Sam Wharton Tipp City Tippacanoe 2013
Personal Bests
- 1,600 Meter Run 4:20.01
- Two Mile Run 9:29.79
- 3200 Meter Run 9:01.24
- 5,000 Meter Run 14:46.31
- 800 Meter Run 2:00.21
Tipp City Tippacanoe Senior Sam Wharton has his sights set on the D1 State XC title and the National Trails course record (15:19.34). He would like to leave a legacy - something for people to remember him by after he graduates. Not just times, but how he competed. He is the leading returner in both D1 XC and in the D1 3200, having run a 15:24.98 in the State XC meet, placing second to Reynoldsburg's Tsehaye Hiluf and again placing second to Hiluf with a 9:01.32 in last Spring's State D1 3200. The 5K just may be his best race however, as he was 5th in last Spring's New Balance Nationals, running.14:46.31.
OHRunners: Before we get into your background, I’d like to ask a few questions in regards to last Spring's D1 State 3,200m race. In that race, you ran 2nd in a time of 9:01.24 to Tsehaye Hiluf of Reynoldsburg. Tsehaye’s winning time was 8:55.04 which set a new OHSAA Div. 1 State Record, State Meet Record and Owens Stadium record. The previous D1 record was 8:56.35 set in 2003 by Chris Kollar of Strongsville. The State Meet D1 record was 9:00.97 set in 2000 by Steve Padget of Cincinnati LaSalle. The Owens Stadium record was 9:03.11 set in 2010 by Marty Coolidge of Elyria Catholic. I can imagine that you were disappointed in not winning, but, as a Junior, you had just run one of the fastest times in the 3200 of all divisions at the State meet. In retrospect, can you give us some of your thoughts regarding that race?
Sam: When I crossed the line, I was absolutely spent. At first, I felt frustrated that I didn’t break 9:00, because that had been one of my season goals, but I realized that I had given it my best effort on that day. I knew it was going to be a tough race because Tsehaye never ran conservatively, he went all out every race and just dared others to follow him.
OHRunners: At the 2010 State meet you were second in the D2 3200 to Michael Brajdic, running a 9:31.22. Brajdic won in a time of 9:25.07. Last Fall you moved to D1 and in the State D1 XC Championship you ran second to Tsehaye Hiluf, running 15:24.98. Hiluff won in 15:21.52. What are your feelings on this and do you look forward to having the opportunity to compete at any level? What are your thoughts on having moved from D2 to D1 in XC and track? Were you apprehensive? Having run 2nd to Hiluf in XC, what were your thoughts in the Spring as a D1 runner?
Sam: The move from D2 to D1 was a bit of a letdown for our XC team because I think we were contenders for State in D2. The move to D1 has been good for me personally because while there are a lot of great runners in D2 and D3, there tends to be more of those type of runners in D1 and I knew the increased competition would help me to improve.
In XC, I can vividly remember being on the start line for D1 State XC at National Trails last year and suddenly thinking that I didn’t belong there. I felt like I should be running D2 with all the teams and individuals I knew so well. Then the gun went off and I got over it quickly. It was just the course and I.
In the 3200, I knew that Tsehaye was a great competitor. He had popped off some huge times early in the track season. Coming into the state meet, I knew he was the one to beat. I also knew that he could drag me to a great time. So I pushed myself to stay with him every lap.
OHRunners: The week after our State meet you ran the 2-mile at the Midwest Distance Festival, finishing 10th with a 9:29.79. You followed that up with a 5th place finish in the 5000m at the New Balance Outdoor Nationals, running a strong 14:46.31. Sometimes after a strong run at the State level, runners, with high expectations the following week, do not have their best performances. Were you mentally tired after State? You seemed to bounce back in the 5000 at the New Balance Nationals. Can you describe your experiences in these races for us?
Sam: I felt a tremendous amount of pressure heading into the Midwest Distance Festival. I had the highest seed time by 7 seconds and there was a rabbit to pace us for sub-9. Right when the rabbit left the track I immediately freaked out and tightened up and moved from first to the back of the pack in just a couple of laps. I was obviously disappointed. At New Balance, I was coming in as the underdog, I was pleased to make it into the fast heat. I knew I was going to stick with my trademark strategy of sticking on someones shoulder for as long as possible, until I died or got a burst of adrenaline to pass them. I figured in a field like that, it would be impossible to not get a good time. I attribute part of my success in that race to not knowing how to pace myself for a 5k on the track - so I was not focused on splits - I was just running.
OHRunners: The mental aspect of racing is just as important or more important as the physical. In XC and track, experience is so important, especially mentally. How would you describe your mental running growth from your Freshman year to your Senior year?
Sam: I believe that my freshman year, since I ran behind two of our awesome seniors, I developed the follower mentality. I would kill myself to stay with them, even when that wasn't the smartest idea. The area where I have always considered myself strong at is racing. At first my mental strategy was to get it over with so it would stop hurting sooner. As I progressed through high school, I began to take racing for what it really is. I love racing on feel and always pushing hard and seeing how much you have left. I learned to have fun with it or else you aren't going to become attached to this sport.
OHRunners: What distance do you feel you are or will be the strongest at? If we had a 5000m run in Ohio at the HS level, would this be your race?
Sam: I like the 3200. It has just the right ratio of monotony to speed. I honestly had no clue how to run a 5k on the track, and still don’t, but if we did race it here more often, I do think I would like it, but maybe only because everyone else would hate it.
OHRunners: Will you run the indoor season?
Sam: I have never ran indoor track, instead choosing to swim during the winter. While I don’t compete for state medals in the pool, it keeps me off my feet and helps prevent injuries. The Spire place seems really cool though, and I might just go run a race there at some point this winter.
OHRunners: What can we expect from you this Spring as the leading 3200m returner?
Sam: I have not thought much about the spring track season. My focus now is the XC season and being healthy when it counts.
OHRunners: Did you take any time off after the State Track & Field Championships?
Sam: After New Balance, I did take 2 weeks off before easing into some cross country summer mileage.
OHRunners: What was your summer training schedule like? What kind of mileage were you putting in and at what types of pace? Did you run any 5k or 10 K races? Any speed work or just all distance for a strong base heading into the XC season?
Sam: My summer training started about 4 weeks after the rest of my team. I am still behind them a few weeks so it is hard to keep my mileage up, when they are starting to drop mileage a bit. I did nearly all of my runs at 7:30 pace, which is very comfortable for me, but allowed me to get some good miles in. Up until the start of the season, I was hovering around 45-50 miles a week. The first two weeks of the season I went 65, before one week at 70, a lifetime mileage PR. I raced in the Eastwood mile about 2 weeks off of track and was able to hit a 4:22 on the road, and then I competed in the St. Christopher 5k right before the season started and finished in 15:41. Both races were with my team as summer checkpoints.
OHRunners: Before we discuss this XC season, let's go back and talk about your running background? When did you first start running? What did you run? At what point did you realize that you may be good at it? What were your first goals as a young runner?
Sam: I first started running with my dad. He and my uncle were runners in high school and school record holders themselves. My brother was also running high school cross country at the time, and was part of a very good team for a few years. I started running fun runs and 5K’s with some success. As a young athlete, I really enjoyed getting medals or awards for running well. I realized that I was going to be a runner for good in 7th grade track. It was my first season running competitively on the track. I don’t know when exactly the turning point was, but I think I was tired of being beat by one of my quicker teammates and before I knew it I was racing with some of the people that had acquired idol status in my eyes as a tiny middle schooler.
OHRunners: Let's look at this XC season. What were your expectations going into the season?
Sam: My focus going into this season has been and continues to be - stay healthy. If I can do that, then the times and places that I aspire to will come. As a team, we want to make it to State. We have a very tight knit group of seniors who have been running together since seventh grade, and the past few years we have been plagued by injury and have yet to put a stellar season together. If we can stay healthy this year, we have some great underclassmen support and we could really have a great season.
OHRunners: Based upon your win at Alliance and your State leading time, you seem to be healthy and in great shape for this early part of the season. What type of workouts are you doing now and what is a typical week of workouts with an Invitational on a Saturday?
Sam: I have just put in some of my highest mileage weeks of my career and I am coming down a little bit into mid-season mileage. Monday is our long day, we usually go around 12-13 at around 7:30 pace, nice and easy just to get some good miles. Tuesdays we generally go to a local nature reserve to do some hill work and throw in 4-6 hill sprints halfway through our run, which is either 6 or 8 miles. Wednesday is our workout day. Recently we have been doing a Yooper Fartlek, or 2x2s. Thursday is another recovery day, we usually run about 6 with a few strides. Friday we go about 4 miles at a decent pace (7:00) to keep our legs fresh for Saturday. Saturday Race, and then Sunday we either take off or do an 8-10 mile run, alternating every other week.
OHRunners: What is a Yooper Fartlek?
Sam: A Yooper fartlek is a workout where you are paired with a partner. You start out going hard around a 1k loop and your partner goes the opposite way. When you meet up, you go easy. The next time you pass, it's hard again. We do this for 20 minutes and most of the guys get over 5k in. Its’a great workout to work on surges throughout the race.
OHRunners: What type of interval workouts do you do? 200's? 400's? 800's? Mile and Mile 1/4 repeats? e.g 10 x 400's @ what pace and with what intervals?
Sam: Our team had not yet started any speed work. We should be heading to the track sometime in October though. Right now, our staple workout is a Coach Kimmel specialty, the 2x2. We run 2-miles race at tempo pace, for me at about 11:00. We then take a 90 second rest and do it again. I really like this workout, as I have historically raced well afterward.
OHRunners: What type of race strategies do you have? Do you visualize all of your runs and courses, as well as the competition?
Sam: I do like to come into races knowing my competitors and the course. I try to visualize in some capacity and find that this usually improves my performance.
OHRunners: How comfortable are you running alone, out front, in some competitions? Are you confident of your pace now, i.e first mile pace, second mile and third mile paces?
Sam: The past meet at Alliance, I took the lead at about 400m in. I knew there were a few good competitors that could stick with me for a while, but I didn’t see them at the start of the race, so I took over the lead. I felt very strong through the first mile, coming in at 4:45, about 8-10 seconds ahead of the pack. I still felt good until the 2-mile when I knew I had built up a considerable lead, and hit the marker in 9:43. The third mile was tough, especially with no one to push me, but there was an awesome crowd that kept me going.
OHRunners: When you are in a competitive race, what are your thoughts during the race? Would you rather lead or run behind, staying in contact and waiting for the right moment to push the pace and take the lead or would you rather push the pace to tire out the runners with good sprint speed, or are you confident, that even with a slow pace you can win in a close, sprint finish?
Sam: In the past I have felt more comfortable letting others set the pace at the big meets. I know that style of racing will not be compatible with the times I want to run this season. I have really been working during my races and workouts on leading from the front and trying to push the pace myself and motivate myself to keep going at a good pace.
My finishing speed has not been as good as some of the other runners in the State but my coaches and I have focused on it quite a bit in the past year. For example, this past track season I competed in the 400 and 800 for the first half of the season - a humbling experience for a 3200 meter runner. I did not start competing in the 3200 until much later in the season.
OHRunners: It takes experience to learn "How" to run a race and pace is very important. At the collegiate level, training is easier because many teammates are all capable of running together during workouts. Are the majority of your workouts "solo" in terms of pace and distances? Has this helped you learn pace in both practices and in running solo in many competitions?
Sam: I do the majority of my training with my team, or at least our upper echelon of runners, especially for base milage, long runs, speed work, or recovery days. I do tend to run some personalized times or distances for tempo, threshold, or just plain harder workouts, usually on Wednesdays. I do a lot of race pace or slower work especially at this point in the season and prefer shorter rests than most, so my workouts closely resemble an actual race and during races I think back to workouts and how I performed and use that to push myself.
OHRunners: Let's talk a little about you personally?
What motivates you?
How do you mentally prepare for a race?
How do you react when you win a race?
How do you react with a loss?
Sam: I am motivated by others and what they think of me, whether they want to beat me, or whether they are spectators cheering me on that I don’t want to give a half-hearted performance for. To mentally prepare for important meets, I like to visualize my race beforehand. I know it sounds cheesy, but I have really started doing it more lately. It helps me trust my training, anticipate moves in the race, and go out there and enjoy myself. When I win a race, I immediately feel as if I could go run another. That rush of endorphins as you cross the finish is the most amazing experience in the world. I then look back on that week of training and all of the work that my coaches, parents, teammates, and that I put in to make that race possible. When I lose a race, my number one rule is to respect my competition. I don’t have to like them or be great buddies with them, but they were the better runner that day and I have to congratulate them and be happy for them, since at the end of the day, we are all runners, all in a competition and you can’t win them all.
OHRunners: What are your goals for the remainder of the XC season? Are you anticipating running in the post XC season? i.e. Nike Nationals?
Sam: I think that anyone running high school cross country would love to win state and I can say that I am no exception. I want to leave with a State title. That is my main goal, running the best race I can at State. I also would like to set a course record at National Trails and continue to lower our school record. This year I want to set a legacy, something for people to remember me by when I graduate, not just times, but how I competed. As long as I stay healthy the remainder of the season and my body feels up to it, I hope to compete in both Nike and Footlocker Regionals, hopefully qualifying in both, adding up to around 5 weeks of tough racing into December.
OHRunners: Thanks Sam. We are looking forward to watching you the remainder of the season. Stay healthy and we will see you at State.
