2004 FOOT LOCKER CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS
Post-race interview with John McGuire

by Ricky Quintana

John McGuire (Photo: Alison Wade/NYRR)

John McGuire, a senior at D'Evelyn High School in Golden, Colorado, finished fourth at the 2004 Foot Locker Cross Country Championships in 15:27. He qualified for nationals by finishing eighth at the Foot Locker Midwest Regional.

MensRacing.com: How did it go?
John McGuire: I'm happy, really happy. I just sat in the back. I was 25th or 30th at the mile. I just moved up the entire race. I took it easy on that hill. Coming down, I caught [Andrew Bumbalough] right about here, at the two mile. I just hung with him and I started to push with about 1,200m left, then again at the top of the hill. Then, he just gapped me coming down the hill. Then, Ken Cormier passed me. I was kind of out of gas then. I came into this race thinking top five. I had no pressure on me. I'm from the Midwest and I took eighth. I'm happy. I'm so happy.

MR: Was the course at the Midwest Regional the reason you finished eighth?
JM: It was more the shoes. I didn't have long enough spikes in them. I was slipping everywhere, but I qualified so I'm really happy.

MR: When you were up there, you took the lead and were pretty aggressive. Was that part of your plan too?
JM: Actually, I wasn't expecting to be in the lead. I came into this race thinking I could squeak into the top five. When I got to the lead, I figured I would do something with it. My dad always tells me 'Don't take the lead unless you are going to do something with it.' So I took the lead and started pushing. [Bumbalough] hung tough, though.

MR: When Ken caught up to you, were you surprised by that?
JM: No, I knew they were right behind me. All that pushing really took it out of me. I'm still so happy.

MR: What do you think about the whole experience?
JM: I love it. It's the best experience of my running career by far. You come here and they take care of everything for you. It's perfect. I loved it.

(Interview conducted on December 11, 2004, and posted on December 15, 2004.)