Last week, the Tigers cross country teams were paced by first-year Paul Christian and senior Heather O’Brien at the Calvin Knight Invitational, placing first for both the men’s and women’s teams respectively. Christian placed 23 out of 185-plus runners in the men’s eight kilometer race with a time of 26:01.7, while O’Brien finished 13 out of over 150 runners with a 18:41.1 in the five kilometer race. Earlier this week, The DePauw had the chance to sit down with both runners and discuss their outlook on the young season.
Heather O’Brien
Runner
Year: Senior
Hometown: Indianapolis, Indiana
The DePauw (TDP): As a senior, did it feel any different at the start line? Did you have any motivation in comparison to other years?
Heather O’Brien (HOB): Sometimes, it’s just weird to know that it’s your last time racing that course, but it doesn’t really affect how I go into the race. I guess as a senior, you just want to take on a different type of leadership role because people may not realize how much they’re going to miss it once they graduate. Now, as a senior, you start to realize, “this is my last race ever at Calvin, this is my last first week of cross country. So it’s a little bit of a different mindset in that sense, but I wouldn’t say I step into the races differently just because I’m a senior.
TDP: How does this year compare to the other three years team-wise?
HOB: I think our team dynamic is really strong this year. We’re doing a lot of extra supplementary things that just kind of go along with our motto, that’s “All In”. We’re doing team lifting twice a week, we do yoga once a week. We’ve just tried to do a lot of team things to bring us all in together because our potential this year is fully reliant on the team. We need varsity members to be really strong this year. It can’t be an individual thing.
TDP: You struggled with injuries during training this summer. What was wrong?
HOB: I have a lot of foot issues. I have really weak feet, and the bones in my feet are kind of structured really poorly. This summer, I started feeling a lot of pain in my foot so I went to the doctor and found out I had two stress reactions in my left foot. But he told me that I could prevent that from becoming a stress fracture if I’m just like super careful about my training, like icing it every day, heating it when I need to, taking extra vitamin supplements. I’m just doing all the little things to make sure I prevent any further injury. So far so good.
TDP: Has this been something’s that’s bothered you throughout college?
HOB: It’s always been a minor factor, but this summer I think it just started to add up. Collegiate running for four years is finally taking a toll on my body.
TDP: Even though you have the season to go, what have you enjoyed most about collegiate running?
HOB: I just really enjoy the level of competition you can get at Division III. I’m a huge advocate for D3 because you’re still able to balance several different things, like school, extracurriculars and being a very competitive runner. Every meet that we go to, you know there’s going to be someone, whether it’s on your own team or whether it’s on another team, that’s going to push you harder. You can never be the best of the best.
Paul Christian
Runner
Year: First-year
Hometown: Glen Ellyn, Illinois
The DePauw (TDP): While you guys had a 5k race last week, were you nervous at the start line before your first 8k?
Paul Christian (PC): I wasn’t so much nervous as fired up. We have a really good starting line ritual, it gets you in the mood to run. I was just really happy to be running. I was just ready to go—“I was saying “Let me out.” The strange thing is, I didn’t feel tired after at all. I just had the adrenaline still going. I didn’t feel tired until I started the cool down, and suddenly my legs started to cramp up, and I was like, “okay, there’s that 8k.”
TDP: What made you want to keep running in college? What do you like most about the sport?
PC: I’ve always enjoyed running. I’ve talked to my teammates back home, in high school and some of the freshmen here. I mean there are runners on the team for the team, for the camaraderie. Then there are people who are on the team because they like to race and like the competitive spirit of it. And then there are also a few people that run just because they like running. Actually, I think it’s those people who tend to do the best in the long run, because they don’t burn out as much.
TDP: How did you train this summer in order to make the jump to the collegiate XC level?
PC: I upped my mileage. I ran close to 70 miles pretty much every week. I did some longer endurance tempos just to get use to the longer distance. I think that definitely helped. I felt more in shape for the 8k than I did for the 5k. I’m not a very quick guy; I like the longer distances.
TDP: What has your experience been thus far running in college in terms of balancing the workload along with other parts of your life?
PC: I’m really busy. I’m also in the School of Music. [I play] violin, so I’m expected to practice four to six hours a day.
TDP: What do you think of the Nature Park?
PC: I love it. I miss official practice like three times a week for orchestra, so I do a lot of runs there on my own. I think I’ve discovered every trail. I don’t think I’ll get tired of running there any time soon.
TDP: You’re a part of a talented first-year class. Do you feel pressure at all now that you’ve seen the results?
PC: Not really. We’re doing our part for the team, but I mean we’re heavily supported by upperclassmen who are really helping us run how we’re running. It’ll be weird, you know, three years from now when we’re on our own. We’re definitely under a lot of guidance, which helps.