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Interval Session #77 - Barak Watson

By Dave Devine - October 30, 2008

The first name of Idaho's latest distance star is a Hebrew word meaning "flash of lighning."  For fans who've watched his emergence on the Northwest scene as a home-schooled senior in his first year competing for a high school, that's a pretty apt description of Barak Watson's arrival.  Although he's been running with varying levels of seriousness since he was ten, including a 110th place finish at last fall's Foot Locker West, this is the first year he's run under the banner of an Idaho high school.  Columbia High is no doubt pleased to have him.  Running track for the Widcats last spring, he was runner-up behind teammate Lars Lunstrum in the Idaho 4A mile, then won the 2 mile in 9:45.69 (with Lunstrum 2nd).  But it's over hill and dale of the cross country course that Watson has really shone this fall.  After early-season wins over some of the top Idaho boys at the Camelsback and Caldwell Invites, it was clear he was ready to be a force in the region. 

At the Bob Firman Invitational he faced his stiffest test yet, leading at the mile before emerging fourth overall (16:10.21) behind Timpview UT sr Jonathan Nelson's 15:51.88 win.  Further solidifying Watson's in-state status, he finished as the top Idahoan in the field at Firman, and has since cruised along untouched.  This week he'll shoot for his first Idaho 4A state XC title, after taking the district title last week.

DyeStat senior editor Dave Devine crosses state lines for some last minute Intervals before the big post-season push.
1) Congrats on a great season so far, Barak.  You've emerged as one of the top guys in Idaho, in what I understand is your first full year of competing for a high school team.  As you head into the state meet this week, how are things going?  Are you feeling healthy and ready to roll into the post-season?

Training has been going very well, and I am feeling very ready to run the state meet, and start competing in the post-season

2) Your highest profile race so far, at least in terms of competing against out-of-state runners, was probably the Bob Firman Invitational, where you were fourth in a strong Boys Elite field.  When we spoke after that race, you said you'd learned a lot from running against such high-level competition.  With a few weeks' perspective, can you elaborate on what you took away from that Bob Firman race, and how it's prepared you for the rest of the season?

Probably the main thing that I have learned from Bob Firman and since then is how to control my nerves. This being my first true cross-country season, I haven't had a lot of race experience and I have had a huge tendency to get really nervous. A couple races ago I started throwing up on the starting line because I was so nervous; which really didn't help my time.  Since then though, I have really been focusing on trusting that as long as I run my race well, and I give my all, the Lord will bless that, and that has really helped me stay more calm before my races.

3) Seems like you're in an interesting situation, in that your toughest competition within the 4A classification will likely come from your own teammate, Lars Lunstrum.  How does that relationship work out, in terms of competitiveness and teamwork?  Do you guys push each other hard in practice?  Is having someone on your team close in ability good for both of you?

Lars has been a huge part of me getting where I am. We were really able to keep each other accountable over the summer, which was a huge part of shaping our current season.  We push each other a lot during practice, with each of us constantly trying our best.  How often are you able find someone that is pushing you to get up at 4:30 am to fit in an 18-mile run before church? Having Lars and I on the team working together has been crucial to my running this year.

It is sometimes hard for me to mentally start out in a race and focus on the fact that my teammate is my main competition.  I want both of us to do well, but there can only be one winner, so instead of focusing on beating each other, we just have to focus on doing our best.

4) I understand that you're home-schooled, but able to run for Columbia's team. Can you talk about what your day is like as a home-schooled student?  Are you able to structure it however you like, as long as you get your work done?  Where does running fit into the equation?  Do you attend the regular practices with Columbia during the week?

I am home-schooled, and have been all my life. My parents wanted to teach me from a biblical world view, so they teach me and my 3 siblings at home.  My day as a homeschooler has been for the most part pretty flexible.  When we were little, me and my siblings would get up at 3:00 am and get all of our schoolwork done by the time we ate breakfast.  Then we could have the whole day to play.  Now we have too much school to actually pull that off-- not to mention if I got up at 3:00 am every morning I would never get any sleep. Right now I am taking some college courses, so that-- combined with practicing with the Columbia team every day --has added a lot more rigidity to my schedule, but it's been good having the change in schedule.

5) Since this is your first season running cross country for an Idaho team-- in your senior year --have you been surprised with your success?  Do you wish you'd started racing within the high school ranks earlier?  What will it mean for you this week, if you're able to claim your first state XC title?

I haven't been totally surprised by my success; before I joined the team I thought that I could be pretty good if I put in the miles and was consistent with my training. It has been really nice actually doing this well though.  I do wish I had started earlier, even if it was just to gain racing experience. Before joining the team I just ran in local road races, and then in the fall would race in some open cross country meets, with the goal of doing well at Foot Locker West.  But racing once every other month, combined with my sporadic training, wasn't enough and I was never able to perform very well.

If, Lord willing, I can get my first XC state title, it would mean a lot.  It is always nice to work hard over the summer, as well as in the season, and then have it pay off that way.  But if I don't win, I will still feel like I have done well this season, and I will just focus all the more on the post-season races.

6) How did you first become involved in running, or realize you had a talent for the distances?  Were you involved in age-group events, even if you weren't running actively for an Idaho high school?  Were there other sports that preceded track and cross country?

I have grown up watching my dad run, so that was what got me started when I was little.  He ran a couple of marathons and ultra-marathons, and that made me want to run.  My first race was the Barber to Boise 10K when I was 10.   I ran it in 48:23 with my dad, and I had a blast.  Since then I have been involved on and off with local running groups, and was able to do a few small races here and there, but nothing really big, other than Foot Locker, and also Junior Olympic Nationals where I got 24th in 2006. Other than XC and track, I haven't played any other sports.  My church is pretty competitive though when it comes to ultimate frisbee or soccer, and there has been more than one occasion where I couldn't run for a week because I got injured playing Ultimate or soccer.

7) With the NXN Northwest Regional right in your backyard, I imagine you're thinking about that race after the state meet.  If you qualified, would you plan to head to Portland, or are you maybe keying on Foot Locker instead?  What do your post-season plans and goals look like?

I will definitely be doing the NXN Northwest regionals; I haven't decided for sure what I am going to do yet if I qualify for Nationals.  I would really like to qualify for Foot Locker Nationals, but it ends up being a gamble.  I will just have to pray about it and see how I am running in these next few weeks.
 
8) Given the current presidential race, I'm sure you've gotten more than the usual interest in your first name, even though if I remember correctly, it's pronounced differently than the Democratic candidate (and spelled differently as well).  Does your name have special meaning within your family, or is there a story connected to the name "Barak"?  Are you able to say if Barak supports Barack in the coming election?

Barak comes from the name of a general in the book of Judges in the Bible, and is Hebrew for "flash of lightning." 

As for supporting Obama, I normally try to avoid politics as much as possible, but this year I have really been paying attention to the presidential race, and because of my Christian world view, I have a political stance that is just about 180 degrees out of phase with Obama's.  I do like his name though.  

Photos by John Dye


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