Big River Interview: Dan Quigley

CBC Senior Dan Quigley enters the 2006 Cross Country season as one of the favorites to take home the Class 4 individual title. His Cadet team also looks good returning an experienced squad. Quigley was eighth place at last year's State Meet and followed that up with a runner-up finish in the 3200 at the State Track Meet. Big River caught up with Dan as he prepares to enter his senior season.

BR: How's training going?

DQ: Great. I got a great summer in. I just do what my coach tells me.

BR: Can you give us some mileage numbers?

DQ: Last year I was at 60-65 for my highest. This year I hit 75, so a little more mileage. Coach is constantly playing around with workouts and seeing what works and what doesn't.

BR: What are some of the workouts you are doing now as the first meet approaches?

DQ: We do a longer run and lactate threshold workouts like your basic mile repeats and workouts that I guess you would call fartlek workouts.

BR: So it seems like everything is going well, what are the goals for this season?

DQ: Personally I'd love to win State and we have some pretty lofty team goals as well. We have 13 guys who trained six days a week all summer and we have a lot of young guys and it's fun to watch them improve. Really whether I win or not, whether I get 1st or 10th it's not a big deal for our team score and that's what matters.

BR: Are you a guy who trains and races to run a certain time or do you just focus on racing?

DQ: I don't look at time because you never know what it's going to be like on race day. I just go through my workouts and do what Coach tells me. I have so much trust in him. I run my race and if anyone wants to beat me they're going to have to run my race to do it.

BR: Tell us a little bit about last year at the State Meet. We heard you had a little bit of a sickness.

DQ: I was a little disappointed with last year. We are going to run one less meet this year so that should help, but I think after a long season I just got a little run-down and came down with a cold the week of the race. I really wasn't feeling well at all that day and hopefully that won't happen this time.

BR: On the opposite end, you seemingly had a very good day at State track in the 3200. Tell us about that.

DQ: Just like Coach said, ‘A lot of people are going to go out too fast.' I normally don't wear a watch but I wore one that day to make sure I would stay on pace and not worry about anyone else. On the first lap I was a couple seconds too fast but I felt really comfortable. Basically you can't win the race in the first part but you can lose it. I was happy, but I would have liked a PR. [Ed.note- Quigley ran 9:23 , just a tick off of his 9:22 PR]

BR: As a junior you didn't really have to deal with being the favorite, but this year you are kind of being touted as one of the favorites to win State. Do you feel that pressure?

DQ: I feel it but I try not to think about it. I just put my mind into training and focusing on that.

BR: Finally, what advice do you give to younger runners who might want to get a little bit of knowledge from you?

DQ: Work hard. If you want to get anywhere in running, or in life, you have to work for it. I love running and I put all my energy into it. Also, trust your coach. You may not be the best but as long as you're having fun- that's what it's all about.

Thanks for a great interview Dan. Good luck this season!