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Julia Lucas wins the "white" race at the 2006 NCAA Pre National Invitational. (Photo by Tim O'Dowd - www.irishrunner.com)

Interview with Julia Lucas

Posted on November 1, 2006, Interview conducted October 29, 2006

By Alison Wade

Like many runners in the NCAA, Julia Lucas was a very accomplished high school runner. She won six North Carolina state titles for Myers Park High School, as well as the 2002 National Scholastic Indoor Championship in the mile. In her collegiate career at NC State, Lucas has emerged as one of the ACC's and NCAA's best, with highlights including All-American honors on the track and qualifying to represent the U.S. at the World Junior Cross Country Championships in 2003. However, it wasn't until this fall that Lucas went from being one of the best, to contending for the title of the best.

At the NCAA Pre National Invitational on October 14, Lucas ran away from a star-studded field and won the "white" race, covering the 6k course in 20:01.4. On the same day, fellow ACC runner Michelle Sikes of Wake Forest won the "blue" race, setting up a great showdown for the ACC Championships on October 28. In the battle of the Pre Nationals champions, Lucas ran away from Sikes, winning the race -- and her first ACC title -- by 15 seconds. Lucas led NC State to its first ACC Cross Country title since 2002, and its 21st in the last 28 years.

NC State will compete at the NCAA Southeast Regional in Louisville, Kentucky on November 11. If all goes as expected, Lucas and her teammates will then contend for some of the top sports at the NCAA Cross Country Championships November 20.

We caught up with Lucas -- our first interview subject to use the word "rumbustious" in a sentence -- over e-mail the day after her ACC win.

Was your win at Pre Nationals a surprise to you, or was it just the fulfillment of a goal?
Winning was not a surprise, per se, but it wasn't the goal of the race either. Both my team and I are running at a level considerably higher than we have in the past, and Pre Nationals was a chance to feel out that new environment. It's really different running in a pack of 10 girls as opposed to a sea of bodies, and I haven't ever been consistently at the front of the pack in cross country before. So my race plan was to get out hard, run with the top girls, have a solid race, and accumulate experience. Then again, winning is always at the back of my mind and I knew I was in good shape, but no, it was never actually articulated in pre-race plans.

From your perspective, how did the race play out? What was your strategy going in, and did you stick to it?
My strategy was to get out hard but not to take the lead, and try to really push home with 2k to go. We went out pretty quickly, the top 10 or so in about 3:12 for the [first kilometer] and an enormous pack only a couple seconds behind. I felt relaxed, so I took the lead a little early, at the 3k, and just slowly pulled away.

How does it feel to beat the person who beat the other half of the Pre Nationals field (Michelle Sikes) to win an ACC cross country title? It looks like you used a strategy similar to what you did at Pre Nationals. Is this the case?
For the past three years I've ripped my insides apart at every ACC trophy ceremony, so finally winning the team title was heart-achingly rewarding. My cheeks hurt by the end of the day. We knew we had the ability to win and it was therefore our duty as representatives of NC State to do just that. My contribution was to supply one point. My race plan was identical to Pre Nats and this time I stuck to it and went at 4k. While beating out national-caliber runners is a confidence boost, girls like Michele Sikes don't give me time bask in my achievements. Everyone she competes against knows she's an extremely tough competitor ("a beast of a runner" to quote) and I know that NCAAs is a new day, and she won't give me an inch.

What did you think of the new NCAA course? How does it compare to the old one?
I think the new course is a big improvement. It doesn't have the redundancy of the old one, and there are a lot of switchbacks on which to make strategic moves. I like it a lot and it's very spectator-friendly.

The Pre-NCAA and NCAA meets feature a pretty intimidating environment, with so many good runners on the course. What have you learned about running in crowded races, and how do you remain confident and calm?
I hate crowding. I hate it. I want to just spread my arms out and start swinging. That being said, it goes with the territory and I've gotten used to it with time and experience. I was a bit aggressive during my first few years of collegiate competition, and tended to waste a lot of energy darting around the pack for no real reason. Experience has helped me not get too antsy about being dropped if I'm not in the ideal spot, and I can relax and not mind the stay-on-your-feet game so much.

When you ran at Notre Dame on September 29th, you were the #3 runner for your team. Was that an off day for you, or are the top spots on your team that interchangeable?
A bit of both, I'd say. I was tired heading into Notre Dame and didn't run well, but I do nearly every workout with the girls who ran 1-2 for us that day [Bona Jones and Brittany Tinsley], so it wasn't a surprise to see them step up. Being recognized as a leader of a standout team is an enormous source of pride for me, and knowing that I've got six girls not so far off my shoulder in the crowded races you mentioned before is extremely reassuring.

What are your goals for your final year in the NCAA? How would you rate your NCAA career thus far?
I'd like to be a contender in every race I run. I've been straddling that fence separating the elite from the rest for a while now, and I'm ready to be a consistent national-caliber runner. Our sport is fickle so the specifics are always up in the air, but generally, I'm just out for blood.

What kind of injuries and other challenges have you faced as a runner and how have you come back from them? How do you avoid getting overly frustrated?
During high school I had three stress fractures, one of which eventually broke through, and in college I've had various incidences of tendinitis and strains and that sort of thing. Really, most of my injuries are the sort that never hurt, but just feel 'weird' when I point my right foot and sneeze, or something along those lines (read: extremely frustrating and make me feel stupid in the training room). Also, I've been anemic manymanymany times.

Through all of the ups and downs (once again, manymanymany) I've come to terms with the fact that setbacks are inevitable. Anyone who sets out on any venture has to face that fact some time or another. The way I see it is that a challenge is the decisive moment in the pursuit of a goal. Really, running hard is easy. Not easy like drinking margaritas on the beach, but compared to real life, it's a picnic. It's brutal workouts and 100-mile weeks that are dramatized, but it's really the maintenance, the bazillion little uninspiring things that set really successful people apart. I've just had to ask myself if occasionally spending an hour and a half in the training room before a three mile run is worth it, and I picked yes.

You're probably tired of telling the story, but would you mind telling our readers a little about the fire you escaped from in the summer of 2005, and how that affected your running last year?
Only because it's you, Alison, and I owe you after checking your sites daily for the past seven years (7x365 = 2,555). A few days before school began, I was sitting on my front porch with a friend during the wee hours when we saw flames through the sparse woods near my house. We were curious, and upon investigation found a frantic woman yelling incomprehensibly into her phone in front of her smoking apartment. We managed to get out of her that it was arson and that two couples lived above her. While the woman was on the phone with 911 my friend and I ran upstairs to try to wake the couples, and by the time we turned to run back down the flames had risen considerably. I ran down anyway, and on my way down the staircase was enveloped. My friend was behind me, so he jumped down instead, breaking his heel. I don't remember much else, but am told that while on morphine I was exclusively concerned with my now-crispy eyelashes and eyebrows. Burns are painful, and getting back to running was a slow process, but after spending time in the burn ward and seeing so many people unrecognizable as such, all I can say is that I'm undeservedly lucky.

When were you able to make a full return to running? Do you feel that the burns affected your indoor and outdoor seasons?
My first runs were loops around a field while wearing compression tights covering the burns, and shoes cut into slide-ons and duct-taped onto my feet. I was pitiful. Bed rest is a bit tricky to return from, but I was back to full strength by the end of cross country. I don't really know if the burns affected my track seasons. I didn't run well, but that's happened before and I've never been on fire before, so who's to say.

Your team is ranked #2 in the country right now. Do you think you might be able to challenge #1 Stanford later in the season, or do you think you'll have your hands full fighting off the teams ranked behind you?
I think most of the teams in the rankings are of the opinion that rankings really don't matter. It's exciting to see ourselves moving up, but we know better than to underestimate any of the teams behind us, and I think Stanford knows that as well.

What kind of training did you do over the summer? Were you at home, school, or elsewhere? Could you tell that you were in good shape coming in to the season?
I spent most of my time at school, because I promised [Coach Laurie Henes] I would have a 'boring' summer, and did a lot of unstructured miles. I love the summer tedium of run, eat, sleep, bum around aimlessly. I try to stay on top of strength and flexibility and all those little maintenance things I mentioned earlier, and vary the pace of runs. Coming in, I was actually not quite as in shape as I typically am coming back. I tend to get over-enthusiastic, and I can get in shape pretty quickly, so getting tired by the end of the season has been an issue in the past. This year it seems like we've gotten the timing right.

What has your mileage been like over the course of this season?
During the summer I got up to the low 80s and I took one day off a week. Now I'm hovering around 70 or so, still with a rest day.

What's the longest run you've ever done, and how long is your usual long run?
I ran 24 miles once with a friend, Kelly Brown, but it was more of an adventure than a run. We took a debit card, 50 cents for a phone call, and pita bread with us. My typical long run is between 13 and 17 miles, depending on the point in the season.

What's the best part of running cross country and track at NC State?
The people. Five years ago, when I signed with State, Coach Geiger hugged me and said 'Welcome to the family,' and that's really what our program is, a family. Any runner who's been part of a close-knit team knows that feeling of camaraderie forged through pursuit of a common goal, but it doesn't seem to me like any team could be as dynamic or diverse as mine. I love Coach Geiger, Laurie Henes, and Jackie Brooks like family, and I love hearing the anecdotes attached to every plaque on our All-American wall. It's become a family album, that wall, and being a part of it is being a part of something greater than myself. I am ineffably proud and humbled to be surrounded by such great people.

Tell us what Laurie Henes is like as a coach.
You know that sort of person with something undeniable, but difficult to put your finger on, a sort of a spark about them. Laurie is one of those people, undeniably sparkly. I never doubt her expertise; her records (both as an athlete and as a coach) speak for themselves. Her enthusiasm for the sport is infectious, and she makes me believe I can run faster than anyone in the world. I lead a generally rumbustious sort of life, and she and Jackie have kept my ends (both emotionally and otherwise) tied together over the last four years.

Do you plan to run post-collegiately?
Absolutely, and I am so excited to begin the next phase of my life, frantically excited at times.

What's one thing about you that might surprise some of our readers?
Err...I wore head gear in middle school. I pick locks even when it's not necessary. I don't have a drivers license. I have six toenails. I've hitchhiked through three states and two countries. There are five. I think they're pretty all-encompassing.