With Butler senior Rob Mullett's 3 minute, 59.37 second mile at the Washington Husky Invitational, he became the first Butler runner to crest the four-minute barrier. The Brighton, United Kingdom native is looking to pursue the 3,000-meter steeplechase in the upcoming outdoor season and hope it will carry him to the Commonwealth Games later on in 2010.

Did you get your long run in today?

Yeah, we did. Standard long run really. Around an hour-forty to an hour-forty-five.

Let me congratulate you on being the first Butler athlete to break four minutes. Is that indoor and outdoor?

Yes, I think so. And thank you!

You've had some time to let it sink in, how do you feel about what you've done?

I was just really excited to do it. It's the first time I've ever broken four, personally. To be the first Butler athlete to do it...is a nice extra, really.

When you pick up distance running and experience success, it's one of those things that you think about... “to break four minutes in the mile”. When did you first start considering it as a possible goal?

I started running when I was about 14, but I never really got serious with it until about four years ago or so. Probably when I was 17-18. That's when I first looked at it as quite a big goal to aim for.

Did you think it was possible with hard work? Or did you think it was really an outside chance?

No, I kind of expected it to be quite hard, which it has been. It's been a couple of years. I've been close, but it's those last few seconds. It's quite a big difference.

Can you walk me through the last lap and when you knew that you finally had it?

It was a weird race. Almost the perfect race, really. The pacemaker was a bit up and down. I think we slowed on the second quarter. We were still under, but it was hard to get back on. I literally just followed every move that was made in the race. I came up to the bell and the guy from Stanford made a big move. I was just going to get on the back of him and hang on and in position for the win if I went for it. It was literally just everything.

Did you know it when you crossed the line or were you wondering if you squeaked under?

No, I was pretty certain I'd done it. I thought it would be like a 3:58-3:59 kind of time. There was a split second where the trackside clock was a couple of seconds outside the actual clock and as we got over the line, it was only clicking over to 3:55-3:56. For a split second, I thought I dropped a massive time! Then I finished and knew I'd done it...and knew it wasn't a 3:56.

That will come in the future!

Hopefully!

Speaking of the future, what are the goals for the rest of indoor for you?

I've got Conference this weekend coming. I'm doing the eight and the mile. I think we're going to have a Last Chance Meet to DMR. Then, at Nationals, I'm kind of trying to get in the mix really. My first objective is to get out of the heat and make the final. If I do then, then I just want to get stuck in and see what happens.

I'm sure I don't need to tell you that so many people are running sub-four right now. Do you know how you're looking for making NCAAs right now?

I think any other year I'd be 100% certain. But this year, I've seen the list and if a few people drop quick times at Last Chance Meets and a few people decide to do the mile over something else, I might not get in. I'm reasonably confident, because I've got a reasonably low time. I was 3:59.37. I'm more confident than if I ran 3:59.9. I'll be honest, I'm not going to be at ease until the list comes out.

Is that why you're possibly going to go as a DMR?

We have a potentially good DMR team as well. We'd like to go with that as well. If I don't get in and we get in as a DMR, that will be slightly disappointing, but I'll be happy.

What's your ½-mile PR?

I've run 1:50.47.

Think you can dip under in that one?

I'd like to think so, because that was like two years ago. It's a fairly old PR. I've not had the opportunity to run a fast one since I've been out here. I don't know if I will, because I'm going to be steeplechasing outdoors.

You've got wheels! Have you ever clocked a fast quarter?

No, I honestly couldn't tell you the last time I've clocked a fast 400. I think I could definitely run a reasonably quick one, but if I threw a number out to you, it would be pure guess work.

What's your typical week of training? What kind of mileage are you logging?

Usually between 80-90 miles. I'm not a big mileage counter. I just try to run as much as I can without going overboard at the present time, really. Between 80-90 is pretty standard for me right now.

A lot of colleges have a roster with handfuls of Kenyans on the their team, while Butler has lots of guys from the United Kingdom. Can you talk about that?

I like it here at Butler. Everyone is great. We've just got a history of British athletes...and some Australians. Coach Roe is trying to build more of a in-state and foreign athletes base. He's got to kind of balance it out. It's a good team here, we've got such a range of guys, including the Americans on the team. It's a great place to train.

How did you find your way to Butler?

I actually emailed them. They just replied to me and I got talking to them and it just went from there. I knew a few Butler alum from previous years...or British people who had been here. Once I got to speaking to coach a bit, I started my research and talking to them about what they though of the place. I liked everything they said and everything coach said. I liked his training philosophies and everything like that. I thought it was a great place for me to come.

Well, you're a senior and it's coming to an end. What are your plans for next year as a senior? What do you have lined up?

That's a very good question. I'm out of eligibility in June, but I don't graduate until December. I'm going to be here until December. Then it's fairly open. I'm hoping to stay probably for the year at least...in the area. It depends on a few things. It depends on whether or not your government wants to keep me here or not.

You mentioned jumping up the the steeplechase. Have you run any steeples? Do you know what to expect?

I did it as an under-17 junior back at home. There we start with the 1,500 and then the 2K chase and then the 3K chase under 20s. I got to the 3K chase and wasn't strong enough for it. I rounded the season ...hating it pretty much. Then, I decided to go away for a few years and run the flat...with the view that I might possibly return to it this year.

So, you've got a sour taste in your mouth for the steeplechase.

No, I'm actually really looking forward to it. I actually ran one last summer, when I was home...in around 8:53. My whole last year has been a disaster. The intention in my mind was to run the steeplechase last summer. I could never get around to doing it. I'll do it this year and hopefully that will go well.

8:53 and you weren't really training for it?

Yeah, well, I was injured pretty much from about now (last year) to the middle of April. I was just on a comeback. I just had my mileage up and went into it with no pressure. I just wanted to get out and do one, really.

You should blow through 8:53 as a personal-best time then.

Well, hopefully.

What do you for fun when you get free time?

I don't go out too much. We kind of hang out a lot as a team. I'm a bit of a sucker for the American sitcoms.

You've got to give me one.

Everybody Loves Raymond. That's one that I watch or I try to get to the basketball games as much as I can.

Butler's got a great team this year!

That's one sport I've really gotten into since I came out to the States. It's nice to be at a university with a nationally prominent team.

Have you ever tried playing?

Yeah. A few of the guys and I have a hoop outside the house. We actually had a team match at the end of last season, in the summer. It's a bit of a no-contest. You've got a bunch of British guys and then five or six Americans...and they're just...they've grown up playing it their entire lives.

Especially the Indiana guys who grew up in basketball's “mecca”.

We just get beat up on so badly.

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

I think I'd have a curry from my local curry house back home. You don't get too much curry here in America. It's a great food.

What kind of international experience do you have and are there any races on your radar for the future?

I don't have any really. I did one race in Russia my top year under 20. A lot of my experience has come from racing out here. This year I have two big focuses: the NCAA and the two weeks later I've got the England Commonwealth Trials. That kind of fits quite nicely with the NCAA. I should be able to peak at the right time. I'll do that and try to qualify for Commonwealth. And that's my international focus for the year...which are in October.

Can you give me a crazy running related story?

I haven't really had anything wild. I was once asked a completely ridiculous question one time. When I was living in London, I used to do some work for London Marathon and Adidas. I'm basically in charge of organizing a 4K time trial for people training for one of their events. My job is to just drive from London to about an hour out of London in the morning. It's about 100 people and I sign them all in and send them off on their time trial and take care of all that organizational stuff at the event. One day I got stuck in a ridiculous amount of traffic. I literally got there about two minutes before it started. I got out of my car and got applauded and sarcastically cheered for as I got out for being late. I send the field off and stuff and there's guy just standing there who's hanging about. He started walking over to me and I thought, “Oh, crap. It's going to be health and safety”, because I was late and was one person short. He walks up to me and looks me dead in the face and says, “are you a local celebrity?” He must not have thought I looked that important because he specifically said “local celebrity”.

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My KWIK-Es are sponsored by runningwarehouse.com, located on the California coast in the small community of San Luis Obispo. The folks over there include one of the owners, Joe Rubio, a 2 hour, 18 minute marathoner and current head coach of the Asics Aggie RC. Jonathan Spiros oversees footwear buying and served many years as assistant coach at College Park High School helping Lindsay Allen. Erik Dube is in charge of accessories and helps with footwear buying. Erik has finished the Western States 100-Mile Race several times and was assistant coach at San Ramon Valley High School helping Scott Bauhs through high school. Erik’s wife, Tera, is in charge of customer service and is an ultra marathoner and former track star at Campolindo High School, where her brother Chuck Woolridge is currently head coach. Kara June handles web content. Kara was 6th at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials in the steeplechase. Kara was also third overall at Last Fall’s USATF Club Cross Country Championships. The entire online and phone customer service representative staff at the Running Warehouse, including the staff listed above, have spent considerable time working the retail floor. This, along with the coaching and personal athletic experience, enables the company to have a unique perspective of understanding the needs of every level of runner from beginner to All-American. Check them out when you get a chance!