm excited, I want to get on a track and run some good times. I've never really posted anything. I mean, I felt kind of stupid this morning when they were doing the announcements and I was the only guy in the race who's only run 9:20 for two miles. That was kind of cool, actually (laughs). I'm really excited about track season, but I'm resting now. I'm not thinking about that until probably the first of the year.

MR: So you're going to take some time completely off?
MW: Oh yeah.

MR: Do you feel like you need that physically or mentally?
MW: I think it's a little of both. It's a long season for [the Midwest guys]. Our first race was in August. I've just been going week in, week out for four months. But basically, the whole mentality of the Midwest team is hard running, hard miles. I think a lot of us had the base that we needed to get [through it]. But I also think part of that process is that you need a break. I'm excited for just taking the time off, spending the holidays with my family, and then hitting it pretty hard again probably the first of the year. If I do anything besides light jogging before the first of the year, I'd be surprised...

MR: We read that you avoided reading about your competition this year and that you didn't want to get intimidated by the people you were running against...
MW: I had a problem with that my junior year. I lost to [Stephen Pifer] because I basically built him up as Jim Ryun. I had him in my head as just this phenomenal runner, and I couldn't shake that thought... He had me mentally beat when I stepped on the line at the state meet. I didn't want to do that anymore... I could have been going nuts about the 31 guys I was running against [here], but I didn't notice anything... I hadn't read any web pages, magazines, newspapers, I never read anything all year. I was completely oblivious to everything that was happening, which kind of helped, too. Though, I did feel kind of bad when [I met some of the Foot Locker competitors] and I didn't know who they were. I was like, 'I don't want you guys to be offended, I just don't like to read any of this.'

In the end, I notice that it doesn't really matter. The rankings, they're people's opinions, when it comes down to it. There are people out there who get into it and are really good at it, but when it comes down to it, you're just guessing. Especially in a sport like this, this isn't basketball. [In cross country], heart means so much in the race. Somebody can have a good day, but it's really just people's opinions, there's not much reason to pay attention to it.

MR: But at the same time, even though you're not paying attention to your competition, it sounds like you're quite a student of the sport and you know a lot of the history...
MW: Yeah... I work in a running shoe store, so I'm pretty into it. I know a lot about it, I guess. I like to learn from the best runners... I think a lot of high school runners take for granted that guys who set the stage for us, guys we met last night — Tim Danielson, Marty Liquori, Jim Ryun — the guys who at 19 years old were #1 in the world. I think the American running scene has to get back to that. I think ideals they had back then and the way they ran back then were totally different. Nobody really wants to call the American population lazy right now, but when it comes down to it, we are. You can't compare our work ethic to the Kenyans or anything like that. They run to live, we run for fun, basically. We enjoy it. And there are people who work very hard, but when it comes down to it, we have a lot of luxuries they don't.

I think we just need to get back to the type of training they were doing...and the type of mentality they had when they put three guys under 4:00 (for the mile in high school), were medaling at the Olympics and putting guys in there. I mean, we have a very promising future, guys like Dathan Ritzenhein... Bob Kennedy, he had the guts to take the lead at the Olympics... I think we're slowly starting to turn back to the way we used to run... I'm really excited to see what's going to happen, especially in my lifetime.

MR: Your family, do they ever worry about you when you're running 100-mile weeks? Do they say, 'He's not like the other kids on the block,' or do they understand what you're doing and support you?
MW: I think they came to terms with that when I was a sophomore. They're very supportive. They're all here today. They all flew hundreds of miles to be here. My brother came in from college and everything... I think that's one of the great things that I have. I have so many support groups. I have an amazing team of guys who just...they were like pawning stuff so they could afford plane tickets down here. My coaches were down here. I have some of the best coaches — not necessarily the most knowledgeable but people who were behind [me], who were very understanding. I have very open-minded coaches who would try new training techniques, we sit down and work out the workouts together... I could probably go on for half an hour about all the [advantages] I have. I've been very lucky that everything has been positive around me, I have so many advantages...