Cal State Fullerton's fifth-year senior Juliane Masciana has one of the top 3,000-meter steeplechase times in the country this outdoor season (10 minutes, 15.96 seconds) and is poised to make her first trip to the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

When you went 10:15 in that steeplechase at the Asics/Steve Scott Invitational, you won by something like 25 seconds. How fast do you think you can run if you're pushed?

I sort of think I went fast because I was by myself. I was able to focus on the hurdles and focus on my jumps, which is what I've been having the most trouble with...getting over the hurdles and not stuttering. Because I was by myself, it gave me a chance to focus and count my steps and really be in the zone. I'm not sure if having people there would have helped or not. I'd like to think it would have helped. I'll get a chance to see about that at the regional meet.

Are you saying that you'd be the first person to admit that there's a lot you need to learn about the steeplechase?

Oh, yeah. For sure. I feel like I just got comfortable with my jumps this past race. I've been doing it for...it's my fifth year in the steeplechase, but I feel like every year I have to relearn and I need to get comfortable again and get reacquainted with everything. It's tough and you really lose seconds on those hurdles if you're not doing it right.

 

How did you get into such a weird event (the steeplechase) in the first place?

Back when I started as a freshman, my coach was like, “hey, there's this event and it's only 3,000 meters and there's not a lot of competition.” Back then there really wasn't a lot of competition. My sophomore year, I placed third at Big Wests with an 11:07. So, it wasn't very competitive. It wasn't like the 5k, where you go run a crazy fast time. I figured it was something I had a shot at and I could place at. This was the first year that I ran a 5k, because I was like, “I don't want to run more than 3,000 meters.” I didn't want to run any farther and I just stuck with this.

 

You're a pure steeplechaser?

It's definitely my event now. It's a strategic race and I've gotten used to it. It's something that I really like doing. When I did run that 5k this year, it felt weird to just go around and it felt like there was something missing.

 

It was a little boring for you?

It was a little boring. How many laps? 12 laps? I was thinking, “oh, my gosh, is this over yet?” I just kept going and going and forgot how boring it was to run.

 

What are your goals for this outdoor season?

I'm just really looking forward to nationals. That's been my main goal since last year when my season ended prematurely. I got injured. Last year it was, “get to nationals, get to nationals, get to nationals!” And then this year started out kind of rough for me. I was coming back from injuries and kind of losing focus. I was wondering, “what's the point of this?” I'd been doing this for five years, about to graduate and move on with my life. It was hard to stay focused on what I came back to do. My fastest time before two weeks ago was 10:30. At Mt. SAC, I only ran like 10:37. Every race just got progressively slower and slower and I had to just stop myself and remind myself why I came back and why I've been waking up at 6:45 a.m. That's just to get to nationals. Cal State Fullerton's only had two athletes ever go to nationals. Only one girl. So, that's really been the goal since the beginning. I also want to win conference. That seems more doable. That's what I've been set on and anything else, I don't care as long as I do that.

 

What's a typical week of training like for you?

We do two speed workouts a week. One interval and one tempo. Nothing too crazy. We'll do six by one-mile repeats. We'll have a ladder workout where we'll go 200, 400, 800. And do three sets or whatever. I probably only do about 50-55 miles a week. You know when you get into your season and you've got races every weekend and you can't get your long runs in. I've never been into high mileage. I always just stop my long runs at maybe an hour or and hour and ten...hour and twenty.

 

You've got a couple jobs and you dabble in photography, but what are some other hobbies of yours?

I do lots of stuff. I like to dabble in everything. Last year, when I got injured, I went out and bought a guitar so I could have a hobby that doesn't involve anything active. I've been playing the guitar for a year and I really like that. I love to go camping and I love to travel. Snowboarding, surfing and all sorts of outdoor activities.

 

What are you going to do when school is done?

That's the question of the year and I really don't know. Last year, I thought that was it. I wasn't planning on taking my fifth year at school. I really didn't know what I was going to do. Once that year ended, I came back because I didn't know what I was going to do and I could run, finish it out and then decide. Right now I just need to think about the next five weeks and nationals and what's going on there. If I don't, I'll just go crazy. There's that broad span of time after that...and I don't know what's going to go on then. We'll see.

 

Who are some athletes—some runners—that you look up to?

Oh, my gosh. That's kind of funny, because people always say to me, “do you know who this runner is?” I don't even know these people. People say these names and I don't even know them. I ran a race against Sara Hall. My coach was like, “Sara Hall's in your race, Sara Hall's in your race.” I had no idea who she was. I was just like, “oh, that's cool, coach” and didn't even know. One of my teammates had to explain her to me. I don't know why I don't pay attention...or maybe I see their names and forget. It's weird because all my teammates are up to speed and know who's running what. I know the girls in my conference, the girls I've run against for years, but when it comes to the elite runners...I'm dumb about that kind of stuff.

 

If you could have any meal in the world, what would you choose to eat?

I like sushi a lot. Seafood. Lobster. Anything like that. I'm a big “all-you-can-eat” sushi fan.

 

Can you give me some kind of wild running-related story?

I don't if it's crazy, but it goes back to the whole Sara Hall thing at Stanford. I'm kind of embarrassed, so I don't know if I should say anything. OK, I was getting ready to run my race, and at Stanford everything is really regulated. You have to have a certain color wristband to get on the track to run your race. Apparently my coach had given me the wrong color wristband and I didn't know. It's about five minutes before and I'm getting ready to go on the track. This lady is like, “no, you can't go.” I'm freaking out because it's five minutes from the race. I'm running around, not knowing what to do, arguing with this lady. I was like, “I don't know where my coach is and I need to get on the track.” I didn't care if I had the right color wristband, I'm obviously in the race. I see this girl come from behind me and try to sneak by. She didn't have the right colored wristband either. I don't know why...but I yell out, “well, she doesn't have one either! You need to kick her off the track too!” The lady kicks her off the track too. The girl I totally tattled on...was Sara Hall. I was so embarrassed. I didn't know until after. During the race I kept hearing her name over the loud speaker and which place she's in. I'm looking up, way behind her and I see that it's that girl that I totally called out and got kicked off the track. I felt really bad. I don't know why I did that either...it was just an instinct.