DyeStatCal Female Athlete of Week September 10/07 - 10/11/02
Natalie White (Oak Ridge, El Dorado Hills) - Sac Joaquin Section

Natalie White nears the end of her 17:30 run at Stanford in Div II

One of the pleasing surprises this Fall has been the running of Natalie White of Oak Ridge HS in El Dorado Hills in the Sac Joaquin Section, with Natalie running a series of fine Invitational efforts capped with a second to rival Caitlin Chock (our honoree from a week back) at Stanford Div II in a very impressive 17:30. Joe Hartman helped us with some very interesting questions from the Sac Joaquin Section star below -

Congrats Natalie - Continued best luck with your running - Doug Speck - DyeStatCal

NATALIE WHITE – JUNIOR – OAK RIDGE H.S. (SJS)– EL DORADO HILLS, CA.

Last year at the Division 2 Sac Joaquin sections, Natalie White of Oak Ridge HS finished in 2nd place, lagging behind Granite Bay’s Caitlin Chock by 43 seconds. She barely squeezed into the Top 25 at the 2001 CIF meet at 19:27. In 2002, it’s been a whole different ballgame. At the Stanford Invitational, it was Chock once again emerging on top, but only 5 seconds ahead of Natalie’s eye-popping 17:30, the second fastest time at the meet. Her 2002 credentials also include a Viking Opener (Santa Rosa) win over a cast that included Michelle Gallagher, Phyllis Blanchard, and Shelby Leland as well as a course-record performance at the Sept. 21 Nevada Union meet. (It just so happens Rachel Bryan of Laguna Creek broke the record by even more.) She also posted a whopping 2-minute win at Sly Park in her own league over some fine runners including as Erin Wachter of Cordova, Amanda Burkhardt of Ponderosa, and Caitlin Morgan of Union Mine.
Natalie is not the first accomplished runner in her family. Her father, Jaime, was a two-time XC All-American at CSU-Sacramento and still holds the school 10K record (29:38). He finished 7th in the 1980 Boston Marathon and ran in the U.S. Olympic Marathon trials that same year. He PR’d with a 2:16 in winning the Napa Marathon back in his heyday.
The following is our conversation with Natalie a few days after the Stanford Invitational.

dyestatcal.com: If you had to point out one single factor, what would you say is the major reason for your improvement this season?
NW: A good distance base over the summer because last summer I didn’t have one.

dyestatcal.com: A foot surgery toward the end of 8th grade had you sidelined for your freshman season. How does it feel to be running pain free?
NW: It’s a big relief. It made a big difference. I could go out and train without worrying about stopping.

dyestatcal.com: What was your summer training strategy?
NW: Mostly, just do as much distance as I could handle. No sprints, no hill workouts. I was just doing 7, maybe 10 miles, most days.

dyestatcal.com: Who is your high school coach and what’s been your training routine lately?
NW: My coach is Becky Root. I started speed workouts with 400’s and also hill workouts right at the beginning of the high school season. Lately, we’re doing 800 intervals.

dyestatcal.com: As we mentioned at the top, running runs in your family. In what ways has your father been a positive influence on your development?
NW: He’s had a lot of experience running so he can share his experiences with me. He knows the right way to train to be a very good runner.

dyestatcal.com: You were very aggressive on the soccer field. How hard was it to leave competitive soccer and high school basketball and in what ways have participating in those two sports made you a better runner?
NW: It wasn’t that hard to leave soccer because it happened gradually and I gradually started to narrow it down. I really didn’t like soccer all that much. It was much harder to leave basketball. I liked it more because it was a team game so it had to do with people working together, but one person could have more of an impact. I think playing both sports gave me a good work ethic. It taught me discipline because to be the best on the team, you have to work with the team - and also on your own. Plus there’s a lot of mental toughness in those sports. Even though you’re in pain, you have to work hard.

dyestatcal.com: Sounds like we’re talking about the third mile.
NW: Yeah.

dyestatcal.com: What’s the first thought that pops into your mind?
Caitlin Chock… NW: Talented
Rachel Bryan… NW: Great kick
Sierra College… NW: Hilly
Woodward Park… NW: Muddy and Fast
Hills… NW: Like ‘em

dyestatcal.com: What’s your favorite…
Course? NW: That’s a hard one. Probably Stanford.
Shoe? NW: Asics
Healthy Food? NW: Yogurt
Junk Food? NW: Anything to do with ice cream.

dyestatcal.com: It’s still early, but have you given any thought to what colleges you many want to attend?
NW: Yeah! I’d love to go to Stanford.

dyestatcal.com: Will Foot Locker West be your first experience at Mt. SAC and are you gaining confidence regarding that race?
NW: I’m going to be running Mt. SAC in a couple weeks and that’ll be the first time I see the course. My confidence? Well right now I’m just trying to focus on state. The way I see it, if I do well at state but don’t do well at Foot Locker, I’m not going to be bummed out.

dyestatcal.com: Good luck, Natalie.
NW: Thanks.

DyeStatCal News

is published by

Editor: Doug Speck
Publisher: John Dye

�2002 by DyeStat