Interval Session #60 - Laurynne Chetelat By Steve Underwood, June 5, 2008 Laurynne Chetelat first gained serious notice on the national scene when she ran 10:23.31 to top Jordan Hasay in the Sacramento Meet of Champs last spring. If you wondered why the heck you hadn’t seen a time like that coming, you can be forgiven. Amazingly, Laurynne had only been competing in the sport since the previous August. “Her progression has been on a steep, but steady incline from the beginning,” says her coach at Davis HS in Davis CA, Bill Gregg. Laurynne progressed enough that she won the CA D1 state XC meet last fall, was 2nd in FL West, then 16th in FL Finals. Over the winter, she made the World Jr. XC team and was 29th in Scotland. She then moved up another big notch among the elites when she was 3rd in the Arcadia 3200 at 10:15.17. Usually if someone gets to that kind of level at a meet like Arcadia in their senior year, you wouldn’t expect a lot more improvement beyond that. But Laurynne was just giving us a hint of what she would do. In her section meet, she hacked 10 more seconds off her PR to rocket into the top 12 all time with a 10:05.95. Then last Saturday at the CIF (CA) State Championships, she blew away the prep track community when she delivered a 9:52.51 that trailed the 3-time state champ Hasay by just 0.38 and moved her to #3 all-time. Whoever takes over for Peter Tegan at Stanford will get a freshman this fall that has few miles on her legs, a lot of heart and discipline, and who knows how much potential. DyeStat News Editor SteveU catches up with the swift Davis senior.

1. Congrats on your amazing 3200 performance last weekend. Coming into the meet, were your goals more focused on a certain time or winning? And can you tell us how the race unfolded, in terms of your feelings and strategy, especially the move you made to take the lead after a couple laps? My primary goal was to win, but I was also very focused on breaking 10:00. Coming into this meet, my strategy was to run the first 1600m between 4:58-5:02, and when I saw that we were coming in behind that time after 800m, I decided to take the lead. When we came in with 1600m to go, Jordan started to pull in front and I just hung behind her, ready to match any of her moves or make my own. I planned on maintaining or increasing the pace during laps five and six, while I especially wanted to work the last two laps hard. 2. What has been the aftermath of this race for you? Has it sunk in that you’re actually the third fastest girl in history? How have teammates, friends, kids at school, etc., reacted to it and to you? Immediately after the race, I was somewhat disappointed that I didn't win, but I was also excited with my new personal record for the 3200m. As time has passed, my friends, coach, and family have helped me fully appreciate my accomplishment. They continue to congratulate me and encourage me to be proud of my performance. 3. When you beat Jordan at 3200 last spring, at Sacramento, you became the only girl ever to beat her at that distance. And you still are the only one to do so. Most would say Jordan was not at her best there, but a win is still a win. Had it been hard not being closer to her in races again after that, until last Saturday, or did you have a mindset about it that allowed you to just focus on your own progress relative to yourself? Is it a different or better feeling having almost beaten her when she WAS at her best? It was frustrating not to be able to compete against Jordan when she is at her best, but I used it as motivation to be meticulous, dedicated, and serious with my training. I never knew if I could compete at the same level as Jordan in high school; thus I set goals for myself in track over which I had full control. After this Saturday, it gives me a sense of satisfaction and success to have almost beaten someone whom I thought was untouchable. When I started running almost 2 years ago, I definitely didn't consider or even dream of actually coming so close to beating Jordan. 4. After you ran the 10:23, you were 2nd at state. Then you had a pretty good season in XC, eventually getting 16th at Foot Locker Finals. But then you go out the make the World Junior XC team, which might have surprised some people. Tell me about that experience, both from a perspective of a significant step in the progress of your running career, and just how cool it was to be on a us team and travel to Scotland. And how did the whole experience impact your track goals for this spring? It was a great privilege to have been offered a place on the team. I enjoyed every aspect of the Scotland trip and learned many things about myself as a runner. For example, I realized that I race best when I start out conservatively and then increase speed. Also, I was able to spend time with countless exceptional, friendly, and fun runners. Additionally, it was a good opportunity to meet runners against whom I will likely compete in college. After I placed 3rd on the USA team, I had more confidence going in to track, but the trip really didn't affect my goals because I had already decided that I was going to try to break 10:00 by the end of the season. 5. In your first really big race of the season, you ran 10:15 at Arcadia. You weren’t up there batting with Jordan and Christine, but it was still a very nice PR. Was that a race you were happy with at the time, or were you telling yourself you should be up there with them? What has happened since then, with both your training and mental approach, that’s allowed you to twice destroy (10:05, then 9:52) what was already a pretty good PR?!? I was annoyed with myself for not having taken advantage of that chance to race with Jordan and Christine. I honestly didn't put as much effort into that race as I should have because I felt that I could have broken 10:10 at least that night at Arcadia. The problem was I was too focused on running a certain time per lap, rather than racing against Jordan and Christine. Nothing really changed after that race as far as my training and mental approach, except that the anger and disappointment I had after Arcadia energized me for later races. 6. What else are you running the rest of the season? Nike Outdoor or any other meets? After what you did last weekend, what kind of thoughts are you having about college or even professional running? I will likely be running the 3000m in Ohio at the USATF Juniors in late June. After running 9:52 for 3200m I'm looking forward to running fast in Ohio and later on in collegiate cross country. I haven't thought too much about professional running just because I'm not sure I have enough talent, and I might discover in college that I want to concentrate on my studies. 7. I’ve heard you are fairly new to the sport, having come to it from a soccer background. Can you talk about your passion for that sport, starting from whenever you began, and what inspired you then, to get into XC and track? Do you still play soccer at all? Do you come from a sports-oriented family and have they been supportive of all of your athletic endeavors? It’s kind of amazing to think that if you’d stuck with soccer, the running world would have been denied a rare sub-10 2-miler! I started playing soccer around the age of five and, thereafter, devoted all my time outside of school and studying to soccer. I enjoyed playing at the competitive level for seven years until I discovered my passion for running. I tried running after my friend Merek Kesser on the cross country team had encouraged me many times to come out to practice. I soon developed a love for distance running, partially due to the amazing teammates and the awesome coaches. I then stopped playing soccer in March of my Junior year in order to give more time to running and school. I don't play soccer at all anymore, although, I still miss it! I come from a fairly sports-oriented family, however none of them have ever done running. Instead, they enjoy casual walks and bike rides. They have been very supportive of my athletic endeavors, even though it is all still somewhat new to them. 8. Can you tell us about Davis, the school in general, the XC and track programs, and a little about that part of California? What is training with Coach Gregg like? As a senior, how have you regarded being a leader on your team? I absolutely love Davis; the students are accepting and diverse, most people ride their bikes, and they value others' opinions. The XC and track programs are large and wonderful. I am lucky to have such a caring, selfless, experienced, and gifted coach as Bill Gregg. I love training with Bill because he cares about my well-being and my opinion. Being a leader has made me much more conscious about how I can positively affect others, and be a good example for others by demonstrating good sportsmanship and work ethic. 9. Can you talk about your decision to attend Stanford, both in terms of how it connects with your interests academically, and the running program? How did you react when Coach Tegan said he was resigning? I am 100 percent content with my decision to attend Stanford, considering its strong science programs and running team. I would like to pursue a career in medicine or marine biology and Stanford is a good fit for of these interests. I was sad to hear Tegan would be resigning, because he's established such a strong running program and has so much experience. Now I’m anxious to hear who will be replacing him. 10. Finally, can you tell us a little about yourself off the track? What are some of your interests outside of running and school? Besides track, I enjoy riding my bike, going on walks, hiking, and dancing. My family and I travel extensively so I have a fun time immersing myself in other cultures. Photos by John Oshiro of mctrack.smugmug.com for DyeStatCal (top, CIF 3200) and John Nepolitan (bottom, World XC)

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