Minnesota Gopher Hassan Mead was born in Somalia and came over to the United States for better opportunities. The former Footlocker Finalist has a personal-best time of 13 minutes, 28.45 seconds with his victory at the Payton Jordan Cardinal Invitational 5,000-meter race last spring. In November, Mead finished 16^th overall at the NCAA Cross Country Championships and will head into indoor.

Overall can you sum up your cross country season?

I had different expectations coming into Nationals. When I started training in July, I thought I would do better than where I finished, but it was good. The crazy thing is that I had a really good season. To go out at Nationals and take 16^th...it was a good result, but not what I was expecting. I was happy overall.

Do you mind sharing what number you had in mind going in?

I wanted to finish in the top five. I went out hard and chased the guys. To go out with those guys in the top 20, I thought it would take me to the front. I was hoping that in the last 5K that they wouldn't have anything left and I would just push it. That's not how it went. I went out great. The race opened up so quick. I think by the 2K it was already Sam, Chris and the other two groups and everyone else got stretched out. It went out at a quick pace and that changed things around.

What are you goals for indoor track?

I was fourth last year in the indoor 3K and it was my first indoor Nationals. This week I'll start training on Monday and just stay healthy and compete and hopefully finish higher than fourth. That would be awesome. If I finish in the top-three, improving from fourth...I think that would be great for me.

Do you enjoy being on the track more or are you more of a cross country runner?

Coming off of high school I thought I was more into cross. Lately, the results show that I'm more of a track guy. It's hard to call, but if I was to pick one right now, I'd probably pick track. I'm shocking myself on the track with my results and my times. Maybe track over cross by a little bit. Everyone else has that speed. I just never had that. I just hit the 5K or 8K hard over hills. I try to take out everyone's kicks. Now, it's kind of developed on the track. I have a good mile base on me and I seem to be doing all right.

I was going to say that you must have some wheels to run 13:28.

Yeah, that's pretty quick.

Have you ever run a track 10,000?

No. Oh, I lie! I ran at Big Ten last year! I ran the 10K at conference. But it was like 31 minutes or something.

You thinking about running a quick one come outdoor season? Or will you stick around the five?

I don't know what coach has planned for me. We have a couple of ideas. After the season last year, we want to test the legs and see the quickness and all that. The 10K...I think I'll be good at that, but I want to develop more. I don't know how we could get that to fit in the schedule because I've got to race a couple of 5Ks. I don't about this year...but definitely next year.

Can you explain your training a bit?

After outdoor nationals in June, I took about three weeks off and started training in like late July. I started with 40 miles and then added a little bit. By the time we headed to training camp and cross started, I was probably doing 80s. The most I did was maybe 90. Not a triple-digit number. That's with two days a week where we'll have “two-a-days”.

Do you still train through Ramadan?

Yeah, I did that. I do that as much as I can. Training isn't usually a problem because we run at 2:30 p.m. and we run until five. I'm usually fine. If we have a race that month, I'll just take the day off and make it up. We haven't had that this year because it doesn't start at the same time. We haven't had any conflicts.

And you don't eat while the sun is out?

Yeah, you don't eat while the sun is out. The last meal you have is at five in the morning...until like when the sun goes down...usually eight at night. While the sun is out, you can't eat or drink basically.

Your body is used to that and you don't feel the ill effects?

That first week is hard, but after that you get in a rhythm. Your body gets used to it and you try not to be active if necessary. I try to just go to class and conserve energy and then go to practice. During practice I just really look forward to the meal.

And you grew up in Somalia?

That's right. I was born and raised there. I was there until I was about age 10. Then I moved to the States.

You hadn't started running then?

No, I never ran cross county until I was a junior in high school. I did participate in track in gym class from seventh grade on.

What brought you from Somalia to the United States?

Just to get a better life. I grew up on a farm. My dad was up here for a couple years before we came. My sister and I just wanted to get an education and for us to get out from the farm and have a better life basically.

What's the next step for you after college?

Running got me where I am right now. I'll hopefully get my degree and next spring I'll graduate. Running-wise, I really don't know. There's still the idea of there being more after college. That's not guaranteed though. I'll just go with the rhythm and go with it every day a practice and see how it goes. One season and one year a time. If I'm healthy and keep going, then I'll pursue whatever it brings. If I can go somewhere with running where someone is willing to pay me to run...then, whynot? I'd love to do it.

Who are some runners that you look up to?

There are some athletes where I wonder, “how do they do that?” One of them is one that everyone looks up to: Kenenisa Bekele. I look up to Abdi Abdirahman. I talk to him most of the time. I met him a while ago and we started to build a friendship. We stay in touch. I have many friends around the country in college...and we just appreciate where we are and how we're lucky to have the chance to be competing.

How did you and Abdi make a connection?

When I was in high school, my senior year, I made it to the Footlocker Championships in San Diego. He was one of the Nike people that they sent as part of the program. That's where we met that year. Ever since then we've been in touch. He comes up to the Twin Cities and runs the 10-miler on the road.

What do you for fun when you get free time?

We watch TV a lot. We hang out with friends a lot. Bowling is big. I like bowling. I shoot hoops and play basketball a lot...when I get a chance. Most of the time before practice, I'll go in the gym and shoot around and have a two-on-two shooting contest. I stay in contact with other the other sports.

What's your highest bowling score?

Not too long ago, my team and I were bowling and running out of time and we were just throwing them down there at the pins and I think I hit over 210. It was unbelievable! I'll probably never do that again...it was like 215 or something, I don't remember the exact number. I average about 130.

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

I'll probably go with something my mom makes. She's been cooking for like 20 years for me. I'll probably say goat meat. The goat meat would have to be cooked like not fried, but grilled with all the seasoning and stuff. And some pasta on the side. A mixture of rice and pasta and goat meat. A mixture of Middle Eastern-type foods. But a home-cooked meal. It's great when you're sick of eating university meals or fast food.

Can you give me a crazy running-related story?

Last outdoor season, it was me and my teammate Chris Rombough. We went out for an hour-long run. There are these trails near our track. We went out and we were coming back and this officer stops us and is like, “what are you guys doing?” We're in our short shorts and shirts. It's 80 degrees and it doesn't look like we're doing anything bad. He's like, “you guys are trespassing and there's a law that says you can arrest anyone who's trespassing and they'll spend a night in jail.” He keeps going on about it and he's serious. He's some old man. He finally said that we could just exit right over there and that he didn't want to catch us there again or we'll spend a night in jail. It we would have spent a night in jail, we wouldn't have been able to leave for Regionals the next day. The next day, some guys were warming up and going to head in the direction we went, but the coach said, “don't go there. They're really strict about trespassing there!” Then we told him our story and he had just told them the same thing. It was pretty funny!

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