Josh Spiker (Ventura HS) and now at the University of Wisconsin raced 14:42 at the current Mt. SAC course at the 1999 Invitational there. He suffered a serious stress fracture soon after and did not finish out that season. Under Coach Bill Tokar of Ventura he came back in super style the 2000 track season to run amazing times under a reduced training load, including a 4:06.3 mile. Josh has gone on to great things at the University of Wisconsin, placing 8th in the 2001 NCAA Championships in Cross-Country over 10,000 meters. He was third in the NCAA 1500 meters last year in those outdoor championships!!

We asked Josh about his approach to the Mt. SAC course, certainly developed after great study by Coach Tokar and experienced by his young star--

His thoughts are worth reflecting on this coming weekend on the challenging facility in Walnut---with thoughts on up and downhills maybe a bit different than you might think!!!

1) What is the general philosophy about how to race Mt. SAC that you and
your coach have developed over the years?

Basically the key to running Mt.Sac fast is to push the downhills hard and
stay steady on the uphills. Try to stay relaxed the first mile and then
maintain on all of the hills and push everything else. There is more
downhill than uphill so there is no point in killing yourself on the
uphills.

2) How do you break the course up in your mind before you race?

I break it up into 7 sections. The first section is the first mile, the 2nd
is the switchbacks, the 3rd is the section from switchbacks to the beginning
of poop-out, the 4th being poop-out, the 5th being the section from the top
of poop-out to the beginning of reservoir, the 6th is reservoir hill and the
last is the top of reservoir to the finish. It works for me to break it up
in those sections.

3) Have you ever changed your approach to racing there, and how did it work
out?

The only strategy I sometimes change is the first mile. Either I will try to
stay up with the leader or will try to push the first mile hard to break up
the pack. Personally I like pushing the first mile hard and normally I run
better that way.

4) Describe a couple of your races there, how they developed (you did all
the work, sat back, etc.)--
As a junior at the Mt.Sac invite I went out and tried to stay with the lead
pack. I did for the first mile and a half I think but then lost it and hung
on for 5th place. At CIF prelims that year I went out with the lead group and then
broke away on switchbacks and stayed relaxed for a 20 second win. At Cif
finals I went out harder the first mile but was still very relaxed. At the
top of switch backs I was gained on but on the downhill I opened up a 5
second lead and kept it the rest of the way. At Footlocker eleventh grade I
sprinted the first 100 meters and stayed relatively relaxed ( I was actually
breathing a lot harder than normal) the first mile. I think I was in around
15-20th place there. At the top of switchbacks I had caught a couple people
but at the bottom I was in 4th or 5th and had caught 7 people on the
downhill. The rest of the race I kept my legs moving and wound up finishing
3rd in the race. At the Mt.Sac invite senior year (14:42 race) I pushed the first mile but
didn't have any idea I was running a 4:32. I thought I would hit around 4:40
or so. There were still a few runners right on me. On switchbacks they
stayed somewhat close. On that downhill I tried to let my legs go and they
felt great. I was all alone after that. I just tried to keep a quick
turnover over the next mile and a half. After reservoir I tried to push the
downhill and then I finished hard but not all out.

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