The cross-country season may be over for most runners in the state, but for three Connecticut harriers there is still one more race left. Staples High standout Hannah DeBalsi, Brien McMahon's Eric van der Els and Glastonbury's Gabriel Altopp will be at San Diego's Balboa Park this Saturday for the Foot Locker Nationals. It will be DeBalsi's third straight appearance and the first time for van der Els and Altopp.
MileSplit caught up with Eric before he embarked on his flight out west. Here's what he had to say about Foot Locker (and a little more).
MileSplit CT - First of all, congratulations on qualifying for the Foot
Locker Nationals. You have had a great season, winning several invitational
meets and your first individual title at the State Open. How would you rank you
recent fifth-place finish at Foot Locker Northeast where you earned your berth
to the Dec. 12 nationals in San Diego?
Eric - Qualifying for footlocker nationals is something Coach Bradley and I have been talking about all season and setting that to be the main goal. I'd say it's my biggest accomplishment so far this season along with winning the Connecticut state championship.
MileSplit CT - Take us through your race. What was your game plan prior to the meet?
Eric - The plan was to go out aggressive and sit in the top 10 throughout the whole race. Van Cortlandt can sometimes get tight and I'd rather be out in the front pack and not take the risk of getting stuck too far behind.
MileSplit CT - Last year's Foot Locker regional was captured by former
Connecticut great Alex Ostberg, who enjoyed a spectacular high school career
while at Darien with numerous all state and All American honors. Has Alex had
any influence on your career?
Eric - Alex has had a huge influence on me. I definitely look up to him and it's great to know someone with his prestige. Everything he's done for our state is just amazing and I have learned a lot by just watching him. Luckily our high schools are close enough and while he was at Darien High School I was able to meet up with him and teammate Armstrong Noonan for workouts.
MileSplit CT - What
is your favorite workout and why?
Eric - I've always been a low mileage guy. During the season I'm around 35 to 40 miles. Depending on what the race schedule is it's generally made meet i've always been a little mileage a guy. During the season I'm around 35 to 40 miles. Depending on what the race schedule it's generally made up of two workouts (hill repeats, tempos, mile repeats) and a long run. I've been using this kind of training method consistently since 10th grade.
My favorite workout would probably be hill repeats. This is definitely one of the hardest workouts but being a good hill runner in cross country is a great skill to have especially with all the hilly courses we race at. Feeling comfortable while racing up a hill is something that can improve your performance.
MileSplit CT - What's you approach to Foot Locker this weekend. What would
you consider a successful race at the Nationals?
Eric - Definitely going out there and having fun and doing my best. Having the opportunity to race at footlocker nationals is an honor. A successful race at nationals would be to let out everything I have worked for all season. This is my last high school cross country race and I want to make it memorable.
MileSplit CT - Moving forward, do you plan to take anytime off going into your indoor season?
What's your goals this winter and the remainder of your high school career at
Brien McMahon.
Eric - I'll be taking a good 10 to 14 days off after this race. Goals for the indoor season and future is to run more personal records and represent myself and high school at the highest level.
