UNC's Brie Felnagle is an American Record Holder in the DMR and a multiple NCAA Champion. She's looking to peak at the Olympic Trials in the final of the 1,500-meter race.

What's going on with your training right now?

I am pretty much moving away from base stuff and strength stuff from indoor and getting into aerobic training for outdoor.

What will your schedule look like for outdoors?

I'm looking to have my ultimate peak at the Trials. I'm kind of trying to extend my season longer than usual.

I read on the UNC website that your middle name is "Mumm". That's a pretty interesting middle name. Where did it come from?

(Laughs) Yeah, that's my middle name. It's my mom's maiden name. It's original.

You took 11th at NCAA cross country, second in the 3K indoors and you said you're looking to peak at the Trials. What are your goals for the NCAA season?

I'm definitely going to race NCAAs as hard as possible. I'm going to be fit for it. I'm just not going to be dropping off my mileage quite as much for it. I just want to PR at some point this season. If it's at NCAAs or the Trials, it doesn't matter. Whatever, it's all good.

So, what are your goals for the Trials?

I think it's to compete really. I'm not putting any pressure or time goals on myself. It's a really long shot for me to make the team, but I'd really just like to make the finals. I guess that would be a good goal...and to compete as hard as possible.

Do you think you belong in the finals?

That's what I'm going to try to do.

What do you think makes you such a successful distance runner?

I'd have to say a good bit of genetic work, a really great support system from my family and coaches and just a lot of hard work.

Were your parents runners?

They were athletic and they were into sports. They weren't actually runners. I did have an uncle who had a full scholarship to USC for sprinting. My dad was quite a good runner, even though he was never actually interested in doing track. I think it runs in the family, but they weren't actually runners.

Why did you choose UNC in the first place?

I don't know. I talked to my high school coach about a bunch of different options and I knew they had a really great legacy of girls who had come from this school. And they all seemed to be doing well post-collegiately. That was really important to me. Getting me in a program that wouldn't burn me out or anything. When I came on my visit here, I absolutely loved it. I decided I wanted to be here.

Did you get to meet Shalane Flanagan?

Yeah, she was here on my recruiting visit. She's actually roommates with my roommate now. She wasn't on the team my freshman year, but she was around when I was here and I saw her. She's still around every now and again. She's incredible.

What are you studying at UNC?

I'm a communications major.

I know you've got a year left, but are you already starting to look at going pro as a runner...or down the communications route?

I would absolutely love to go professional. I'm certainly not banking on that, because you never know what could happen. I am certainly looking into going into communications after my running career. But my first wish would be to go professional and run as long as possible.

What do you do when you're not running down there?

Umm, school (laughs). Lots of schoolwork. I don't know. I just like to be around my friends a lot. I like to read when I can find the time to do so. I like to go to the movies. I just like to relax.

Do you know Tyler Hansbrough?

Yeah, I actually can see him right now. We're at the pool and he's here. That's kind of funny.

So, I put your name into some search forums on Letsrun and other websites to come up with questions for this interview. Do you use websites like that?

Not really. I looked on it the other day to find some splits. But (laughs) not really.

On a college track program, what is the general opinion on sites like that? Is there negative feeling to going on those types of sites?

It's fine. It doesn't bother me if people want to talk. I mean...let them talk. Do I find it offensive or anything like that? I just don't look. It's my choice not to look. It doesn't bother me. I'm sure some of it's positive and some of it's negative. That's just life. People just have their own opinions. They're entitled to that.

You don't get to check it out other than splits and stuff?

My dad looks at it. I don't see a need. I have looked at it before. It's really just kind of amusing the times I have looked at it. A lot of it is really just untrue. That time I did look at it was around the time about that story I told you about. It was absolutely ridiculous.

Well, the results that came up seemed to be more about comparing your looks to Sarah Bowman, of Tennessee, than about your running. What do you think about that?

That seems to be the most important thing to most people. How female athletes look. Whatever, I just don't really care. I run because I like running and I run because I like being an athlete. I consider myself an athlete and if people want to judge how I look...well, that's fine. They can see me...so, whatever.

Can you give me a crazy running story?

There's this guy that has this yard. We run through it on our run and it's really convenient. It's really not even a yard. It's quite a ways away from his house, but it's on his property. And they definitely come down and yell at us and want to chase us. We actually went over there the other day to try to run through it and he had built a dam of sticks...it looked kind of like a beaver dam. Like he had taken quite a bit of time to put up sticks and block us from going (laughs) through that way. That was kind of funny.