Hampton University senior Francena McCorory blew away the NCAA Indoor Championship 400-meter field on March 13, 2010, as she crossed the line in a stellar, American Record time of 50.54 seconds, winning by over a full second. Her time also would have won the World Championship title by over half a second. With the senior's last NCAA outdoor season approaching, McCorory admits she has improvements to make and looks to go sub-50!

A couple days after your great race at NCAAs, how does it feel? Has it sunk in?

It still hasn't sunk in, but it feels good.

I'm sure you saw the World Championships results and that your time would have won the World Championship as well. What do you think about that?

I think about that a lot. I'm really happy about that.

What kind of international races do you have under your belt?

Not so much international experience. It's been more NCAA experience.

What are your goals for the upcoming outdoor season?

I definitely want to get that goal of running 49. I've come so close to it. 50.5 is my fastest.

What are some things that you can improve on?

I can get better with my start. My start can be better. I improved it drastically these past couple of weeks leading up to NCAAs.

Where do you open up this outdoor season?

I'm not sure as of right now, because I'm kind of on break right now. I don't have practice today. I'm trying to take my mind off of track. I'm just taking a couple of days off.

What's your training like?

Honestly, with my coach, it's like you have no idea what you're going to do until you get out onto the track. It's whatever he gives you that day. Sometimes you're nervous, like you're about to run a race...because you don't know what you're going to have. With him...the sky is the limit.

Can you give me an example of a harder one that you don't look forward to doing?

Probably sets of 5-4-3-2-1. Or 250s with 90 seconds rest.

What pace are you hitting on those?

If you're top-notch...you've got to hit those in 31 seconds.

You don't run many 200s, do you?

I'll run the 200 at championships. I'm mostly running the 400, though. It would be nice if I could run the two, but I think I'll be most successful in the four.

Being a senior, it all comes to an end after this next season. Do you know what your plans are for after college?

As far as post-collegiate running...I'm not sure yet. I haven't really made up my mind on what I want to do exactly. I know I want to be a mortician, so I know I'm going to mortician school.

I was reading on Letsrun that they referred to you as going from a “nobody to American Record holder”. I was wondering if you check those types of sites out or if that's more of a distance runner thing?

I'm not really into the blogs and online running websites. That's too much track for me. I do enough track as it is. I don't want to look up track stuff on my spare time.

When you're off the track, you're not thinking about track?

Kind of, sort of...yeah. You could say that.

When you do get free time, what do you for fun?

I go to restaurants, because I like to eat. I just hang out with my teammates. They're my really good friends.

I also read that you got into some car accidents in the past few years? For those of us that didn't know that, can you explain those?

My first accident was January 3^rd, 2008. I was kind of at a stop light and someone ran their red light and I got t-boned. It was kind of bad. They ran into my door at high speeds, because they were trying to run the light. They didn't realize that my light had already turned green and I was making a left. I was out for a couple of weeks for that one. And once we were going to a track meet and the bus I was riding in got in a car accident.

How bad were the injuries?

In the first accident, my body just went into shock. I was just really, really sore. I didn't really have any major injuries. I had to be treated at the hospital, but it was just the impact that did a number on my body.

Just scrapes and stuff?

Yeah.

You mentioned the 50-second barrier for this outdoor season, but for long-term goals for your running career, what do you want to accomplish?

I'm not really sure. That's a good question. I'm not sure because I feel like I don't run like the average runner. I negative-split, my form's not really all that great and my eating habits really aren't all that great either. Once I improve on all that stuff, I'll be bringing my time down. I'm not sure. If I did everything right...the sky would be the limit for me.

You make it sound like you're unrefined where you have things you can work on. Are you out there working hard and just using your raw talent?

I wouldn't say that so much. Maybe in high school I depended on my raw talent, but I wouldn't say that now. I'm just like any other athlete who can make improvements.

Why do you negative-split races?

That's just how I run naturally. Sometimes I can get out fast...or faster. The meet in New York, I ran the first 200 in 29 seconds and then ran the second 200 in 23 seconds. I could have gone out a little bit faster that time, but usually I negative-split.

How easy is it for you to open up a 400 with a 29-second 200?

It was easy, but the thing about the 400 is whether you run it really fast or really slow...it's still going to hurt. It felt the same at the end, regardless of how it felt in the beginning.

How did you decide you wanted to be a mortician?

My aunt had a funeral and she really didn't look so great. I decided that I wanted to be a mortician. I didn't like the way we felt when we saw her, so I don't want anyone else to feel like we felt. I felt I could do a good job. I decided this about my junior year of high school.

Does that require graduate school or some kind of trade school after college?

It's a trade school. You can just go to mortician school for two years and get your license. You don't have to go to grad school. You really don't have to get an undergrad degree either.

What I was kind of expecting for an answer was that you were really into horror movies or something. Are you into those types of flicks?

Yes, I do like scary movies. I think another reason I want to be a mortician is because it's a job that has job security, even with the economy fluctuating. I'll never be out of a job. And, I won't say I'm not a people person, but I don't like complaining customers. They won't be able to complain.

(Laughs) All right. What are some scary movies that you like?

Scary movies. What are my favorite scary movies? I like “The Hills Have Eyes”. There's this old, scary movie. It's not really scary, but it came out in about 1982. It's called “Dolls”. That's my favorite one. You should look it up if you haven't seen it. The “Saw” movies are OK. They're just a little—and it's funny that they're too much for me and I want to be a mortician—they're OK. I'd definitely go to the movies to watch them.

I was going to ask something like that. If you grow up watching horror movies...well, there's a big difference between special effects gore and real-life stuff like that. Are you squeamish?

I don't really consider myself squeamish, but like you said, movies are different. In the right circumstances, “Saw” could really happen to you. I think that's what scares me. The old scary movies are kind of like, “OK, it's a person and they're killing people...whatever.” But, in the right circumstances, someone could really kidnap you and put you in a situation like “Saw”. I think I always remember that and think that that's really creepy.

You said you're into food? What's your favorite meal?

KFC. KFC is my favorite. And I had to give it up for about three weeks before going to Nationals. I wasn't too happy about that. I love KFC. I could eat KFC every day for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Yeah, you mentioned that as something you could improve on. Are you coaches really big on getting you eating fruits and vegetables?

Well, I've more taken it upon myself. They've always told me about eating bad. Me taking a break from it...I really saw the effects of it. I saw I'd do a lot better if I don't eat all the bad stuff.

This is a recent discovery. Does this mean things might change?

Yeah, definitely. I'm not going to eat as much KFC. I'm going to still eat it, just not as much. And, I'm going to stop eating meals so late at night. Sometimes I'll get up and cook a full meal at 2:30 or 3 in the morning. It's not good.

Is it hard for you to work out the next morning after doing that?

No. I'm so used to it by now. It's like a part of the daily routine.

What about the “if it's not broke, don't fix it” thing? You've run really well eating whatever you've been eating. Why would you change now?

Because with age it starts to catch up with me. If not now, it will catch up with me later. Kind of like, “don't play with fire too long or you'll get burned.”

Can you give me a crazy running-related story?

When I meet new people or if it's a bad situation, say for instance if somebody's car is broke down and I stop to help them or if we run out of food somewhere...everyone says, “maybe you can run to the store to get us some.” That's something I always get.

Sounds like a bad joke that people keep using on you?

Right. Well, most people say that I don't come off as runner or I don't look like a runner. I don't know where they would get that from. I've been running for so long.

Do they think you look like a mortician?

No, they think I look like a regular student or a regular person.

Then you drop a 50-second quarter on them.

A lot of girls that I used to run against in high school used to say, “we weren't worried about you. We looked at you and we knew we were going to beat you.” I guess when I come to a race, I'm automatically the slow one.

Do you like that you're almost considered an underdog?

Sometimes it's OK. But sometimes it's not. It doesn't get frustrating or annoying, but how many times do I have to run for you all to give me respect.

About the Running Warehouse:

My KWIK-Es are sponsored by runningwarehouse.com, located on the California coast in the small community of San Luis Obispo. The folks over there include one of the owners, Joe Rubio, a two hour, 18-minute marathoner and current head coach of the Asics Aggie RC. Jonathan Spiros oversees footwear buying and served many years as assistant coach at College Park High School helping Lindsay Allen. Erik Dube is in charge of accessories and helps with footwear buying. Erik has finished the Western States 100-Mile Race several times and was assistant coach at San Ramon Valley High School helping Scott Bauhs through high school. Erik’s wife, Tera, is in charge of customer service and is an ultra marathoner and former track star at Campolindo High School, where her brother Chuck Woolridge is currently head coach. The entire online and phone customer service representative staff at the Running Warehouse, including the staff listed above, have spent considerable time working the retail floor. This, along with the coaching and personal athletic experience, enables the company to have a unique perspective of understanding the needs of every level of runner from beginner to All-American. Check them out when you get a chance!