www.fast-women.com

On the eve of the NCAA Cross Country Championships, one of the most notable things here in Ames, Iowa is the weather. It's tremendously cold... and even windier. If tomorrow is anything like today, the wind on in the first 400-800 meters of the race might blow a few of the runners away. Luckily these are tough women and they probably won't be bothered much by the weather (it's just us wimpy members of the media that'll suffer). But in ten years of running, this is probably the worst wind I've ever seen. And on a frightening note, while today's high temperature was 32 degrees, tomorrow's high is supposed to be around 23.

Press Conference Quotes -- Kara Grgas Wheeler:

On the cold weather in Ames:
"I just have to remember what it was like (growing up in Northern Minnesota) because I've been spoiled for the last four years. This is what I ran in all throughout high school so it won't be too bad."

Is holding the course record a confidence booster?
"I doubt a fast time is going to be run tomorrow because it's so windy and cold. So not really. I haven't really thought about it."

On her race at last week's Mountain Regional:
"I ran with my teammate Sara Gorton and we decided to run easy and run the last k(ilometer) really hard. At the two-mile mark we were 25 seconds behind Sabrina (Monro). She got a little farther ahead than we thought because we ran by our assistant coach, Adam Goucher, and he said 'she has 25 on you' -- and I thought, 25 meters? It's probably a little more than that... Then we saw assistant coach (Jason) Drake and he said '25 seconds' and I was like whoops! So I had to kick it in, but the point was to run one hard k and that's what I did. I got a nice, hard k over the last kilometer."

On what she learned about the Iowa State course at Pre-Nationals:
"I learned you need to be patient. If you're not patient, you're going to suffer, especially on the last two kilometers."

On how the Colorado team is feeling going in:
"We feel good. I mean we know that, in a way, regionals was a fluke. BYU sat out three of their top seven runners, so someone who was not normally in their top seven had to score for them, and we're fully aware of that. We were pretty shocked by the #1 ranking, but we also know we have a lot left. We didn't run districts very hard, we rested -- we ran the first 5k pretty conservatively and then we all ran the last k hard, so we know we a few more tricks up our sleeves and we're excited about it. We don't have any pressure on us. We know it's going to be a really tight race between BYU, Stanford and us, and whatever we do, it'll be better than last year [laughs]."

On being the favorite:
"You know, I was the favorite last year too. Everyone said I was the undefeated runner, and I won pre-nationals... and I got clobbered. So it doesn't mean anything. For me, I can say 'hey I've raced three different ways this season and I've won three different ways,' so that gives me confidence. I know my training's going well but I mean it all just depends on who feels good tomorrow. There are plenty of women that can take the race tomorrow."

Reporter (paraphrased): You said you got clobbered last year, that's got to be a little bit of any exaggeration.
Kara Grgas-Wheeler: "No, no, I did. [smiles]"
Reporter: What happened?
Grgas-Wheeler: "I don't know. Now, in hindsight, I think it was probably that I was suffering from anemia and I didn't know. I just felt bad. It took me almost four full kilometers to catch the lead pack and when I caught them, I went for it... and about 100 meters later they were flying by me and that was it. I was not my day."

On her plans for next year:
"I hope to continue running, that's my passion, that's what I hope to do, but who knows what'll happen between now and then."

On how being the favorite this year is different than last year:
"I definitely feel better about it this time around, because last year it was new and it was my first time winning big races since high school -- it was new -- but this year, I've been through it now for a year and I had this pressure in track, too, and I was able to run well there. I knew what I had to do and I knew what I was capable of doing, so it's definitely better this time around. I feel more confident and I'm able to handle the pressure better now."

On #1 runner Lindsey Thomsen who sat out last year on maternity leave and now has a 13-month-old baby:
"I was going to bring Lindsey (to the press conference) but she's with her baby and I thought, 'you know what, it's cold out here and just let her be with her baby.' She brings him on all the trips, his name is Hunter and her dad's a real hunter... so they named him Hunter. What's so unusual on our team is that of the top five runners, four of them are married, and the other one is engaged and will be married in January. We've always had two or three (married runners) on (our varsity team) that are married."

"It's not unusual for them to bring the babies on trips. Years ago before we started taking more of a contingency with us, I would be the one holding the baby. Now I bring my wife on all the trips and she holds the baby while I run around and cheer."

On BYU's supporters:
"In church this morning, we had 25 people that tagged along and more coming in today. In fact, the president of our university is coming. This may be a first for a president of a university to take time out of their busy schedule and say 'I want to be at that cross country meet.' He did put a little pressure on us... You know how presidents are, they go to football games and in football games, coming in second isn't good... or third... it's either win or lose. He said to everyone that our cross country team has everyone back -- which is anything but true, we lost our top two and four out of our seven -- and they're going to win another national championship... and he's going to be there to see that that happens. He's flying in today and I hope he understands what he said. [Laughs] Anyway, it's fun to have him here."

Later: "They really do look at it like a football game because they go to all the football and basketball games and second is not something you brag about... or third, which is not even an option. They're thinking win win win... There are the best 31 teams here and if you end up 10th, you've done a great job."

On married runners:
"We have a lot of girls that get married and it's helped every one of them. It settles them down, they get better every year, they're not out dating, their grades go up. So everything settles down and they actually do better in the end -- academically and athletically. And of all the girls that we've had that have children -- which is quite a few -- they get stronger."

On babies:
"Having a baby -- I'm convinced that somehow that makes you stronger... maybe just mentally but I'm sure it makes them stronger. Certainly mentally and probably physically. I've never had a child myself but I've watched four of them be delivered and anybody who can go through that's gotta be pretty tough-minded."

On Lindsey Thomsen:
"She was really good in high school but no one recruited her. She won the state championship in cross country in Utah and she broke Elizabeth Jackson's record -- who was a a four-time All-American in cross country for us -- so I realized right away that anybody who can do that is going to be really good."

In response to one reporter's comment that BYU (who dominates the relatively new women's steeplechase event on the track) would benefit from having steeplechase barriers on the cross country course:
" I think that's a great idea... and a couple of water pits. The barriers are fine but the water pit is a must." [Laughs]
(Then someone points out that it could be a problem at this race because it would freeze right up.)

Shane also notes that BYU lost their top two runner from last year's NCAA championship squad, in addition to NCAA 1,500m champion Susan Taylor. This year's team only has two seniors in lineup -- Sharolyn Shields and Melanie Steere (who wasn't initially in the lineup but she ran so well last week that they added her to the roster for this week).

A little camera testing the day before the race:

The Wisconsin women's team does strides in the finish area.	A member of the Wisconsin men's team.

Nothing contained herein may be reproduced online in any form without the express written permission of the New York Road Runners Club, Inc.