Jacob Keating of Lake Catholic High School shown here in the lead of a 4 x 800m relay race.
Jacob Keating of Lake Catholic High School is a distance runner who specializes in the 1600m and 3200m events. Despite dealing with an injury, Jacob Keating qualified for both the MileSplit Scholastic Showcase at Spire and the OATCCC Indoor State Championship during the indoor season. Read below to learn about Jacob's experiences during the indoor season and what he's looking forward to accomplishing during the outdoor schedule.
MileSplit Ohio: Describe your indoor season. Did your results live up to your expectations going in? What are you most proud of from what you accomplished and was there anything that you felt could have gone better?
Jacob: Overall, my senior indoor campaign was a success and it puts me in a strong position heading into the outdoor season. Despite missing the first half of the indoor season due to a nagging injury from XC, I was pleased with how I raced in February and March. Entering the winter, I wasn't even sure if I would compete at the OATCCC Indoor State Championship, so placing 5th in the 1600m race was incredibly gratifying. Nevertheless, there is a lot of work still to be done and a lot for me to improve upon in the coming months. I wish I would have performed better at the MileSplit Scholastic Showcase at Spire 3200m event and I feel like I have something to prove at that distance. In summary, I'm proud of the ability that I demonstrated to bounce back after a long and grueling rehab process.
MileSplit Ohio: What events will you be focusing on during the outdoor season? What goals do you hope to accomplish over the next few months?
Jacob: During the outdoor season, I will be focusing on the 1600m and especially on improving my 3200m performances. I have been building my endurance back up in order to achieve a breakthrough in the 3200m and I'm confident that I will continue to shave seconds off the 1600m after focusing on it during the indoor season. In regards to goals, I want to maximize each and every practice and put myself in the best possible position to compete well on race day. In races, I plan to experiment with a variety of strategies to determine my ideal approach for the postseason. Although I want to lower my P.R.'s, my focus is on racing the competition and if I do this well, I know that strong race times will come. I also want to race well in the 4 x 400m and the 4 x 800m relays and help Lake Catholic High School to win a 4th consecutive North Coast League title.
Jacob Keating finished in 5th place against a stellar 1600m field in Akron.
MileSplit Ohio: Describe what your typical week of training resembles. Who are your key training partners and do you have a favorite workout that you rely on leading up to an important race?
Jacob: My typical week of training usually consists of two workouts and a long run to finish off the week. We may do a couple of morning runs in order to flush out the legs and to get in some complementary mileage. We have a great selection of parks in Northeast Ohio and I definitely take advantage of all of these beautiful areas by carpooling to different parks and trails throughout the week. I generally complete my runs with teammates Keller Dittoe, Matt Kirchner, and Colin Waddle, who are always willing to battle the elements with me. There's something to appreciate about all of the workouts we do, but my favorite session is pretty standard: 400m repeats at 1 Mile race pace.
MileSplit Ohio: Who has helped you to reach the level that you've attained to this point in your track and field career?
Jacob: So many people have helped me to reach my current level in my track and field career, more than can probably be mentioned here. Of course, my family is my rock and they are always there to support me along every step of the way. Besides picking me up when I am down, both of my parents also definitely make enough food to support my ever growing appetite. My teammates have also played a huge role in my development. It's encouraging and motivating to see everyone else working so hard and striving for excellence, which in turn causes me to push myself even harder. We really try to support and push each other and battling the tough conditions would be a lot tougher without them. Last but certainly not least, my distance coach, Matt Borcas, has been instrumental in helping me to achieve my success. He spends an enormous amount of energy putting together workouts, strength routines and race strategies and he is completely invested in my running career. He really cares about all of his athletes succeeding and reaching their full potential. Without his guidance and coaching, I would definitely not be where I am today.
Jacob Keating values the support he receives from his Lake Catholic High School teammates.
MileSplit Ohio: What are your long-term goals related to track and field?
Jacob: Beyond competing well in the postseason, my long-term goal for high school track and field is to drop a significant amount of time in the 3200m. It was my primary event last outdoor season and I am ready to become even stronger at this distance. I also hope that our 4 x 800m relay team can win our conference meet and that we can place as high as possible at both districts and regionals. Track and field, though composed of many individual events, is still a team sport, so another goal of mine is to help our track and field team become as close as possible and to support each other in all of our running and field events.
Jacob Keating has big goals that he's motivated to achieve during the 2017 outdoor season.