Matt Withrow: ...The race was cool, but that was just icing on the weekend. Meeting with all these great runners. Rooming with one of the best, if not soon to be the best runners in America, Shadrack Kiptoo, just an amazing, amazing guy, just one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet. Meeting everyone else. It's kind of cool, there's 32 different people here who found 32 ways to get to point A. You just kind of take what they've taught you and apply it to the rest of your running career. This is kind of a starting block...for most us. You've got 32 of us here, you're going to see America's future. You've got future Olympians, World Champions, it's going to be amazing. The talent and the drive of these 64 people here is amazing.

RQ: It's pretty rare that someone comes in on their first shot and wins this thing. How did you prepare yourself mentally for this?
MW: I just blocked out everything that everyone was saying. I've [heard] all sorts of skepticism all year. People saying, 'No one's ever come into this and won it their first year,' 'No one can handle this weekend, the whole experience, and be able to keep it in terms and still perform well.' I've heard everything, every reason why I shouldn't perform this year. I guess it was just kind of fuel for the fire. I did it because so many people told me I couldn't.

RQ: You talked about your move at the two-mile in your post-race interview. Can you go over that for us?
MW: I move in the middle of every race. I knew if I wouldn't have gone, I would have regretted it forever. I don't know how much it really helped, but I move every [race]. If I would have lost and not made that move, I wouldn't have been able to live with myself.

RQ: You mentioned that you didn't have that much strength at the end. Can you go over what was going through your mind, up the last uphill and downhill?
MW: I went up the hill and the legs came out. I came down the hill and I'm looking at the guys in front of me and I'm looking around me at a bunch of red jerseys. I'm thinking of all the Midwest guys who have come out here and fought their way through it. I mean great guys like Dathan Ritzenhein, Jorge Torres, Chris Solinsky, Tim Moore. And I'm like, 'I'm not going to end the streak.' I looked up and said 'I'm not going to be the one to end this streak.' So I just looked at everybody in front of me and said, 'They ain't going yet. I know I can do this if I move.' I had a decent kick left and I was able to use it at the right time. It was really awesome.

RQ: Is that pretty typical of you to be able to run a fast finish?
MW: Not this year. Mainly, its been that middle surge and put as much ground as I could and just survive. But now...with this race, I got back to what I used to do. I got back to closing. I used to close track races in like 59 for two miles and I was able to have a lot of foot speed, but I haven't used it in a while. I was able to find that last gear today. I was glad it was still there.

RQ: I read somewhere that you don't have a lot of hills. Is that the case?
MW: Yeah, everything in Illinois is flat... No questions asked, not even remotely close to anything. I actually have a trail system by me which is kind of nice, we do have some hills. I was able to work [on hills] a little bit, but I didn't want that to be like 'Oh, I know the Foot Locker courses are hilly,' when I've got all year to run on flat courses, so you can kind of [take] it as you can. You just try to get a little in, but not too much. I don't know. It worked out well.

RQ: This is a big breakout for you. What are some of your goals do you have for this track season?
MW: I don't have any goals yet. I've been thinking about this race for so long that I haven't been thinking too much about track. Cross country's definitely my forte. It's what I love. Going on the track is definitely a lot harder for me, it's more of a struggle. Hopefully, I can just put myself in a race like this, in a position like this, with this echelon of runners and maybe go out to AOCs next year and run a strong race and be able to kind of put myself on the scene on the track. I know there are some amazing track runners out here, but I'm just hoping I can put myself in the mix.

RQ: Where are you going to go to school?
MW: I have no idea (laughs).