Virgina junior Catherine White is a recent transfer from Arkansas. To show the ease of her transition to a new program and school, White recently finished fourth overall at the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships in 19 minutes, 59.5 seconds, over the 6,000-meter course. White's vast improvement in cross country has brought her from 199^th her freshman, to 65^th her sophomore year and fourth this past Monday. The question is “where will White finish in 2010?”

First off, congratulations on your fourth-place finish! Did you see fourth place happening going into the race?

Not at all. I completely surprised myself. My goal was to get top-15 and if I had gotten top-10, I would have been ecstatic. So, getting fourth was a pleasant surprise.

You've had time to let it sink in. How do feel about your race now?

I'm pleased with how I performed. I definitely went out pretty hard and tried to run really tough the entire race. I don't think there's anything I would have changed. Maybe I could have moved up a little more in the last k, maybe try to get Susan at the end. I was pleased with it and was able to stay pretty calm being up front and having such a hot pace at the beginning.

In the final stretch on TV, it looked like Susan didn't really run the tangent. She looked like she was running way off to your right. Did you see that and did you think you could have gotten her?

Yeah, that definitely crossed my mind, but I just started moving too late. I didn't think I was going to be able to catch her and just try to beat my group at the end. Once I looked up and saw her there, I was like, “try to get her too!” But it was too late.

Can you finish this number set for me: 199, 65, 4 and x?

(Laughs) I don't know! I haven't really thought about that for next year yet. If everything goes well...I feel like every championship I've been too, I've learned a lesson in some way. I've been able to capitalize off the knowledge I've gained from the race. I have had a few rough years in there.

What prompted you to move from Arkansas to Virginia?

It was definitely a handful of different reasons. One main reason is that I'm from Virginia. I really wanted to come back home and be closer to my family. My older brother, Richard, goes to school at UVA. My sister is looking at applying there this year. It's kind of the school that everybody goes to. I've always wanted to come back closer. Also, I really wasn't happy with the end of last year and needed a switch to get a little more grounded and keep improving as a runner and a student.

Sometimes people have trouble with those transitions, but you've showed that you improve throughout the whole situation.

I've had a few comments to me when I transferred, like, “it's going to be hard” and, “don't be discouraged if you're not doing well.” I took it upon myself to prove them wrong. You can transfer and your life won't crumble. It can be a good thing for some people. I hope that I've proven that.

What about going from one training program to another? Did your training change a whole lot?

It changed a little bit. But, really Coach Hunt and Coach Vig have been very flexible with me. We've been really honest about what I've done in the past, what's worked and not worked and how I like to race. It's like every day we learn about each other some more and how to make it a more successful training day. It's been a really successful transition and I really enjoy my new coaches a lot.

Speaking of your training, where is your comfort zone for mileage?

In the summer, I was hitting about 80. But, I wasn't being coached all that much in the summer, because I was figuring out my transfer. I was kind of doing my own thing...which is kind of fun. When I started the season out and stuff, I was hitting roughly 75...give or a take a few miles.

Did you taper for NCAAs?

Yeah, I tapered a little bit. I like to keep my mileage high.

Going into indoor track, how confident are you as compared to when you've went into other indoor track seasons?

I'm looking forward to it! I talked to Vig a couple days ago about what I was trying to run. I think we're going to be able to put together a good, little DMR. I've never ran a relay in college. I'm stoked for indoor and will hopefully get to run some fast stuff.

What's a typical Catherine White Thanksgiving Day like?

Well, this year I'm going to run the Drum Stick Dash in my hometown. That's a 5K and I'm going to jog it. I'll do that in the morning. Then, my roommate came home with me, so we'll probably just hang out and watch football and play the Wii and eat a lot of food.

What's a jog for you though in one of those races?

We'll see how good of shape my dad's in. That's really the true indicator. I wonder if it will be that fast...(laughs). Sorry, dad! I told him that it will make Thanksgiving dinner taste so much better.

Are there any runners that you look up to?

Definitely watching Jenny Barringer is really inspirational. She's an American and she's awesome! Obviously she had a rough go yesterday, but that doesn't change anything she's done in her collegiate career. From where she's started, it's amazing how much she's improved. I think that's pretty cool. I look up to a lot of runners. It's kind of a mutual respect for all the hard work we put in.

When you were aware that Jenny was going backward in the race, she said that people had positive stuff to say to her, did you see anything like that or did you not see her dropping back?

When I passed her, I didn't know how many people I was with and didn't really hear anything. I kind of turned a corner and passed her right then. It took me back. I don't know if I realized what was going on when it happened. It was pretty crazy.

Looking at your long-term goals in the NCAA, what are you looking to accomplish?

I haven't really thought about indoor too, too much. But, outdoor I want to maybe content for a national title in the 10K. We'll see...I don't know. I at least want to improve on my sixth-place finish at NCAAs. I'd really like to try to crank out a fast one this year too.

What time would consider “fast” this outdoor season?

I'd like to be 33-low. Maybe break 33. That would be awesome if I could do that.

Do you know if you have those early season, fast races on your schedule yet?

Yeah, I don't know. I don't know how everything works at Virgina yet. I find out something new everyday. I guess I'll just worry about that later.

What do you do for hobbies when you get free time?

I really like to relax and read. I really like cooking. I dabble in the kitchen if I get free time.

What is your best meal or favorite meal to make?

Oh, gosh...probably stuffed peppers or something like lasagna. Just because there's lots of pieces to make and it keeps me busy for a couple of hours.

That makes you popular with your teammates I assume?

Yeah!

If you could one meal, prepared by anyone, what would you have and who would make it?

Lately, I've been have cravings for a Chipotle burrito (laughs). I'm probably going to offend my mom in some capacity.

This is usually the question where the runner pays homage to her mom, grandmother or other family member.

(Laughs) Sorry, mom! My mom is a great cook. Lately I've been craving Chipotle and haven't been able to make it there. It's bad. I might have to indulge. There's only one in Charlottesville, so I'll have to wait until I get back. But, I am going to the Virginia Tech-Virginia game on Saturday. It's kind of a big deal and I'm pumped! I'll have a great day with Chipotle on top of that.

I forgot to ask: are you currently on a little break from running?

I'll just do whatever this week. I don't really feel burned out at all, which is great. The past two years, I've kind of felt like I never wanted to run again in my entire life. I feel pretty good and will probably run a few times this week and keep it really low-key. I'll start up Monday and start getting focused on indoor.

Can you give me a crazy running-related story?

My ex-boyfriend and I, in Arkansas, we went up and ran on this dirt road in the middle of nowhere. You can get out in the middle of nowhere pretty quick in Arkansas. We went to some crazy dirt road and you usually get attacked by some crazy dogs along the way...usually about five. We get back to the car after doing an hour run. It was spring time, so it was pretty hot. I had been running in my jog bra and he had his shirt off or whatever. We locked the keys in the car and were parked on the side of the road. We walked to this house...not too far away, but not close. This country guy game out and we had to beg him to use his phone. We were so thirsty and he didn't even offer us water and was being all stingy with his phone. Then, it started pouring down rain with thunderstorms as we're out in the middle of nowhere. The guy wasn't letting us in his house and it was really bad.

Are the country folk a lot more accommodating in Virginia? Is that another reason for the transfer?

(Laughs) No! It was just one crazy, old country guy in the middle of rural Arkansas. It was a nightmare day. It was long and cold!

 

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