The Illinois State cross country champion and Detweiler Park course record setter (16:22 3 mile state meet performance) Kayla Beattie from Woodstock High School will be racing Saturday in her first Foot Locker Nationals appearance. The only girls' qualifier from the state of Illinois, Beattie is making her second consecutive trip to the West Coast in as many weeks following a 12th place finish at the Nike Cross Nationals in Oregon last Saturday as she came into the race as the NXN Midwest Regional champion. Beattie, an All-American in the two mile at the Nike Indoor Nationals last March, will be in contention for a top 15 All-American finish in San Diego and looking to finish strong with her Midwest Region teammates after a 6th place finish at the regional qualifier in Wisconsin.
Interview with Kayla Beattie (Woodstock IL)
When did you first start running and why? I first started running in middle school. My parents were both runner in college, so they encouraged my sister and I to participate on the middle school cross country and track teams. The whole experience was pretty low key and in actuality, we didn’t really run that much. I put a lot more focus on soccer. Freshman year in high school my parents made me chose one sport per season and that was when I began to put more attention to running. It was difficult to give up soccer, since I had played since Kindergarten, but I thought I would have more success with running.
(Photo right by Matt Shatkus)
You got to run with your sister Elise for the first three years of high school. How did she help you along with your running those 3 years and how different has it been this year without her as a teammate? Running with Elise was a great experience for the both of us, I think. It was definitely nice to have a training partner every day and someone to push me during workouts. I think running together also helped us become closer sisters, since we spent so much time together. Through running, Elise became my best friend. Obviously we are both competitive people, so every once-in-a-while that would create tension, but at the end of the day we both wanted to see each other be successful. This past year has been different without her. My younger sister was a freshman on the team this year, but it wasn’t the same. It was nice having her around at practice and at meets and it was fun for me to see her improve throughout the season, but we never really ran together.
You won your second straight Illinois state cross country title running almost a full minute faster than your 2009 win. How pleased were you in not only being able to repeat as a champion again but run 52 seconds faster at Detweiler Park? This year I had big goals for the cross country season and defending my title was obviously one of them. However, this year, I didn’t want to just win. I wanted to run a competitive time and possibly set a new course record. Over the summer I increased my mileage and most importantly improved the quality of each mile run. Since my Junior year when my school dropped down in enrollment size, I have compared myself to runners in 3A. Although I never raced against the best girls in 3A, I was always thinking about their times. In my mind, although there are 3 races at state, only one runner can have the fastest time of the day. To me it didn’t matter if I won my race if someone else in another race ran 10 seconds faster. That was a huge motivating factor this season. I entered the state meet with the goal of running 16:30. My coaches and I knew it was going to be a huge PR, but my training was going well and my splits in practice indicated a fast performance. I was most definitely pleased with my repeat state championship and most importantly the course record at Detweiler Park.
Last year after winning the state meet, you finished 32nd at the NXN Midwest Regional and 17th at Foot Locker Midwest Regional. This year, you won the NXN regional race and finished 6th at Foot Locker Midwest to qualify for both national races. What did you learn from last year's race experiences at both regional races to race significantly better this year in the post-season? Last year my focus of the season was running well at State. My coaches wrote workouts with a purpose of peaking early in November and running my best race at State. Then, I tried to carry my peak a few more weeks and it did not work out too well. Especially for NXN, I had achieved my major goal of the season and my mental focus was not on the postseason. This season my coaches and I changed that. I didn’t necessarily taper for the state meet and instead trained through most of the IHSA state series in order to be ready for the post-season.
(Photo left by Ryan Kelly)
Despite obviously showing yourself to be running a much higher level and ready to compete nationally during the regular season in Illinois, how much of a relief or assurance was the NXN regional win that truly had arrived and ready to take your running to a national level? Winning the NXN Midwest Regional was a big accomplishment for me and boosted my confidence. I had been training well all season and knew I could compete with some of the best girls in the country.
Illinois runners are usually not able or allowed to travel far to compete in meets, but you were able to go race at Great American in North Carolina which you ran a great race for 2nd place in 17:32. How did the trip to Great American come about and did you enjoy the opportunity to race new competition on a new course? Last year in track I ran at NIN and truly enjoyed the experience of racing talented girls. I often run races against the clock, so this cross country season I wanted an early experience to practice running against competition that would help prepare me for the post-season. My coaches and athletic director helped me get IHSA approval and it turned out to be a fun experience.
Going into the Foot Locker regional race, was there less pressure for you and able to run more confidently knowing you had already qualified for at least one national race at NXN? I did enter the race with confidence knowing that I could compete with the field, but I still knew that in order to qualify I would have to run a quality race. Since the summer, my coaches and I focused our attention on qualifying for Footlocker, so, I never really considered the fact that I was already going to one national meet.
What was your race plan for Foot Locker Midwest and how did you feel you executed that plan? My race at Footlocker did not go exactly as planned. I ran a little timid and was not aggressive enough during the middle parts of the race. I finished not all too pleased with my performance, but in the end, the objective of the meet is to finish top 10 and qualify on to the next round in San Diego.
How did you feel about your race performance at NXN and what can you use from what you learned in that race for Foot Locker Nationals? Again, I was disappointed with my race performance at NXN. I struggled with the mud and the various obstacles on the course, such as the hay bails. I feel like I am a smooth/rhythmic runner and do not have a lot of power in my stride that would be beneficial for trudging through mud. All runners had to face the same conditions, but some just handled them better than others. I had difficulty finding my rhythm and was overall disappointed and frustrated. The Nike meet was good experience, however. I am glad I had the opportunity to participate.
(Photo right by Ryan Kelly)
You earned All-American honors last indoor season in the 2 mile at Nike Indoor Nationals, so is another All-American finish on your mind for Foot Locker Nationals (top 15)? I am looking to enter the Footlocker race and run as best as I can. If I run my own race and follow my race plan, I will be happy with my performance and we’ll see where that puts me against the best of best.
What would you consider as the best workout of the season for you and why? I love training and running hard in practices. I don’t think I can pinpoint one single workout of the season, because all workouts are different and all have differing purposes.
What would you say is your greatest strength as a runner and why as well as the area that you would like most improve upon? I feel like I have a good sense of pace. It is especially beneficial on the track, but it is a strength in cross country as well. Like I said above, I am good at finding a rhythm during a race and sticking to it and possibly running negative splits throughout a race. My leg speed is one area I would like to improve on. Since last track season I have been working on it quite a bit, but there is always room for improvement!
You are the only Illinois girls qualifier for Foot Locker Nationals and part of a large Midwest qualifier group of 4 girls from Michigan who qualified, so what will it be like out there by yourself from Illinois? Will it help knowing a few familiar faces from last week as an individual qualifier at NXN with some girls also making the double back to race at Foot Locker Nationals as well? I haven’t really thought much about being the only Illinois qualifier. Being a 2A school, I don’t exactly race against the other Illinois girls who had a chance of qualifying, so I don’t know them that well anyway. The Midwest team is a strong group and should fare well against the other regions. I feel fortunate to be a part of it.
How do you like to recover in between hard races and the travel to all these meets in the post-season? Do you take days off, ice baths, etc? I always take one day off in a week, most typically Sundays, to allow my body some rest. I see importance of being a little cautious while my body is still growing. Also, I make sure I pay attention to the little things that can have a large impact on my running and on my general health. I do some preventative icing, make sure I eat well, and also make sure I get sufficient sleep.
(Photo left from footlockercc.com)
What would you say has been your most memorable or happiest running moment ever and why? I don’t know if I have one specific moment. Like I said above, I love training and working hard in practice. Whenever I have a good workout, I am extremely happy. Running, to me, is about the process. Going out to practice everyday and getting better, getting faster, is the fun part! Setting goals and taking the proper steps to achieve them is an awesome feeling.
This cross country season overall has been a great experience and has brought a lot of happiness. At the beginning of the season I was running really poorly and my body ached all over. I wasn’t sure if I was even going to continue with the season. Then, my doctors finally found the problem and diagnosed me with Lyme disease. I was put on antibiotics for 3 weeks and since then I am so thankful that I stuck with it. My coaches were very supportive and have helped me achieve my goals thus far. I feel lucky to have the opportunity to participate in both National meets. I will remember this particularly for a while!
