Thursday, December 04, 2008

Catching up with Redwood Christian's Josh MacDonald...

Today we hear from Josh MacDonald of Redwood Christian who recently finished in 7th place in the Division V race at the state meet. He led his team to a very strong 5th place finish at the state meet, the highest recorded finish for Redwood Christian. Josh also finished in 2nd place at the NCS cross country meet. With this year's winner (Steven Inglehart of Branson) graduating, Josh will have the rare opportunity to win a CCS individual title (seen here to the left winning last year's race as a sophomore) and an NCS individual title (perhaps next year?).

1) How did you get interested in running cross country?
During my 8th grade year I started running the mile on Fridays in PE. My PE teacher Mr. Warner encouraged me to improve my mile time every week. At the end of the year, I ran in a middle school track meet at James Logan High and ended up with a 5:20 mile. After that meet, Coach Warner told me if I worked hard during the summer, I could do well in cross country. Before school ended, he gave me a training program to follow so I would be ready for the first practice.

2) When did you first realize that this could be a good sport for you?
Two things helped me realize cross country would be my sport – First, I won the first cross country race I’d ever been in. It was the frosh/soph race at the Farmer Invite. This motivated me to train harder and learn more about running. Secondly, when I qualified for state as a freshman, it was the highest accomplishment I had ever achieved in any sport. At this point running became a passion.


3) You were the CCS Division V champion last year and finished in 2nd place at the NCS meet this year. What have been the biggest changes for you and your team in terms of switching leagues and sections?
The biggest change for us was getting to know the competition and the courses. In the PSAL we ran against some good teams like King’s Academy and Sacred Heart Prep and individual athletes, like Robbie Knorr, the 2006 DV state champion. This prepared us to run against the type of quality competition we have faced in the BCL and NCS.

4) What was your experience on the Woodward Park course for you prior to the state meet?
I have only run at Woodward two times prior to this year (both at the state finals). I know it is a fast course that favors athletes who run well on flatter courses. I prefer the hillier courses like Crystal Springs, Canyon in Castro Valley, Joaquin Miller and Garin Park. These courses have the type of terrain I like racing on.

5) What was your race plan going into the state meet race?
My plan was to go out slower than I normally do, stay with the leaders through the second mile and hang on to the end. As a team our goal was to break the Redwood Christian record of 7th place set in 2003.
6) Tell us a little how the race unfolded through the first mile.
The leaders went out a little slower than I expected, putting me near the lead a little before the mile mark. I felt really strong at the mile but did not feel that I had found my rhythm.

7) What was the toughest part of the course for you?
The toughest part of the course was the last tenth of a mile because I have no kick whatsoever.

8) Now that you have had a chance to reflect on your state meet effort, how do you feel about your place and time?
Right after the race I thought about several little areas for improvement. I would have liked to break 16 minutes and finish in the top 5 but that will have to wait. That being said, I felt the bigger goal was the team goal of 6th place or better which we accomplished.

9) What was the best part of the whole state meet experience?
I liked hanging out with my teammates, enjoying ourselves and not worrying about the race. The team and our families went out for dinner, and then we bowled and played cards later that evening. Eating In n Out Burger after the race to celebrate our 5th place finish was the cherry on top.

10) Looking ahead to the track and field season. What do you consider your best distance on the track? Favorite meet? Competitor?
The 3200m is my best event in high school track. However my best overall (and favorite) event is the 2000m steeplechase. I love the steeplechase because it is a guts race where you need a combination of speed, endurance and strength. I ran the steeplechase in the past two USATF Junior Olympics. Therefore my favorite meet is the Chabot Relays because they run a 2000m steeplechase.

My greatest competitor in high school cross country and track is someone who I never had the chance to run against, Jack Welch. Jack set the standard by which every runner at Redwood Christian is measured. He holds Redwood’s distance records in the 400m, 800m, 1600m, and 3200m. One of his classmates sent me a message yesterday that refers to the years that Jack ran as the “Golden Age” of Redwood cross country and distance running. Beyond his records, we are measured by his outstanding character as an athlete. I’m glad I got to know more about him from Coach Gillette, his sister’s Jo (who was on our coaching staff this year) and Christina (who was a big help to me my freshman year).

11) Now that you are a grizzled veteran, what would be your advice to somebody just starting out in cross country?
Prepare yourself for cross country by putting in mileage that you can handle over the summer. To be successful, cross country should not start on the first day of practice.

12) Anything else you would like to add.
It’s been fun running for Coach Gillette. He’s an underrated coach who doesn’t get the recognition he deserves. He looks for ways to encourage and motivate each and every runner on the team to do their best. Although we are a small school, that often has small cross country teams, Coach Gillette has had 37 different athletes qualify to the state championships in his 24 years of coaching. I’d also like to thank you for the interview.

Thank you very much Josh! AJC

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