Wisconsin Badger senior Gwen Jorgensen is a converted collegiate swimmer. She placed 83^rd at the NCAA Championships last year in her first cross country season and second recently at Big 10s.

After coming off of being second at Big 10s, can you give me your individual goals this cross country season?

Throughout the entire season it's been about the team. So, basically scoring the lowest points possible for the team. Our team is really strong this year and I want to improve upon last year. Last year I was kind of just getting my feet wet. It was my first cross country season. This year I'm expecting to hopefully do a little bit better to help my team out.

So, it's all team oriented this year?

Not really. I definitely want to compete and...get out and be in the front pack.

That being said, what are your team goals?

Originally we wanted top-three at Big 10s...and we got that. So, that's good. Going into nationals, we wanted to be top-15. Maybe a little bit higher now that we keep improving and I think we see that we can be a top player. A trophy team would be amazing, but we know that will be really difficult and we'd really have to be on our game to be able to do that.

What's your training been like?

This summer I was around like 50 miles a week. Just doing base running, not much workout-wise. A few fartleks here and there. It was a good summer...kind of relaxing. This year, since I came back to school, it has been a little bit higher. I've been doing some good workouts. Every thing's been going pretty well. We'll start to bring it back a little bit pretty soon...so we feel fresh for nationals.

How did you make that switch from swimming to running?

Originally I was swimming and we had like two weeks off. I was doing a little bit of running during that time. I talked to my high school track coach and he told me he thought I could run for UW. I didn't really believe him at the time. I wasn't even thinking about running at all. He suggested running and swimming, he thought I could do both. He actually contacted Coach Stintzi here and I got in contact with him and did a little time trial. Then I talked to both of my coaches and teammates on both teams and they said that we could work it out where I could do both for a year. So, I tried both swimming and running for a year and it was a great experience. Then I just decided I wanted to give cross country a shot, because it was kind of a different sport than both running and swimming. It was more team oriented.

Would you say that the training for one is harder than the other?

It's completely different. My first few weeks of running...I couldn't walk and I dreaded going down stairs. Just because my body was so sore and I wasn't used to the impact. With swimming we can work out harder for a lot longer, because we don't have to worry about getting injured. Whereas in running, with the impact, we have to be more worried about getting stress fractures or tendinitis and stuff like that. That's just a huge difference. I can't really say that one is harder, because they're harder in different ways if that makes sense.

Would you ever like to pick up the bike and try the triathlon?

I hear that a lot. (Laughs) I haven't really thought about that. I'm really enjoying right now what I'm doing. Maybe down the road, when I'm done running...we'll see.

Do you miss swimming competitively?

I'm really happy with where I am right now. I miss the team and my teammates, but I still hang out with them and see them a lot. I'm really satisfied with where I am right now.

Have you had much contact with Mick Bryne since he came over this year?

Yeah. We actually traveled with the guys team to Big 10s. We talk to him a lot. He's a really great guy. The guys like him and we like him. He's a great addition.

What's the hardest workout you've ever done? You can apply this question to swimming if you'd like.

We once did a 10,000-yard set, not including the warm up, pre-set, or cool-down. A set is equivalent to intervals in running. The 10,000 set was all fast and was broken up into 200s, 400s, 800s, 1,000s and miles. After that sort of set all you want to do is sleep for weeks!

What is some essential running gear for you? Lucky pair of shorts? Favorite shoes? Anything like that?

Not really. I actually like to switch up my pairs of shoes often because I feel like it will prevent injuries or something. I don't really have any favorites. I wear what we get.

What are you wearing right now?

I'm actually wearing a pair of black trackster pants, Adidas pants.

(Laughs) I'm sorry. What are you training in right now?

Oh! What am I training in? (Laughs) I'm wearing the Adidas Bostons.

What are you majoring in?

Accounting. I'm actually getting my masters right now. I've got my undergrad in accounting. Right now I'm getting my masters in accountancy.

You must be a math whiz.

It's not that much math. People always think it is...but, it's not.

It still scares the hell out of me. Are you going to be an accountant right out of college?

I think I'm just going to go right into being an accountant. I actually have a job lined up right now with an accounting firm in Milwaukee. I think that's what I'm going to do.

Can you give me a crazy running story? (provided via e-mail)

We have a cemetery close to our campus where Chris Farley is buried. We once spent a six-mile run jogging around the cemetery looking for his tombstone. We found “Charles Farley” and thought we hit gold! Unfortunately, we later found out that Chris Farley was cremated and he is hidden in a wall somewhere else in the cemetery.