Senior Christian Farris and sophomore Jon Bishop will close the cross country season on Saturday when they race at the NCAA Championships in Louisville, Kentucky.
Before leaving for nationals, they visited with teammate and 12thman.com contributor Augusta Thomason about the season and the excitement of the upcoming meet.
AT: How have you developed and improved since you've been in College Station?
JB: I've developed and improved physically through our training, but I have also learned (and am still learning) how to race at a more competitive level.
CF: Every year I have seemed to get better and better. It has come with continuous training and doing all the little things. I still have not figured everything out, but having a lot of experience has given me wisdom in my running career.
What have you done differently this year that has set you up for success?
JB: This year I paid closer attention to weight room and other activities that complement the running portion of our training as distance runners.
CF: This year I paid more attention to the little things such as sleep and especially diet, showing that everything contributes to success.
When did you first get into running and how did that happen?
JB: I got into running in the seventh grade when a few of my friends encouraged me to try cross country. Â
CF: My seventh grade year, the first year track was available, got me into running. However, summer track was the first to get me seriously into the sport.
What is an ideal course layout for you?
JB: An ideal course layout for me is a flat and wide course that we can run fast on.
CF: The more hills the better for me, however Louisville is pretty flat and fast so not my strong suit.
Do you have any ritual you have to do right for your race?
JB: I can't say that I have rituals for each race. However, I really like to listen to music before a race, and one of my go to's is The Weeknd.
CF: Not really, but I do like to be to myself and really visualize the race while also trying to stay relaxed.
Do you have a race strategy and what is your focus for this weekend's meet?
JB: I would say that my race strategy is to go out and give myself an opportunity to place top 40, this means working together with Christian because we race really well when we work together. The focus is to go and do something we have never done before.
CF: I want to go out hard and be in the top 60 by the first 1k, and hold on throughout the race, and finish strong.
Who are your toughest competitors that you look forward to racing against this weekend?
JB: Probably Christian Hale Farris!
CF: Jon Bishop!
Does Coach McRaven give a pep talk that gets you excited to run and how is your athlete/coach relationship with him?
JB: Coach McRaven is known to give pep talks every now and then, but he doesn't overuse them. When he does give a pep talk, I get excited. In our relationship, we push each other to get better and we have fun with everything. Â
CF: Yeah, right before the race we huddle up, talk about our race strategy and pray. Our relationship has grown so much from when I first got to A&M, and I believe I am as close as you can get with Coach McRaven.
What are your hobbies outside running?
JB: I love listening to music, learning, and spending time with friends and family.
CF: Fly fishing, bird watching, and hiking.
Do you have a motto you live by?
JB: It's all worth it in the end!
CF: Just be yourself and have fun!
Lastly I would love to hear about how you're feeling about the NCAA XC Championships. What are you expecting? Are you excited, nervous, etc.? Is this what you were expecting going into this meet?
JB: I'm expecting this race to be like other races I have ran, but with more people at the start and more people around me during the middle and end of the race. I am feeling excited because we have an opportunity to represent Texas A&M at a national level!
CF: I am very excited, this has been a dream of mine for so many years and honestly never thought I could make it to this level. I am going into the race with idea that I have nothing to lose, and since this is my last race, I want to leave everything out there and put myself in position to do something great. All kinds of feelings are going through me but excited and a little nervous are the two big ones.
Before leaving for nationals, they visited with teammate and 12thman.com contributor Augusta Thomason about the season and the excitement of the upcoming meet.
AT: How have you developed and improved since you've been in College Station?
JB: I've developed and improved physically through our training, but I have also learned (and am still learning) how to race at a more competitive level.
CF: Every year I have seemed to get better and better. It has come with continuous training and doing all the little things. I still have not figured everything out, but having a lot of experience has given me wisdom in my running career.
What have you done differently this year that has set you up for success?
JB: This year I paid closer attention to weight room and other activities that complement the running portion of our training as distance runners.
CF: This year I paid more attention to the little things such as sleep and especially diet, showing that everything contributes to success.
When did you first get into running and how did that happen?
JB: I got into running in the seventh grade when a few of my friends encouraged me to try cross country. Â
CF: My seventh grade year, the first year track was available, got me into running. However, summer track was the first to get me seriously into the sport.
What is an ideal course layout for you?
JB: An ideal course layout for me is a flat and wide course that we can run fast on.
CF: The more hills the better for me, however Louisville is pretty flat and fast so not my strong suit.
Do you have any ritual you have to do right for your race?
JB: I can't say that I have rituals for each race. However, I really like to listen to music before a race, and one of my go to's is The Weeknd.
CF: Not really, but I do like to be to myself and really visualize the race while also trying to stay relaxed.
Do you have a race strategy and what is your focus for this weekend's meet?
JB: I would say that my race strategy is to go out and give myself an opportunity to place top 40, this means working together with Christian because we race really well when we work together. The focus is to go and do something we have never done before.
CF: I want to go out hard and be in the top 60 by the first 1k, and hold on throughout the race, and finish strong.
Who are your toughest competitors that you look forward to racing against this weekend?
JB: Probably Christian Hale Farris!
CF: Jon Bishop!
Does Coach McRaven give a pep talk that gets you excited to run and how is your athlete/coach relationship with him?
JB: Coach McRaven is known to give pep talks every now and then, but he doesn't overuse them. When he does give a pep talk, I get excited. In our relationship, we push each other to get better and we have fun with everything. Â
CF: Yeah, right before the race we huddle up, talk about our race strategy and pray. Our relationship has grown so much from when I first got to A&M, and I believe I am as close as you can get with Coach McRaven.
What are your hobbies outside running?
JB: I love listening to music, learning, and spending time with friends and family.
CF: Fly fishing, bird watching, and hiking.
Do you have a motto you live by?
JB: It's all worth it in the end!
CF: Just be yourself and have fun!
Lastly I would love to hear about how you're feeling about the NCAA XC Championships. What are you expecting? Are you excited, nervous, etc.? Is this what you were expecting going into this meet?
JB: I'm expecting this race to be like other races I have ran, but with more people at the start and more people around me during the middle and end of the race. I am feeling excited because we have an opportunity to represent Texas A&M at a national level!
CF: I am very excited, this has been a dream of mine for so many years and honestly never thought I could make it to this level. I am going into the race with idea that I have nothing to lose, and since this is my last race, I want to leave everything out there and put myself in position to do something great. All kinds of feelings are going through me but excited and a little nervous are the two big ones.