Interval Session #17 - German Fernandez November 14, 2007 Bruce Edwards, coach of California star German Fernandez and his teammates at Riverbank CA, is a math teacher at the high school, which is appropriate: he and his talented protegé have worked out a formula for success that has Fernandez poised to burst into the national spotlight in the coming weeks. Although his climb to the heights of prep running have been more sporadic than meteoric--a surprise win over Chad Hall at the California state cross country meet as a soph, followed by a series of injuries which curtailed much of his junior season--there is no denying the fact that Fernandez has arrived in full force this season. He blasted a 14:42 as the runaway winner of the Seeded Boys Race at the Stanford Invitational in late September, tore through the autumn undefeated, and last week recorded a 15:03 course record on the challenging Willow Hill layout to lead his Riverbank team to the win at the Sac Joaquin Division IV Sectional Finals. That effort has Californians buzzing about a possible sub-14:40 at Woodward Park for the California state meet on November 24th (the record is 14:38, by 1986 Kinney champion and Olympian Marc Davis). All of which has Fernandez on a very short list of Foot Locker contenders, receiving far more attention than he ever imagined. DyeStat assistant editor Dave Devine drops down to Cali for some pre-state prep work with the latest star to emerge from the Golden State.

1) You first came to national attention with the big win over Chad Hall at the California state cross country meet when you were a sophomore. Can you talk about that race? When it happened, were you surprised you did so well? Has it been hard to live up to that early breakthrough? Well, when I stepped onto the line, I was really nervous. The only thing going through my head was, 'German, you can do this.' When the gun went off, the atmosphere just took me. Chad Hall was leading the race and I was going to stay with him, but the pace felt too slow, so I just picked it up and the gap was getting larger and larger. When I finished, everyone was shocked because Chad Hall was the one favored to win the state title, but I really didn't know who he was. When I saw my time, I didn't know if it was good or not, because it was my first year running cross country, but I was surprised I did so well. It felt like a dream come true. It hasn't been hard to live up to my early breakthrough, because I found out that running is my sport and my passion. 2) For people who don't follow California running closely, can you give us a brief recap of what happened last year, during your junior cross country and track seasons? You struggled with injuries, right? During cross country junior year, I started my season late because of surgery in my left knee. I had torn my meniscus playing basketball. I didn't run over the summer and I was in bed for a month. It took me four months to recover. Track and field junior year, I trained over the winter to get a good base and my speed down. Then, two months later, I got injured with severe shin splints and tore some tissue in my right leg. I didn't run for six weeks, only doing the bike and weights every day. 3) You've thrown down some fast times this season, including that 14:42 at Stanford and the 15:03 last week at Willow Hill. Do you head into races with certain times in mind, or do the races just come to you as you go? When you're out there, are you paying attention to things like pace and splits? I do head into races with certain times in mind, always paying attention to my pace and splits to see if I'm too slow or too fast. Most of the time I only go for the records if I'm feeling right that day. 4) I read that after you finished running the Sectional race last week, a kid came up to you and asked you to sign his shoe. Is it strange, having runners your own age look up to you like that, and how have you adjusted to that sort of attention? Yes, a kid came up to me and asked me to sign his shoe. It was kind of funny. At first it was strange, having runners my own age looking up to me that way, because I never thought runners would see me like that, but then I got used to it in a way. I've adjusted to this sort of attention by just being myself, staying German Fernandez. 5) One thing people say about you is that you have a fluid, efficient running form. Is that something you've worked on, or does it just come naturally? What things have you had to work on, in order to take yourself to the next level? For instance, did you make any changes heading into this season to make sure you stayed healthy and peaked at the right time? My efficient running form comes from working on it over the years, trying to stay relaxed and keeping my stride as smooth as possible, with the help of my coach. Things that I had to work on in order to take myself to the next level are my upper body strength, running consistently, and, most importantly, the love for the sport. 6) There are a few "German Fernandez Stories" floating around the internet. One is that you stopped to tie your shoe at your league cross country finals after 800m, still hitting the mile at 4:45, and finished in 14:42. Another is that less than four months after returning from knee surgery, you ran 4:05 for 1500 then came back the next day with a 1:09 half marathon. True or false? And can you add a few details? Yes, I had to stop to tie my shoe at the league finals after 800 meters, and it was scary because I had never been in that situation before. Maybe that was why I ran so fast. And last year, four months after my surgery, I ran 4:05 for a 1500 and then, the next day, a half marathon in 1:09, which I really didn't enjoy. It was supposed to be my easy long run with my girlfriend Georgina Arnold. I started off at 6:30 pace, and then after that it became a race. I picked it up to a 5:19 pace, catching up to the leaders, and outkicked the last two older guys at the end to win it. After I finished, they told me I made it to nationals, and I'm like, "What? I can't go— if my coach finds out what I just did, he'll kill me (no joke)." So I gave my spot at nationals to the fourth guy who finished. Man, my legs were so burned out that I couldn't even walk. It was horrible. It took me two weeks to recover from that race, so yeah, it was pretty intense. 7) In talking with your coach, it sounds like you work really hard in training. Can you tell us the hardest workout you've ever done? What about a workout that always lets you know you're ready for a big race? The hardest workout I've ever done has to be the 25x200s in 30 seconds, with a 30 second rest. It's pretty crazy. But at the end, I feel good about myself. I don't have a workout that lets me know when I'm ready for a big race—my mind and heart tells me that. 8) What sorts of things do you like to do in your free time? How do you relax and kick back when you're not running? Things that I like to do in my free time: of course, running, and playing basketball and football with my buddies. But mostly I hang around with my girlfriend, relaxing, watching movies or going to dinner, because we love to eat. I might look skinny, but I can eat more than you'd think. What can I say...food is another of my passions. When I'm not running, I love to kick back, just being lazy all day, watching movies and eating, but it's no problem, because I'll always lose it the next day on my run. Photo: Joe Hartman for dyestatcal.com

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