OHRunners: First congratulations on qualifying for the Footlocker Cross Country Championships.and earning the right to run back to back national races - the "Double" is quite an honor.
What was the Footlocker experience like?
Sam: Thank you so much. It truly was an honor and I don't think I realized how great of one it was until I reached San Diego. They rolled out the red carpet for every single athlete. Upon arrival, the atmosphere at the Hotel Del Coronado was incredible. It was great meeting all of these stud runners, and finding out that you had so much more in common with them than just running (not a single person there was bad at ping pong). The elevator was quite scary at first, it was a wire cage with an operator inside. It was a scene from a horror movie. Honestly, the Del is also allegedly haunted. We went and checked out the alleged rooms, but there was no activity there, although several other strange events occurred. But for fun, we tried to get to know each of the quiet operators and that was one of the highlights, just chatting with Bernie, Andrew, Senyo, and Dave every time we rode. The Footlocker staff made sure that it was as enjoyable as possible for the athletes, giving us a lot of flexibility, while still doing a good job of keeping us safe. They treated us with the utmost hospitality at every event we attended. After the race, everyone was relaxed and we got to know each other very well and just had a blast now that our seasons were all over.
OHRunners: Having just made back to back West Coast trips, as well as coming off of your win at NXN, what were your expectations getting prepared for the race?
Sam: Getting prepared for this race and coming off of a tough course at Nike, I knew I would be a little more beat up than usual. My coach and I cut back my mileage and did the best we could to make sure that there were no detrimental effects from racing Nike. The one short workout we did was more of a mental workout and confidence booster than any last-second training cramming. I knew I wanted to go out and run with the big dogs so I needed my body to be at 100%, and I believe that it was as good as it was going to get by race time.
OHRunners: At this point in the season and at this race, everyone knows who "the Big Dogs are, including yourself, and you had run with and against some of them already. You had not run against Cheserek. What was your race strategy?
OHRunners: What were your thoughts at the starting line?
Sam: On the starting line, I knew that this would be the final cross country race of my high school career. I wasn't worried about any fans, family, or friends and what they thought, like I usually am. I just kept repeating to myself that this was it. I knew what I had to do for myself.
OHRunners: Take us through your race.
Sam: I got out exactly where I wanted to be, hanging off of the shoulder of the leaders. I kept close tabs on Sean, Jake, Jacob, and Edward. They pushed the pace early, leading us through a nice mile and continuing to push all the way up the hill and into the second loop. On the downhill, the pack separated ever so slightly. I made a gut decision and jumped into the lead pack with Cheserek, Leingang, and McGorty. We passed the halfway point, and I knew this race was going to hurt. I almost dropped from the group about 3-4 times within the next mile, but every time, I clawed my way back, knowing there was a chase group about 10 seconds back. I knew that the longer I stayed with these guys, the less I would have to run on my own and the faster I would be done, and the better I could place. I gave my last bit of energy to hang with those guys up the hill and managed to do so, only to wait until one of them put on a serious move. McGorty took off down the hill and Cheserek and Leingang followed him. After a consistent battering of around 13 minutes, my will caved, my form collapsed into worse than it usually looks. I let the hill carry my broken body towards the finish line. My arms went cold and numb about 10 minutes into the race but crossing the street into the last .1, they eclipsed that stage and went into a near-paralysis state. Ben Saarel and Jacob Thompson came roaring by me and I just hoped that they all weren't there. I gritted out the last 50 meters, and even slowed down near the finish line, not wanting my time as a cross country racer to come to a close. I finished about 5 seconds behind 5th and 10 seconds ahead of 7th. I truly believe I could have made a much greater fight for the 4th and 5th place spots had I run a more conservative race, but I think that I can rest happier now, knowing that I reached my limit and can only improve from here!
OHRunners: You have had a great Senior XC season. How would you describe your season.
Sam: Again, cliche version: It's been a dream. I'm still not sure when my alarm will go off, but I hope it never does. But really, it’s been an enlightening experience and I have learned so much this season. Everything from racing strategy, to college searching, to learning what I am truly capable of. I didn't want it to end, but now that it has I am perfectly blissful with how everything played out, and still excited and hungry for track and the opportunity to do even bigger things.
Sam: First of all, both meets are truly national meets, with the best of the best competition at each one. I would say that the competition was rather even this year, with the exception of Cheserek, and sometimes it hasn't been in years past. Nike was definitely the more media savvy, logo pushing experience. They set out to make you awestruck, just everything from staying on the Nike Campus to Swoosh-emblazoned waffles. Footlocker is definitely the more historical and respected meet. Many more old-timers and veterans of the sport hold dear connections to that meet, while Nike is focused on the up-and-coming. I cannot honestly pick a favorite. I am just blessed to have been granted the opportunity to participate in both.
I will say that my junior year, I qualified for Nike and opted not to participate in the Footlocker Regional. Looking back now, I am extremely upset that I didn't at least go give it a shot. In terms of the courses, the difference is self-explanatory, although I would say that due to the camera mishap this year at Footlocker, I enjoyed Nike's coverage more. I believe that both courses are fit to run and declare champions on. This year, Nike was an outlier in terms of course difficulty, but it forced runners to adapt. I think that if some of the top runners placed higher, less people would have been inclined to immediately dismiss the course as a fluke and non-deserving of a national meet.
In terms of the experience for individuals, I would have to go with Footlocker. They made it much more accepting and encouraged mingling and forming lifelong friendships. At Nike, I made superb friends, but only a very few from my region and not as many from others. The teams tend to be more exclusive at Nike, although I did hang out with the York and Cincinnati guys quite a bit as well. At Footlocker, I can honestly say that I made great friends with every person I held a conversation with. One guy, Robert Domanic, from Texas, was also at Nike, but I only knew his name. Didn't even know what he looked like. At Footlocker, we hung out and he turned out to be a very cool dude that I would love to see again sometime. One of the greatest friends I made in San Diego was Patrick Gibson. We were paired as roommates, and I was worried because I did not know who he was. I was just hoping that he was talkative, because if I get a quiet roommate, I end up being very quiet and secluded as well. Patrick was a talker. He was a very genuine guy, a great friend, and even acted as a father figure to some of the sophomores from the West. He was able to include everyone, and everyone liked him too. I really want to see him again and race against him at Brooks or something like that, but no matter what, I really formed a friendship that I know will last longer than my running career, no matter how long that might be.
Shout out to Sam Prakel for being a bona-fide stud, and winning the Wendy's High School Heisman. That is such a legit honor and no one deserves it more.
Shout out to Nick Elswick for representing Ohio well, and for only being a junior! What the heck man, I'm so jealous!
Shout out to all fellow Mutang Wutang (Midwest) homies!
Final shout out to Stanford University, where I will be attending next fall and I am so pumped to join an absolutely stellar group of guys who are going to be doing big things in the future! Go Cardinals!
Thank you so much for the opportunity to do this, and other interviews and to chronicle my season. I'm sorry for being so long-winded. I just get excited when I start typing. I hope that anyone who reads this is excited and dreams big enough to reach for those goals and have just as incredible of experiences that I did, and to help further distance running in Ohio, and as a whole!
