======================================
St. Joseph Notre Dame runner, Cooper Teare (Anda Chu photo/San Jose Mercury News) will be one of the favorites to win the state Division V title this season after finishing in 5th place last year as a sophomore. At the Stanford Invitational, Teare ran in one of the final races of the day and despite the rise in temperature, he was able to run the 2nd fastest time of the day (14:52.7), trailing only Phillip Rocha of Arcadia (14:32.5). During the 2015 Track and Field season, Teare qualified to the CA state meet in the 3200m. by running a still standing personal record of 9:15.65. He will be participating in the world famous Mt. SAC Invitational along with his teammates in a few weeks but until then, here is my interview with Cooper.
1) How did you get your start in running? What other sports have you done aside from Cross Country and Track & Field?
I got my start in running through one of my best friends, Gavin Hill (current high school teammate). He was the best runner in Alameda in elementary school and when i met him in middle school, he got me involved in the sport. I joined the Castro Valley track club in middle school, along with my school track and field team. Before I got into running, I played soccer and lacrosse and I really thought those were going to be the sport I stuck with through grade school.
2) What were your PRs heading into high school?
My PR's going into high school were 5:03 for the mile and 9:50 for the 3,000.
3) You joined a very good St. Joseph Notre Dame team as a freshman. Tell us a little about that team and your experience as a freshman in both sports.
Freshman year was a huge year for me. After summer training was over, I had already improved my mile time by over 20 seconds and I knew that the team was in great shape. Gabe Arias was our team captain and he really pushed everyone from the first day and I think everyone looked up to him. The team had great chemistry as well, and we knew that we had the opportunity to win state for the second year in a row which fueled the fire for our team. During track, I still worked hard but I did not focus as much as I could have on training and at the end of the season I actually skipped out on going to the NCS Meet of Champions to go to Hawaii with my teammate Gavin.
4) Did you do anything different heading into your sophomore XC season during the summer?
Going into the summer of sophomore year, I knew that I was going to have to take on more responsibility because I was going to be our 1 or 2 for most races, so I really tried to give every workout my all, but in terms of the training, it was basically the same as freshman year, just higher intensity and faster times.
5) What were some of your highlights and proudest accomplishments during your sophomore seasons in both sports?
My biggest accomplishment in XC was definitely placing second, behind Phillip Rocha, at the USATF junior olympics, and that was the race that showed me that I could have a bright future in this sport. As for track, there is no doubt that making state was my biggest accomplishment, being one of only two sophomores to qualify.
6) You ran the 2nd fastest overall time at the Stanford Invitational with a sub 15 effort. Did you have a time you were shooting for before the race? Surprised with the final time?
Before my race at Stanford, I had seen Phillip's time and I thought that I might have a chance of going sub-15, but my goal time was anything under 15:20, so when I crossed the line in 14:52 I was very surprised, especially having done it by myself.
7) What does a typical week look like for you training wise? Longest run? Typical workouts? Pace of your easier runs? Any morning runs? Weights?
A typical week usually has me doing double days on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays with four miles easy on most morning runs. Monday is usually either a medium paced 7-8 miles in the afternoon or a hill workout. Tuesday is a hard workout, usually consisting of 400's and 800's or a hard tempo run. Thursday's are either a race day or another hard workout day like Tuesday. Saturday's are tempo days, usually 2x2 mile tempo, and on Sunday's I like to get together with some friends and go for a long 10-12 mile run, just to get some more mileage in. For our easy pace, we usually run about 6:45-7 minutes and after all easy runs we do core and after speed workouts we have leg circuits. We hold off on weights during track season, but we start them once XC rolls around.
8) Tell us a little about your coaches and how they have helped you develop in the runner you are today.
My coaches are the reason that St.Joe's has had the success that we have and they have really helped me grow into the runner I am today. Tony (Fong), I would say, is one of the best coaches out there and he has the results to back it up. He has really shaped me and known how to push me to my highest potential. Our other coach, Alex Mason, is the main track coach and he saw the potential I had last year and in track season, pushed me a lot, and my accomplishments in track are mostly because of him.
9) Favorite XC course? Favorite XC invitational? Favorite XC workout? Favorite long run? Favorite Track race distance? Favorite Track workout? Favorite Track Invitational? Favorite free time activity?
Like many others, my favorite XC course has to be Woodward park, just because of the history behind it, as well as, the success I have found on it. My favorite XC invitational is Mt.SAC, because it gives our team a chance to get away from NorCal and experience some of the best competition in the state. My favorite workout is probably 20x400's. For long runs, a nice 10-12 miler in the Oakland hills is always nice. As for Track, my favorite distance is 3200 because I seem to have better results in the longer distances and you get a great feeling when you finish a 3200 meter race. I would say that my favorite track workout is 7x1000, although it may not be the most fun, it definitely gives the biggest pay off throughout the season. Arcadia Invitational is by far my favorite track invitational because of the atmosphere and the amount of amazing runners I get to meet. In my free time, I usually get together with my friends to hangout or sometimes play basketball.
10) What are the races coming up for you that you are most looking forward to the rest of this season?
The big races I have coming up are Mt.SAC, state, and hopefully a national meet to end the season.
11) Advice for younger runners aspiring to do well in the sport of running?
My advice for anyone getting into running is to really try to stick with it and give it your best, because you never know how good you can become.
12) Anything else you would like to add.
I would like to say a huge thank you to my coaches, parents, and teammates for the support I have received over these past 2 years.
