2003-2004

When Bradley Harkrader "pushed" Ryan Deak to a meet record (a rare sub-15 minute 5k in the Colorado mountains) in the Liberty Bell Invitational in September, everyone outside of Colorado wondered, "Who is he?"

It was a natural question, considering Harkrader's 9:41/ 4:26 showing in the Colorado outdoor state meet last May. Even with altitude adjustments and allowing for the fact that studs like Brent Vaughn and Ian Burrell were ahead of him, Harkrader didn't seem a likely candidate for national elite ranks this year.

But when the Colorado state cross country meet rolled around October 25, Harkrader showed that the Liberty Bell was just a warmup. With a bold mid-race surge, Harkrader took an unsurmountable lead and finished in 14:50 for a new state meet record (Adam Goucher 4:54 in 1993), four seconds ahead of Deak and 35 seconds ahead of team champion Denver West star Mohamud Ige.

Harkrader's standing in the recruiting wars has obviously shot up, and he is weighing his options at this point.

Bradley Harkrader 's past performances:

2003 cross country

2002 cross country

Small town girl, course records every meet, no travel to big out of state invitationals . . . . Remind you of anyone? That was Zoe Nelson last year, and it is Sunni Olding this year. Zoe used this platform to win the Foot Locker national championship in San Diego. Will the same formula work for Sunni? Could be, but of course Zoe will be back to defend her title, plus six other top-10 undergrads from last year..

Sunni hardly ever loses (7 Ohio state championships in her resume), but she labored in small town obscurity until last year. First, she made the Foot Locker finals (finishing 10th in San Diego). Then, last June, she went to AOC Raleigh and won a national championship at 2 miles (10:25.82).

Sunni has already signed to run at Notre Dame next year, but she is hardly falling victim to senioritis. She feels she is stronger than last year (See Q&A below) and is aiming at Foot Locker success again, plus sub-10:20 at 2 miles and 4:45 in the mile.

Sunni Olding 's past performances:

2003 cross country

2003 outdoor

2002 cross country

Questions for Bradley Harkrader, answers from coach Glenn McCarthy

1. You have improved immensely since last year, based on your state meet performances. What has made the difference? Did you train differently during the summer? How about in-season training, this year vs. last year?

We have brought Bradley's summer training along each year since the summer before his sophomore year. That year he ran about 40-45 miles per week over the summer and qualified for state in cross country. He managed to go 10:04 in the 3200 that year and qualified for state (had to break 10:08 to go to state). Between that year and his junior year we upped the mileage to 55-65 and then this past summer Bradley averaged over 75 and had high mileage weeks over 80. During the season, which starts early here in Colorado (first meet was August 28) Bradley continued to run over 75 miles per week even though he added intervals, fartlek and weekly races (sometimes racing on both Friday and Saturday). Overall the team mileage climbed this year after Bradley's success in 2002 with 60-75 mile weeks during the season. This was the first time that Thornton won their regional and ended up 5th place team at state. So higher mileage, most weeks included a 2 hour plus long run, and consistent work during the season had an impact on the improvement that Bradley experienced this year.

2. You lost to Ryan Deak by 11 seconds at Liberty Bell. What was the difference at the state meet?

Liberty Bell was at the end of a nearly 80 mile week. Bradley commented that his legs lacked "zip" when Ryan made his move after the 2 mile mark. As a team Thornton did not taper until the state meet. Having dropped both the mileage and the intensity gave Bradley more to run with when it counted.

3. Your track times at last year’s state meet were 4:25 and 9:41. What are your goals this year?

Bradley would like to go after Brent Vaughn's "in-state" record of 9:09. He would like to be sub 4:15 as well. Don't forget at altitude 9:09 is equivalent to 8:50 at sea-level and sub 4:15 would be equal to sub 4:10.

4. Do you plan to run any big invitationals outside of Colorado, such as Arcadia?

The track program at Thornton is coached by different coaches. There has been no discussion of invitationals for Bradley. We are toying with Cross Country Junior Nationals or more distance work after Footlocker Nationals. A lot will depend on what Bradley wants to do.

5. Are you training now for Foot Locker? If so, how do you assess your chances of qualifying for San Diego?

Bradley is training for Footlocker. The Midwest region is traditionally a tough regional. We hope that Bradley will be prepared to advance to Nationals. With the Colorado state meet so early and the season ending before November, keeping motivated and training well is tough especially with school work, and having to workout on his own. Bradley is in the International Baccalloreate Program at Thornton which can be very demanding. I guess we think Bradley has a good chance to advance to Footlocker Nationals, but nothing is a given, especially in the Midwest region. There are a lot of really good runners who will be competing. Our hope is to have him prepared to contend for one of the top 8 spots and if he has as good of a day as he did at state, contend for the individual title outright.

6. How is the recruiting process going? Any campus visits? Any leanings?

Bradley has visited CU and CSU. He has had some contact with Jason Drake of Washington State. Both CSU and CU have programs, academically that are of interest to Bradley, and of course the running programs at those two schools are quite good. Drake is supposed to be in state in the next few weeks and will be spending more time with Bradley. Bradley wants to weigh all of his options.

Q and A with Sunni Olding

1. You have won many championships. Briefly summarize – how many state titles, etc. Career PR’s in cross country and track.
Career PR's:
Cross Country 5K - 17:21
800 - 2:12
1600 - 4:53
2 mile - 10:25

3 Cross Country State Championships
3 1600 State Championships
1 3200 State Championship
2 4x800 Relay State Championships
2002 Footlocker Nationals - 10th place
2003 2-mile Adidas Outdoor National Champion

2. What is your most rewarding accomplishment so far?

My most rewarding accomplishment so far has definately been earning a trip to San Diego for the Footlocker Nationals last December. My entire experience at Nationals was amazing. I loved the opportunity to race against some of the top girls across the nation. I also really enjoyed meeting and spending time with so many other people who shared the same enthusiasm for running.

3. Compare your fitness now vs. last year at this time.

I feel that I am a much stronger runner than I was at this time last year. I set course records at every race I competed in this season except the state meet, so I feel that is a good indication that I am much fitter. The challenge now is to build upon and hold that fitness until the
Midwest Regional.

4. How do you rate your chances in the Foot Locker regional this year?

The Midwest Regional will be very competitive again this year. I believe only two qualifiers from last year were seniors, so many of us that qualified last year are returning, along with a lot of other very talented runners. My primary goal at the regional will be to get into the top eight. I like to go out pretty quick, so I will hope to position myself with the lead group right away.

5. Have you trained any differently this year in terms of summer running and in-season running?

I bumped up my mileage a little since last season. My summer base stayed pretty consistently around 35-40 miles, which was pretty comparable to last summer. However, I held my mileage at 36 miles (over a six day period, with one day off) for the large portion of the season, which is about a 5 mile jump up from last year.

6. What major meets outside of Ohio are you planning to run this year?

I haven't competed out of Ohio yet this season, but I plan on running at the Footlocker Midwest Regional and hopefully the national meet. During track season, I hope to get out of Ohio for atleast one big meet, such as Arcadia. It will probably depend on how soon my basketball season ends in the spring, because I will need to get in some quality training before heading into a big race. I also plan on going to the Adidas Outdoor Meet again.

7. How is the recruiting process going? Any campus visits?

I actually just signed my letter of intent to attend Notre Dame next fall. I took official visits to Duke, Notre Dame, Penn State, and Wake Forest.

8. You are the defending national champion in the outdoor 3200. What is your goal for that event this year? How about the 1600?

My primary goal each season is to continue to improve. This spring I want to really drop my 1600 time; I would like to be in the mid-4:40's. I haven't raced the 1600 in a big meet since my sophomore year, so I'm hoping to get into a very competative 1600 race and see what I can do. In the 3200, I am definately aiming for a sub-10:20. However, the track season is still a couple months away for me (I play basketball in the winter) and my goals are often readjusted throughout the season.