1) How did you get your start in running? What other sports did you play before high school?
Lukas: I started running when I was 4 years old doing family runs with my parents. Eventually I used running as a way to stay conditioned for travel soccer. I made the decision at the start of high school to focus solely on running and haven't looked back since.
2) When do you feel like you caught the running bug and it became a part of who you are?
Lukas: The end of my freshman track season I caught "the running bug" . I noticed that my races made an impact on the school and my teammates which drew me to only become a better runner. Also getting a job at HRC helped me recognize the larger running world and I felt like it was a new family.
Lucas: The team environment was nothing I had ever experienced before, which made me love the people. However, I didn't truly "catch the running bug" until right before the NCS cross country meet of my freshman year. I had some decent performances that year in freshman terms, but nothing that made me want to pursue running through the winter and into the track season. Then, when our team started training in the rain for NCS I knew this was going to be my sport. There is no other sport in the world that builds camaraderie through shared suffering and promotes being outdoors more than running. Training with them in the rain and running with them through the mud of NCS felt like family bonding, something I had never experienced with basketball. I didn't drop basketball that next winter, but I kept training and I am not going to play it this winter, to prepare for track season.
Jake: I felt like I caught the running bug my Sophomore year of high school. My freshman year, I was still trying to figure everything out. I had good times, but I never understood my full potential. The next year, though, I started to get more competitive and found the fire in me to compete.
3) What do you feel have been your best high school races so far in cross country and track and field?
Lukas: I think my best and most meaningful race was the first time I went sub-5. My freshman year at the Santa Rosa Twilight Invitational, I finally hawked down the sought after goal, felt like I had entered into a new realm of running and like I had entered the big leagues. I also really appreciate races where I am able to have my teammates pushed. Me being 7th on the team and passing teammates only makes them push it more which makes me happy and that's where we see development in races as a team.
Lucas: I started seeing some actual improvement in my running specifically at the Farmers Invitational and Viking Track Classic. Freshman year, the Farmers invitational was the third race in my entire life and I ran 17:39, placing 72nd. This year, as a sophomore, I ran 15:46, placing sixth. The Viking Track Classic has been my best track meet so far, which isn't saying much since it was only in my freshman year. However, I did hit significant personal milestones, breaking 10 in the 3200 with a 9:52 and breaking 4:40 in the 1600, running a 4:38.
4) Did you do anything differently this summer, getting ready for the season?
Lukas: I started to take running pretty seriously this summer after a let down a track season. My mileage was pushing into 40-45 mile weeks from June to July and I was mentally preparing myself for the season. I also took a large role in leading the team at morning summer practices which not only benefited my leadership abilities but also strengthened team bonds and fitness.
Lucas: On top of the training, I added physical therapy and a strengthening progra, which helped me through an injury coming off the tail end of track season. The thing I most want to highlight though is the Central Coast Running Camp I attended at Cal Poly SLO this summer. The counselors were athletes at Cal Poly SLO and the campers were all very elite runners that humbled me and taught me a lot. There were even professionals that came in like Craig Engels. It was an amazing experience which not only increase my fitness but it helped with my knowledge of the sport and gave me relationships that I still value into this season. Throughout the year, I find my fellow campers at big invitationals and cheer them on.
Jake: I put in a lot of work this summer. Going into my senior year, I wanted to be in the best shape of my life. I put in a tremendous amount of training effort. I was invited to participate in the Wake Forest cross country camp. Being around other top-tier cross country kids from around the country was a huge motivation for me. I put in a lot of base miles. I’ve begun to focus more on my nutrition, supplements, hydration, and sleep quality. I realize all of these things have a significant impact on my performance. Up until this point, I didn’t really pay much attention to any of that.
Lukas: I try not to think of other teams positions besides race day. In all honesty, I don't think I could really care less about other teams times knowing it's all relative on race day. I think monitoring times has it's benefits but also gets to my head pretty easily which I try to avoid. It's great to see that our team has been able to develop so quickly and shoot up to 2nd in NCS but deep down I know that it's because of our hard work since June. (Healdsburg varsity team members from left to right Domenico Cornilsen, Phoenix De Maria Nall and Jack Beckman courtesy of Michael Lucid)
Lucas: I didn't know our team would be this good until the weeks leading up to the season. I have always held myself to a high standard and have put it on myself to improve and make my team better. It was so amazing to see that everyone else on my team had that mindset about themselves too. As a result of this mindset, we have found some success and I am very thrilled. We have a very young team, with 5 out of our 7 varsity runners being underclassmen. As our team gains experience as well as improvement in performance, I believe we will be a threat for years to come. As for paying attention to other teams, I don't love to do this because it messes with my mindset, but with our team in the rankings and my teammate and I in the individual rankings, I have definitely glanced at your blog and athletic.net from time to time. There are some very strong teams out there that we definitely can compete with YET. As the years go on, I think with enough work anything is possible. Keep an eye out for Healdsburg.
Jake: I will, every once in a while, check the rankings to see where we are, but I don’t like to constantly check. I feel like that can mess with me mentally a lot going into a race. But don’t get me wrong, I am very excited that we are finally ranked in the top 4 after a long time. Our varsity boys have been working so hard this season, and I expect it to pay off at NCS.
6) Tell us about your coaches and how they have helped you develop into the runner you are today.
Lukas: This is our first year with new coaches and I think it's had a lot of value to our team. Both Coach Kate Guthrie and Dante Godinez have helped me realize running is 99% mental for me and that the hardest part is showing up even when you're tired. Because of this, I've learnt a lot more about myself and have learned not to be discouraged when I have a bad race and that you need to get into the "just do it" mentality.
Lucas: My team is coached by Kate Guthrie and Dante Godinez. Kate, was an all American and ran for University or Oregon. She has experience and level headedness in big moments and is a very good leader for our team. Personally, she has helped me through a lot of mental problems in the sport of running. She doesn't have time to hear our excuses, and pushes us to become the best version of ourselves. Dante is the local legend, holding the school record in the 1600. He brings a younger side to the team and was coached by Kate when he was in high school. Today, he's still a great athlete and an ultra runner. Because of his awesome fitness he can run with the varsity team during our workouts and coach us even when we are going max effort. He knows exactly what it is like to be in our shoes and has brought a certain structure and professional side to our practices. Dante also has a relationship with almost all the athletes on our team, and pushes them all individually to achieve their personal goals in running and in life. Together, they are a great duo that works very hard to keep us ready for any challenge, and we will be ready come championship season.
Jake: Going into the season, our previous coach stepped away, and our track coach came in and coached our team solo. She was an Oregon track star and has been coaching our track team for a very long time. It was pretty hard at the beginning of the season to only have one coach. I felt like a coach sometimes with our varsity team. We didn’t have anyone to help us on our long runs, and I felt like I wasn’t getting enough coaching. Mid-way through the season, we had one of our alumni step in. Dante was one of the best additions to this team. He was a sub 4:20 miler in high school and he actually just did a 55K trail race. He constantly pushes us to our limits, even when we don’t feel like it. You can always count on him to show up and make a difference.
7) What does a typical training week look like for you? How many workouts? Typical weekly mileage? Any morning runs? Typical pace for medium-distance runs? Strength training? Longest run?
Lukas: In theory I should be doing a lot more miles but it's incredibly hard to balance my academic workload and running. Coming off of sickness and injury, my mileage is pretty low. I would say I'm 30mpg with one workout, one race, and one long run being about 8-10 miles. My easy run pace is 6:50-7:20. I tend to avoid morning runs because I need to be at school at 7am so I like to maximize my sleep. We try to fit in 8 minute ab work at practice when we can, but outside of practice I'm in the gym at least twice a week.
Lucas: This all depends on whether I have a race not the Wednesday of that week or not. Because of our location, we have a lot of league meets against local teams. Typically though, we can use that meet as a workout. We usually have workouts on Mondays, workout/race on Wednesday, and or a long run on Saturday. All other days are typically easy and/or steady. For me personally, I do strength work according to my PT regime twice a week at least and personally like to keep my steady pace around 6:35. For long runs I run 10-12 miles typically and keep that at a 6:50-6:30 pace, this varies based on my training load from the previous week. I like to keep my mileage between 40-50mpw during the season but during a week with a race that may dip to 35-40. I am a lower mileage guy personally, although I would like to increase mileage as I get older.
Jake: A typical training week is usually not typical! We mix it up a lot. Some weeks we’ll have meets on Saturday, and other weeks, we’ll have meets only on Wednesday. On the weeks that we have a meet on Saturday, Mondays and Wednesdays are the workout days. Sometimes they will be hills, repeats or fartleks. Then Tuesdays and Thursdays will be recovery or steady runs and on Friday will be pre race. Nice and easy 1-2 miles and a lot of stretching. On the Wednesday meet weeks, workout on Monday, pre race on Tuesday, recovery on Thursday, and my favorite, ultimate frisbee. It’s a really great team bonding activity and the games are very competitive. In the off-season, I was doing about 40-45-mile weeks, but once the season started, I dropped down a bit in mileage.
8) Favorite cross country course? Favorite cross country invitational? Favorite cross country workout? Favorite long run? Favorite track and field event? Favorite track and field invitational? Favorite track and field workout? Favorite free time activity?
Lukas: I like our home course at Hoot Owl Creek Vineyards. The combination of hills, terrain, and fast road makes for a very interesting and unpredictable race which is why Healdsburg never loses at home. I'm a big sucker for the Lowell invitational which is big meet, start of the season, fast course and with a great setting. I like fartlek workouts with the team. I'm a big 1600 guy so a mix of mental game and distance. Outside of running, I like to pursue academic excellence and hang out with my friends.
Lucas: My favorite course is our team's home course on Hoot Owl Creek Vineyards out in wine country. We only run it a few times a year but it is incredibly hilly which is why it's called the top of the world course. Running it is very good practice and makes moderately hilly courses feel like a piece of cake. While it is very hard, I definitely look back on it fondly. My favorite Invitational is the Lowell Invitational because the team always sleeps on the bus on the way up and gets in and out on the way back. I also got to see a ton of my friends from running camp there this year because it is so big. I didn't race well there, but hanging out in Golden Gate Park with my team and playing poker under our tent is a great way to spend a Saturday. My favorite workout is anything on the track or flat. I am not bad at hills but I love to go fast. K repeats and Mile repeats have been favorites in the past. My favorite event is the 3200, I am better at it than the mile and I love the strategy that goes into it during the race. I play ultimate frisbee with the team on Fridays which is very fun and competitive. Other favorite free time activities include, cards with my twin brother Ian, getting food with the varsity squad and, any sport. (basketball, tennis, golf, soccer, skiing, etc.)
Jake: My favorite cross country course is the Artichoke Invitational. It’s a nice and easy 1.4 miles and to add to it, it has hay bails that you have to jump over. It’s right by the ocean too, so it’s always nice and cool. Favorite Track invitational is the Big Cat Invitational. It is the first meet of the season, and it’s a good baseline to see where everyone is at the beginning of the season. It has rained all 3 years that I have ran it, so hoping for clear skies this year. Favorite track workout is probably the ladder workouts. I always feel good after and I can feel myself getting stronger. Outside of running, I like to be outside and play other sports.
9) You work at the Healdsburg Running Company. What interested you in working at that store, and what have you learned from working there?
Lukas: Healdsburg Running Company has been a large part of my development as a runner. I came from short distance XC races and it evolved into helping put on 100 mile race. This opened up my world of running and helped me realize that there is a lot more to running than just XC and track.
Lucas: HRC is an amazing community. In my search for a job this summer, interviewing here was a no brainer after all the running I did my freshman year. I was so happy to get the job and get more connected in the running community in Healdsburg. I love working shifts with my teammates and helping other aspiring runners find the shoe that perfectly works for them. I want to continue to shine god's light in my community and working at this store gives me a chance to do just that. Working at HRC has also helped me get more connected and interested in ultra marathoning. I definitely want to do something like that after my racing career ends.
Jake: I have been working at the Healdsburg Running Company for almost 2 years now. I wanted to work there because it’s a running shop and I am a really big runner. They put on fun runs every week that I try to make it to. Along with the other 2, we are some of the few high school running employees, so we bring a unique perspective to the shop and are able to help other high school runners out better than anyone else. I have learned a lot about commitment since first working there. Researching upcoming shoes, studying products, and how a business runs.
10) What races are you most looking forward to the rest of the season?
Lukas: Assuming we qualify for state, both myself and the team are really looking forward to racing that course and want to put on a show to let people know Healdsburg is on the map and isn't just a small school.
Lucas: I am looking forward to league finals to get a chance to race against guys from Maria Carillo, Analy and, Windsor. Those are very competitive schools and I want to see where I stack up against them individually, and as team. I think NCS will be amazing as well (if it's not muddy). It's a chance for our guys to finally go to state which would be a first in school history. It is also a chance for me to compete against the guys from University and other schools in the division and see how I do individually. State would also be a blast if we made it, more team bonding time, and I have never run at Woodward park before (sadly).
Jake: The race I am looking forward to the most is NCS. Our team has been working hard, and I am ready to qualify for the state meet as a team.
11) What other runners and/or coaches would you like to see interviewed on this site?
Lukas: I think interviewing more schools from our area would be cool but I'd also like to see how Stuart Hall and University are feeling going into the last stretch of the season.
Lucas: I hope you keep doing this as I love the community. I would love to hear all sides and views from across it. It would be cool to hear from the Maria Carillo coach Greg Fogg, who is very experienced and has coached multiple state champions. And to hear from the top runners from University would be cool as well, especially because we compete against them.
Jake: I would like to see both of our coaches be interviewed.
12) Anything else you would like to add?
Lucas: Thanks for the interview, shout out to my team captain Jake McWilliams and my mom for getting me into running. I can't wait to continue improving, working hard, and spreading god's love. There's no where I would rather be than in this small town and attending Healdsburg high school. I hope we can bring some hardware home to them at some point, We may be greyhounds but we aren't underdogs.
Jake: If anything needs to be changed, I can do it!
Thank you very much for your time. AJC
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