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St. Louis Track Club Men's Elite Mile DAN STRACKELJAHN
1. Dan, you didn't really do much indoors and you've just now started to come around outdoors with a 3:47 win at the North Central Invite last weekend. Was it your plan to build into things slowly this year and how good of shape would you say you are in right now? The outdoor season is a long season, going into the late summer. I wanted to do a couple indoor races to keep the competitive drive , but ultimately racing well outdoors and qualifying for USATF Outdoor Nationals is the primary goal. My NCC race was a good stepping stone for this season. I am feeling pretty good right now, but I still have some work to do to before I get into the primary part of the season. 2. Many of the other guys in this race are running full-time or almost full-time. You have a full-time job as a teacher. Talk about the challenges of training at a high level and having a career. I'm not going to lie it's tough. Luckily, I have a couple of my former teammates in the area that I meet up with to do some runs a couple times a week. That helps keep me accountable and keeps training enjoyable and not a daily chore. The main challenge with working full time and training is maintaining my energy level. Working during the day and being on my feet, sometimes I feel drained after school when I need to get a run in. This is my second year of doing this, so I am getting more accustomed to the schedule. One benefit of my job being in education is the summers off. Right around the time of my major meets I am done with teaching. It's almost like a secondary taper with my days activities significantly lessening after the school year ends and letting me focus solely on running. 3. Many people may not know it but you are from right over the river in Southern Illinois. Talk a little about your high school career and then your choice to go to Eastern Illinois. I was born and grew up in Highland, Illinois about 30 miles east of St. Louis. I went to Highland High School and graduated in 2002. My high school cross team competed in a couple meets at Jefferson Barracks, a highlight in our season every year. In cross I qualified for class AA IHSA state as an individual in 2000 and my team qualified in 2001, the first team from my high school since my Dad's team in the 70s. In track in high school, my senior year I ran 4:14 and placed 5 th at the State meet. I chose to go to EIU to go into teaching and because the team seemed like a good fit. They had a good team dynamic and had a solid mid distance – distance crew. If I could do it again I would still go to Eastern. 4. What are your goals for this season? I'm looking to break through to that next level and see what opportunities open up. I would like to qualify for USATF nationals in the 1500m and break the 4 min barrier in the mile. 5. How does the Big River Festival of Miles fit into your season and why did you choose to run it this year? The Festival of Miles is a great start to the main part of my outdoor season. The field looks solid, the rabbits are going to bring us through at sub 4 pace, all around it's a great opportunity to run a quick and competitive race. Now that I am running for Big River this is a chance to race in St. Louis in front of a hometown crowd. It's also really nice to race close to home where my family can come out and watch. 6. How much of a difference does it make for you as an athlete to have a really big crowd at race? A really big crowd is awesome because it brings the atmosphere of the race to the next level. The crowd gives me an extra push and helps keeps me dynamic throughout the race. The final kick with a roaring crowd is the coolest though, it always seems like you can go a lot faster with people screaming. 7. Finally, knowing who is in the race and knowing your own fitness level how do you see the race playing out on Saturday without giving away any secret strategies of course! With this great field of runners and quality rabbits, the race it is going to be a great. I think we are going to have a big cluster of guys rolling through at sub 4 pace and with 300m left it is going to be a mad kick to the finish. I'm looking forward to it. *** |
West County |
