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Bobby
Curtis of St. Xavier High School in Louisville, Kentucky has been
on the national scene since he finished 10th at the Foot Locker
National Cross Country Championships as a sophomore. Two weekends
ago he covered five kilometers in 14:49 to finish six seconds ahead
of Matt Debole of North Carolina and capture the Foot Locker South
Regional in Charlotte. Curtis will compete in the Foot Locker Nationals
at Balboa Park in San Diego this weekend. Suffering from a sinus
infection a year ago, he finished 21st. This weekend the three-time
Kentucky state cross country champion will join Wisconsin's Chris
"Rocket" Solinsky as a pre-race favorite. Curtis, has
PRs of 4:07.61 (mile) and 14:41 (5,000m).
MensRacing:
Congrats on your win at the South Regional. Were you pleased with
your result?
Bobby Curtis:
Yeah, it was a relatively moderate effort, but I still ran pretty
fast and beat pretty good people. It's nice to beat pretty good
people; it gets my confidence up heading into nationals.
MR:
How does your win compare with your result of a year ago?
BC:
I'm a lot more pleased with winning. Last year was a different situation;
I'd been sick in weeks prior (with a sinus infection). Now going
in after winning the regional it's obviously a lot better than coming
in third the year before.
MR:
Though you're only a senior in high school, running has taken you
across the country. Do any places or experiences stand out?
BC:
As far as the race itself, the Golden West Invite (where he placed
second in the mile in 4:07.61) was my best racing experience. That
track in Sacramento was really nice; I've never seen a track facility
like that. My junior year I went to San Francisco for the Great
American (Cross Country Festival) and I think I enjoyed that city
more than the race itself. That was the best trip I've had.
MR:
The Foot Locker Championships seem to be increasing in prestige
with each subsequent year. What's your take on the attention that
event is given?
BC:
It's cool because it's something that the sport of running doesn't
see often. There's a fixed time slot on Fox Sports, and it's so
publicized that even teachers at my school who have no affiliation
with running know what it is. It's also been around a while, and
past champions have become Olympians, NCAA champions, and things
like that, so I guess prestige comes with stuff like that.
MR:
You've been on the national scene since you finished 10th as a sophomore
at the Foot Locker champs. Has that enabled you to focus your goals
on the national scene, or do you still put much emphasis on being
a state champ in Kentucky?
BC:
I think if I'm gonna focus on being competitive on the national
level, that that takes care of itself, you know. Finishing 10th
gave me a lot of opporutnities as far as racing different places,
and helped me to be competitive on national level, so that's gonna
help me be competiive on state level. They help each other out.
MR:
Would you say you're a student of the sport?
BC:
Yeah. I mean, I've always been someone who has enjoyed running and
I'm always one of the first guys to be looking for results and stuff
like that. It's always interested me.
MR:
Do you regard any runners in particular as influences?
BC:
I wouldn't say any runner has directly influenced me. There are
some people that I look up to like Hicham El Guerrouj, Lasse Viren,
Haile Gebrselassie, big names like that [who] have accomplished
so much. They don't directly affect how I run, but it's just nice
to read about them and see what they're all about.
MR:
What are your interests outside of running?
BC:
I enjoy doing lots of stuff. I like to golf, or just hang out with
my friends, stuff like that.
MR:
How do you suppose the Foot Locker race will be run. Any ideas?
BC:
Yeah, I think really it's gonna come down to Solinsky, he's the
pre-race favorite, and if he's gonna get away from the pack before
there's a half mile left or if there will still be people up there.
As for me, I'm just gonna try to hang in as long as I can. If I'm
in it with 1,000 to go I think my chances are pretty good. My goal
is to stay within striking distance for the whole race.
MR:
I read that you're training about 50 miles a week. That's not a
bad training load for a high schooler. Given your success in the
mile, do you consider yourself a miler or more of a long distance
runner? What would you like to focus on in college?
BC:
At this stage I'd consider myself a miler, because I haven't experimented
with high mileage yet. This summer I ran 60 miles a week, 15 more
than I had ever done before, and I did it on a consistent level.
After that I found new strength that I never had before.
As
college goes on I think I'll develop into more of a 5k-type runner,
but I'll still always like to do the 1,500 and relays and be more
of a well-rounded runner. If I had a choice, though, of say rather
winning the NCAA title at 1,500 or 5k, I'd say the 1,500 because
it's an event I enjoy more than a 5k.
MR:
You signed with Villanova - a school with a great miling tradition.
Did that influence your decision?
BC:
Somewhat. I've always basically had it down to Wisconsin and 'Nova.
Going on visits I saw them work out, and when I was at Wisconsin
they did this huge 12-mile tempo, and at Villanova they did 1,000m
repeats. Wisconsin is obviously more distance oriented. That's not
something that scared me off, I just think that personally, I'm
not gonna run well doing 100 miles a week. The way Marcus (O'Sullivan)
handles things, Adrian (Blincoe, 2002 NCAA Indoor 3,000m Champion)
ran like 85 that week, and that's a system I think I'd fit well
into. In the end it came down to how both schools train and the
atmosphere. Marcus was a four-time Olympian, and with his acheivements,
you just can't go wrong with a coach like that.
MR:
Indoor and outdoor are right around the corner - any big objectives
you'd still like to complete before you move up to the college ranks?
BC:
Yeah, I'd definitely like to improve my PRs. I'd like to get my
two-mile down to 8:50 or below, and in the mile I just want to see
what I can do. I think I was in a bit better than 4:07 shape last
year, so this year I'd like to try to get that as close to four
minutes as possible.
MR:
Best of luck at the Foot Locker champs.
BC:
Thanks.
(Posted
December 11, 2002)
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