Maddie McKeever, a Duke Blue Devil, is a five time All-American distance runner. She recently placed third at the NCAA Indoor Meet. She is heading into outdoor track and will open up at the Stanford Invite in early April.

You grew up in Littleton, Colorado. Why did you choose Duke University?

The choice was pretty simple. I guess I was just looking for a school with strong academics and also a place where I could fulfill my athletic potential. Duke was the closest school that could offer the environment I was looking for.

And it's lived up to your expectations?

Oh, definitely! It's exceeded my expectations.

What's the coaching staff like there?

My main coach is Kevin Jermyn. My work with him has just been so smooth for the last two and half years. I feel like he really understands my strengths a runner we've learned to develop those strengths. He coaches me in a way that I completely trust everything he says. I don't feel like ever have to question the reasons behind what he tells me to do. And that makes it very easy for me as an athlete. All I have to focus on is going out and executing on whatever he tells me to do.

Some rankings came out today placing you as eighth in the 10K and third in the 5K. Does that add pressure or is something you don't even worry about?

I really don't pay attention to those much. That's interesting and exciting...but, I'm not sure what I know about myself and what other people know about me. They don't seem to reveal any secrets (about my running). Everyone knows it depends on how you end up racing on a particular day. That really determines what's important.

15:52 (Duke's 5K school record). Is that a number you're chasing or do you have bigger goals than that?

I would love to run faster than that. But it really depends on the day. I run so few races, so as a distance runner conditions really have to be ideal to go out and post a fast time. Outdoor I have to stick to my training to look to recover for the next race and something more important. I wouldn't just go out to run all out on every given occasion. But, again, I would love to run faster than that if the chance presents itself. I guess technically it's the school record. But some of my teammates have run faster than that in seasons where they were redshirting. They don't technically count as school records.

What are you goals this year? Do you have anything set out with your coach?

I don't have too many specific goals right now. We focus on executing each week of training so I recover and get fit for whatever my next race is. We develop more specific goals closer to certain races, depending on who's going to be there, how I'm feeling, how training is going and that sort of thing.

Do you need to see how things play out or, at this point, would you say you're going to be running at the Trials?

I would love to run at the Trials, if I get into that field. That's sort of the plan. If I make it, I'll definitely go. It would be a really fun experience, it would be a treat.

Can you talk about your training at this point?

I trained right through indoors and I was maintaining high volume, making sure my intensity was as high as it could be. I've had trouble recovering in past seasons. So, for me, the focus is on staying aerobically fit. That seems to be the way I can race most consistently.

What kind of mileage do you usually run?

I usually hit 70 miles a week, at the highest.

And that's through cross country?

Well...(laughs) I would have. But I was a little bit injured and could only hit 70 miles a week for a few weeks. Like I said, I was having trouble recovering, so for the last few weeks of the cross country season I was running a lot less mileage and fewer intense workouts and really trying to make it through the season without breaking down any further.

You recently placed third in the 5K at nationals, would you say you are fully recovered?

Yeah, definitely from the injury. When I came back from Winter Break, my iron levels were really low. I felt horrible for training for about two months before that. Now, I've gotten my iron back up, it's hard to break anything down to one root cause, but I've been feeling a lot better.

Do you prefer cross country to track, or is it all the same to you?

Oh, I love both. I love to team atmosphere in cross country and everyone working toward the same races and same goals every week. But I love the tempo of track racing, the regulation of getting my splits.

Can you talk about your teammates and are you a close-knit group?

I would say so. Especially during cross county, when we just barely qualified for nationals after a not-so-stellar showing at our conference meet a couple weeks before. I think that experience really solidified our young team and gave us the confidence that we can develop over the next year. We can be more competitive in the conference and in the region and at nationals.

What's the hardest workout you've ever done?

The hardest workout I've ever done was in my sophomore year, during cross country season. We routinely do 1,000-meter repeats on a trail near the school. I think our coach gave us a workout that was a 3K followed by four by 1K. Looking at that workout from the front end and having to break it up in segments, then finishing and looking back on what you've done. That was probably the most challenging and satisfying workout I've ever done.

You ran at the World Junior Cross Country Championships in Japan. What kind of experience was that?

It actually wasn't the best experience for me. It was really exciting to make a World Team and realize I had the potential to run at another level, which I never pictured for myself. In terms of the actual race, it didn't go well for me. It was a great experience to travel with the senior team to see people who made running a true life style for themselves. It gave me exposure to see what else is out there for the running world. I have to say that at the time, I wasn't excited at the prospect of going back into something like that. But now that I've had some time and more experience, and built my confidence back up, I would love to do something like that again.

So, I've got to ask, why was it such a bad experience?

Well, I finished third to last. I was 69th out of 72 runners. And I was 69th from the 1K mark on, so I knew like 300 meters into the race that it wasn't going to be my day. It was one of those painful and embarrassing experiences, for me to be out there representing my country in front of runners that I respected and would have like to impress, watching that performance.

Can you give me a crazy running story from your past?

When I think of crazy stories...I think of crazy things that running has made me do.

That's what we like to hear!

Well, my first race, I ran an 800 and ran about 2:36, splitting 70-86. And that was a learning experience. I've learned a lot of pacing since then, although I don't think my top speed is much faster than a 70 for a quarter. But I think my craziest running experience would probably have to be a highly-anticipated and hotly-contested naked 800 race after my senior year of high school. Shortly after we had discovered that the school had installed external securing cameras and I don't think it gets much crazier than that one.

Were there a lot of kids and did you win?

It was competitive race and I think I finished third. It was co-ed.

Was there a winning time?

I think the winning time was around 2:15 or so. But I'm not sure how reliable that is.

I'm sure it wasn't fully-automated or anything.

(Laughs) No. But I'm sure we could find out.