Ben Veatch
Ben Veatch is the top male returner to Nike Cross Nationals, per his seventh-place finish in 2014. He is one of several athletes to go for the NXN-Foot Locker double; he is the No. 2 returner in the field to San Diego. As the senior leader of the Carmel High School Greyhounds, Veatch has competed at NXN during every year of high school and will travel to Portland with the girls team. The three-time Indiana state champion owns PRs of 8:53.42 for 3200m and 14:53.6 for 5K.
1. What was your hardest workout this season?
Our hardest workout of the year is what we like to call The Beat workout. We go out to our cross country course at north view church which if you know the course is not flat, and run a 5k, 2 mile, and finish it with a mile. We have 5 minutes of rest in between each one. The 5k and the 2 mile are done in trainers and we are allowed to spike up for the last mile. My personal best for this workout which we did the Saturday before Nike Midwest Regional was 15:46 for the 5k, 9:48 for the 2 mile and 4:32 for the mile. We might do this once or twice a year, but regardless, we always feel really confident and strong leading into some big races in the weeks after.
2. What was your team's (or your own) biggest challenge this season?
Our team's biggest set back by far this year was the loss of some of our seniors to injury. In the summer, Zac Leinheiser was injured and missed a large chunk of the pre season and early season training. Zac was able to race during the end of the year but just didn't have enough training under him to crack out top 7 at the state meet. In addition, Teddy Browning and Thomas Revard endured season ending injuries prior to the state tournament. Thomas, Teddy, and Zac were all in our top 5 the previous year and were a huge loss to the team. Those three guys, who are my best friends, and captains of the team were incredibly motivating to the rest of the guys as they remained positive and focused on the team goals rather than their personal struggles. It set an example for the team who responded in kind. Everyone stepped up to the challenge as we ran 2 juniors, 2 sophomores, and 2 freshman at the state meet and won. I've been a part of some great teams in the past, but I've never been a part of a team that showed so much resiliency and overcame so much.
3. How do you balance enjoying the nationals experience while still focusing on competing?
I've been blessed to have competed at Nike nationals for 4 years now and Foot Locker twice. National meets are an incredible experience. You get to fly across the country, meet elite athletes, get a bunch of gear to wear around, and not to mention compete with the top runners in the nation. It can be overwhelming and you can get lost in all the excitement and forget that you have to race the biggest race of your season. For me personally, I just remind myself constantly. I have a lot of fun on Thursday and Friday before the meet and enjoy the experience but I'm always saying in the back of my mind, "you have to race Saturday." I stay hydrated, eat right, and trust the training I've done all year to show up on the big stage and compete.
4. How do you manage peaking for the state meet vs. peaking for regionals/nationals?
I personally don't believe in peaking necessarily. For the most part we don't change much of the training we do. We will certainly back off the mileage and the intensity a little leading up to big races but our core training ideologies stay the same. We are able to back off a little, feel fresh for the meet and ready to go, but come Monday we are right back to the training preparing for the next week. The state meet was very important for us, and we succeeded in our goals of winning the team title and me personally winning the individual title, but I certainly did not peak for that meet. I believe it was just one race on the continuous upward progress I make during a season.
5. If you could be a Voodoo Donut, what kind would you be and why?
(If you don't know what Voodoo Doughnuts are, check out their website here. Essentially, they are a Portland institution that creates the most outrageous, tasty, hipster donuts we've ever seen. This isn't an ad, we swear....)
If I had to be a voodoo doughnut I would be the dirt doughnut. All my friends know Oreo cookies are my favorite by far. A doughnut with vanilla frosting and Oreos sounds like the best possible combination to me.
6. Would you rather fight one horse-sized duck or one hundred duck-sized horses?
I would rather fight 100 duck sized horses. Small horses don't really seem like they could cause much harm when compared to a giant duck with a huge beak. Just my preference. Both would be really weird scenarios.