© Copyright – 2010 - Christopher Kelsall

Cameron Levins of Black Creek, British Columbia, capped his 2010 cross-country season Saturday, November 27th with a stunning victory at the AGSI Canadian Cross Country Championships in Guelph, Ontario.

Levins (29:25.7) finished 24 seconds ahead of the favored, Rob Watson and 39 seconds ahead of Reid Coolsaet, both of whom train with the Speed River Track Club. He also finished well ahead of former NCAA All-American Kip Kangogo (30:22.7) and 2010 NCAA steeplechase champion Matthew Hughes (31:10.7) who runs for the University of Louisville.

Athletes had to face freezing temperatures and a snow-laden course. Earlier in the day a mini-blizzard swept through the region.

Levins is currently red-shirting at Southern Utah University where he is working on his degree in Exercise Science. I had the occasion to catch up with Cameron recently to talk about his win and goals for the coming indoor and outdoor track seasons.

The Interview

Christopher Kelsall: Nice work winning the AGSI Canadian Cross Country Championships in Guelph. What where your expectations going into the race?

Cameron Levins: I knew I was in great shape and believed I was capable of winning the race, but I decided on taking top-5 as a less lofty goal. The problem with deciding that winning is your goal is that anything below it becomes a disappointment so I didn’t want to get caught up in that trend.

CK: So how does it feel to exceed your own expectations?

CL: It was such an amazing feeling to exceed my expectations and win the race. Maybe it would’ve changed how I ran the race and positioned myself if I aimed for the win instead of top 5. However, I don’t think I could have been more excited with my result even if my goal was different.

CK: Can you take us through the race?

CL: I never felt like I wasn’t in a position that I didn’t want to be in. I started well and put myself in the lead group of runners almost immediately. From there I kept myself at least in contact with Rob Watson and I figured if I did that I would stand a chance at out-kicking him on the final hill, but I was able to overtake him a little earlier than I anticipated.

CK: What have you done different in training that led to the win?

CL: I think the key for me has been my steadily increasing work load. After every year I analyze the way I trained that season and look for new ways to adapt and improve my training. I feel that you shouldn’t expect to be any faster or stronger than you were your previous season unless you increase your training to do so.

CK: What has a typical week looked like for you this fall?

CL: I know Coach Houle wouldn’t want me to give to much away, but for most of the season I was just doing tempos until about the last third of my season I started doing more interval work. Also, lots of mileage and at least one solid long run per week.

CK: Has red-shirting at Southern Utah this fall allowed you to train more to your liking?

CL: Red-shirting has given me the opportunity to train without being interrupted by too many races. Its sometimes difficult to get all of the running in you should when you’re traveling so much and it takes all day to get to your destination. I don’t blame my coach or the program for that, its just the way it is.

CK: Two years ago when we talked after the Twilight Shuffle 5km in Chemainus (June) you said that you were going to just train all summer and get your mileage up fairly high. How did that go? Wasn’t it the very next season that you ran your first sub-4 minute mile?

CL: I credit the increase in my weekly mileage with a lot of the success I’ve had since then. It took me a while to really get used to running so much, and as a result I think my cross country season suffered a bit following that summer. However, once indoor season came along I ran a fast mile, had some great time trials in practice since then, and I’m definitely a believer in high mileage now.

CK: Rob Watson was quoted as saying: “Cam was just hanging out there and at around 7K I knew I was screwed. He was looking good and I was feeling bad. So I tried to fake it, then there was a hill and I died,”

Do you remember this - could you sense his untimely death at that point?

CL: Honestly, I didn’t realize he was feeling so bad until I caught up with him at 8.5K. When I took over the lead and he couldn’t really respond, it was only then that I truly knew how tired he was.

CK: During our previous interview for Flotrack during the summer of 2009, you suggested that you are going to target the following goals: “under 4:00 minutes in the mile, sub-8:00 minutes in the 3000m and under 14:00 minutes in the 5000m.” The sub-4 minute mile we know you achieved, how about the others?

CL: I have ran under 14:00 minutes in practice for a 5000m, but I only did 8:05 in practice for the 3000m. So I think I will get both officially the coming indoor and outdoor track seasons.

CK: How are the studies in Exercise Science going? Do you have a better sense of what you would like to do for a career?

CL: I really enjoyed my studies this semester as none of them were general education classes. My classes were more focused on my major. I would like to get into a coaching career, but I am also considering going to graduate school and becoming a physiotherapist. However, I hope to continue running post-college, which may postpone my other plans so I can completely focus on my training.

Ultimately I would like to explore my full potential in running. I am setting my sights on the London 2012 Olympics.

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Contact Chris: chriskelsall@flocasts.org