Interval Session #5 - Doug Smith On an Eastern seaboard rife with distance talent, New Jersey's Doug Smith has been on the radar since he dropped an impressive 9:14 3200 as a ninth grader. Last year, during his sophomore cross country campaign, things went well until a disappointing performance at Foot Locker Northeast Regional amid high expectations left him wondering what had gone wrong. Re-focused for track, he made sure almost everything went right in the spring, reeling off a national soph leader of 9:04.52 in the 3200, then leading the Nike Outdoor Nationals 5k until the closing lap, when he finished second with one of the top sophomore times ever, in 14:40.76. This year he's picked up where he left off last spring, shearing four seconds off a Craig Forys course record last weekend at the Paul Short Invitational with his 15:10 win over Germantown Friends sr Max Kaulbach. The racing ratchets up on October 13th, when this talented junior meets fellow New Jersey standout Brandon Jarrett (St. Benedict's sr) for a much-anticipated matchup in the 'A' Race at the Manhattan Invitational on the storied Van Cortlandt Park layout. DyeStat assistant editor Dave Devine catches up with Doug at Gill St. Bernard's, and grinds out a few miles in the Garden State.

1) Seems like Gill St. Bernard's is a pretty small private school. What's it like training and running there? Do you do most of your workouts alone, or are there others on the team you can train with? Yeah, it's a very small school. I love running there though, because there's so many options. Dirt roads are close by and plenty of good loops for easy and hard days. I do all of my workouts alone. I'd like to do them with someone, but I do feel that having to push myself hard in the workouts helps for races. My coach also runs with me on days other than workouts, so that's really cool. It gives me someone to run with to make sure I'm not running too hard. 2) You've been on the "national radar" since you ran 9:14 for 3200 as a freshman. Have you learned anything in the last two years that makes you a better runner now? I've learned a lot. I've been in some much bigger situations since, and I feel that's how you learn to be a better and stronger runner. I have had some of those tough races that I haven't been pleased with, but for the most part I think I've learned from those and have been able to translate them into great races since last fall. 3) When we spoke after your runner-up finish in the 5k at Nike Outdoor Nationals last June, you were really enthusiastic to have Ryan Grote as your coach. A lot of people in the world of running remember Ryan as a founder of one of the original, widespread running websites. What's it like having Ryan as a coach, and what does he bring to your training? Ryan is the reason I am able to train like I do and perform like I do. He gets me prepared without me even noticing he's trying to. His workouts are tough, and what he tells me to do I must do, or we are just disappointed. The workouts really get me to where i want to be and his training program is just great. Everyday I get up and know I have to go for the run he told me to do, and many times it's with him which makes it even better. The stories he tells about his racing moments, the good and the bad, really motivate me. I couldn't have asked for a better coach. 4) October 13th is the big Manhattan Invitational in NYC. A check of the start lists shows that your high school, and fellow New Jersey sensation Brandon Jarrett's school, are both in the 'A' Race. Is that a showdown you've been looking forward to or keying up for? Yeah, it definitely is. Brandon and I have done a couple long runs together this summer and we were hoping to be in the same race. It seems like whenever we race we bring the best out of eachother. We're both looking to run fast and it will hopefully be a very exciting race, not just for Brandon and myself, but for everyone who attends the meet. 5) Seems like the Foot Locker Northeast Regional didn't go so well for you last year. Can you take us back to what happened in that race, and maybe share with us how you'll be approaching that race differently this year? I think that race was the turning point. I think about that race almost every time I go out for a run. I consider it the worst day of my running career, by far. Coming into the race this year I'm looking to head in strong, running fast, and in a calm manner. That was probably the biggest race I'd ever been in, and since then I've been in some very very tough ones. I feel more relaxed and confident. An easy way to describe the difference from last year is that I'm a year older now. It makes a huge difference in the high school world of running. 6) People who don't live in New Jersey are always knocking on Jersey, but my experience as someone who grew up in Philadelphia is that folks who live in NJ always have a lot of "Jersey Pride." Here's your chance to enlighten the nation: What's so great about living in New Jersey? Besides that I live 45 minutes from the greatest city in the world, I really do like it here. It's very crowded, but as a runner there are plenty of places to run. I'm a big sports fan also, so to have the Yankees and Giants and Jets so close is very cool, and I enjoy the whole atmosphere. It's hard to get bored in New Jersey. 7) If you could go out for an easy ten miler with any runner, past or present, who would it be and why? I'd have to say I'd love to run with Dathan Ritzenhein, mainly because I feel like we are alike. Whenever he loses or doesn't race the way he wanted to, his reaction shows how devastated he is. I love people that show emotion through racing. It shows that they really care, and I know Dathan cares and dream of being as good as him one day. Photo by Tom Devlin

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