DyeStatCal Boys
Athlete of the Week
Brendan Gregg
(Davis HS - SJ Section)
Week of 9/11-16, 2006
California
Photos by Joe Hartman
Brendan Gregg wins at Granite Bay - Davis
Squad lines up beore the race
Our first Boy honoree for State Male Athlete of the Week came
out charging last weekend at the annually very strong Granite Bay Invitational,
with a big 80 meter win over a fine group. Brendan Gregg of Davis HS
was 18th in the State Div I last year in Cross Country after a fourth place
Sac Joaquin Section effort. In the spring, Gregg matched his place
in the Section 3200 Finals at fourth in 9:23.88, with a 4:23.55 1600 along
the way. Outwardly this would have appeared to have been a fine year's
efforts, but Brendan does indicate below he was not pleased, and it helped
him to put some special preparation into the 2006 fall harrier campaign,
with a fine start and win this past weekend at Granite Bay. The start
of school is always hectic, and we appreciate Brendan taking the time out
to answer some questions below, and we look forward to following his progress
this season!!
Thanks Brendan and best of luck
Doug Speck - DyeStatCal.com
1) Nice first effort this fall in your first Invitational
at the Granite Bay meet--describe how the race went for you and your
thoughts on your effort?
The effort at Granite Bay was a great way to kick off the season. I
wanted to get things started with a victory, and control the race by
attacking the downhills, because it's pretty tough to get into a rhythm
on that course with all the short up and down terrain and tight turns.
As a result, the race itself felt pretty slow, as reflected by the
time, but the final outcome was very pleasing and a nice indicator
of where I'm at fitness-wise coming out of summer base training. I
feel I can build off this race and use it as a springboard for stronger
efforts down the road as our training progresses.
2) How much running were you able to do this summer?
This summer I managed to train harder than I ever have before. After
finishing up a disappointing track season, I took two down weeks with
pretty minimal training to recoup, and then began our summer program
in mid June. Since then I've been running seven days a week with an
off day here or there, building up mileage progressively.
3) Good team effort at Granite Bay, how much running did you do with
your teammates as a group this summer?
I can't say enough about how everyone stepped up last Saturday. As
a team we were very pleased about how the race went down, and are right
where we expected to be. The preceding week was pretty tough training-wise,
and most of us are coming off our highest mileage ever, and came into
the race feeling a bit flat. We've got a close-knit group of guys,
and we managed to work around vacation and work schedules to meet three
times a week most of the summer to run together. Even though we weren't
able to meet everyday, we could count on everybody to put in the necessary
miles each day to achieve our goals. Two teammates (Zach Bonner and
Patrick Lynch) and I also had the opportunity to go to the UCSB track
and field camp, so we got to train together for a week down there in
a great environment with a really terrific staff. We concluded our
summer with our own team camp in the Tahoe area, and had some great
high-altitude runs up there.
4) What are some of your general goals for the fall cross-country season?
First and foremost, lead the team to the podium at State Meet. That's
goal number one; everything else is icing on the cake. Beyond that,
we're working for an NTN bid if we can manage it. Individually, I feel
that if I can place in the top three at every race I run, including
States, and qualify for Footlocker Nationals, I'll be satisfied.
5) What are some of your interests besides running?
I love to read, I ski when I can, and just generally relaxing with
friends and family. Movies and music, too. And Dyestat.
6) What other sports did you do while you were growing up?
I played soccer and swam competitively until my freshman year, when
I dropped both to focus on running. I also played baseball until junior
high, and was on the ski team my freshman year.
7) What was the last book you read? Movie you saw? Song (and by who)
you loaded on a music device (or CD purchased)?
Book- Freakonomics. Movie- Fight Club. Song- "You Only Live Once" by
The Strokes.
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