Kicking off his junior year this fall, Oklahoma State's Colby Lowe is looking to add to his already impressive running resume. After last year's team victory at the NCAA Cross Country Championships, and a 10th-place individual finish, the Dallas, Texas native is looking for the same result with a batch of new Cowboys. Check out Colby and his fellow OK State Cowboys in action this weekend at the Oklahoma State Jamboree.

What's your typical Sunday like these days? Do you get your long run out of the way then watch some football?

Usually we'll wake up and go running at like 7 a.m. We'll go for a our long run and then fix some breakfast, turn on a little football, and after that, I usually work on homework and stuff and get ready for the week.

How did the long run go today?

Right now it varies from an hour-thirty to an hour and forty-five minutes, depending on the load of the week training-wise. Also, I'll go on how I'm feeling and all that.

And you're going to be opening up your season at the Jamboree?

Yes, I am. That's on the 25^th, on Saturday.

What is the mission for your opener?

It's really just going to be me coming into that first 5K relaxed and feeling good, really just getting back into the motion of everything, then probably the last 3K we might turn loose and open up and run. The main goal is to have everyone and keep the team together and build that pack-running skill with every body. We want to build that and have a good, hard race and get ready for the next couple of races.

Generally speaking, how would you say you're feeling going into this cross country season?

I'm feeling great. Training is going really well, and at this point, I couldn't ask for anything any differently than it's going and how it's come together for the cross country season. There's still a lot of time left and it's at the point where I'm ready to race. I've been training for a while now and I've been waiting for this season to start.

How long have you been training for this season?

After I was done with outdoor, I took about two weeks off and just chilled, relaxed, and recouped. Then I pretty much just started with base training, working my way back up to 80-90 miles a week, getting some really good mileage in, getting ready to come back to school. So, I'm working hard and getting ready for the races that are coming up.

Can you race off of 80-90 miles a week or will you have to reign it in a little as the season progresses?

I'll pretty much stay around 80 or 90 the whole cross season. I'm hitting about 85-90 right now.

Is that average mileage for your team?

I'm one of the higher guys, but we've got a couple of guys who are hitting in the 90-100 range. I'm probably in the middle. We have a lot of our guys between 80-100.

You've seen your teammates. What's it look like? What are your individual goals and what are your team goals this year?

Definitely the team goal right now is coming into The Jamboree and going out there and really working hard—with a new team after we lost quite a few guys last year—and race hard and get a feel for every body. We're trying to build that mentality with each other where we know where every body is and how every body races. Then, after that, we're looking forward to the next race. We're going to go into Big 12s looking to win and compete hard, then make it to regionals, then do well there and the ultimate goal is to make it back to nationals and go out there and race hard and try to win. Our main goal, I'd say, is for us to go out there and trying to win Big 12s, try to run regionals and make it back to nationals—go out hard and see where it takes us. Individually, every guy on the team has a goal to make All American. That's a big thing for all of us.

German Fernandez could have a huge impact on how your team does this season, could you share your thoughts on how he's doing right now?

German is looking good. He's ready to go and ready to race. He's hungry and it's been a little while since he's raced. All of our guys are ready to race and ready to go. I think the best thing about it is our team and how committed we are and how deep we are too. Each guy wants desperately to be on that top-seven placing and that's what we want. We're not settling for anything but being the best. Everyone is looking great and ready to go! It's going to take this whole team to do well and maybe repeat again. I think that's what's good about this team. You have guys exceeding excellence.

Are you feeling pressure going into this season after how well last year went?

Pressure...no, I don't try to focus on those things too much. I just have to focus on preparing hard and going out there and focusing on running a hard race and knowing after I cross the line, I gave everything possible and did every little thing right. I get to sleep early and do all of my school work. When I get to the line with all of that...well, it's fun! It's my time to go out and have a little fun. I just think about all the guys before us who have put in the hard work and dedication to get to this point. We're not going to fail them and not settle for second place, but going for first place. With all the guys, we're not going to fail each other, fail our coach, and fail all the people before us. That mentality of pressure turns into excitement with me being ready to go and ready to race, just knowing that we've got people behind us and we're willing to take it to the limits and try to become the best.

So you leave no stone unturned with your training and preparation, so when you get to these big races you just work with the tools you've developed?

Yes, that's the big thing. Everybody on the team, we've worked hard, we put in the miles, we've put in the work and we say that one thing, “we're not going to fall short by being outworked.” We're not going to be wishing that we tweaked one thing or done another little thing differently. That's a big thing about getting your sleep, your rest, eating, doing every little thing right. That's the big thing with everyone that comes here. We do every little thing right and when it comes to that race, there's not a point in time where we feel like we haven't prepared. These guys work hard and that's what we take pride in. If we fall short, we fall short as a team and someone just had a better race than us that day. You just go back to the drawing board, and go back to working hard again. Then we'll come out the next year and take it to them again.

Is that “attention to detail” a selling point to recruits with your team? Did that work on you?

Definitely! That's the biggest thing that we want to hear. We want people who are willing to push those limits and do everything possible to become the best person and best runner they can possibly be. We lay it out and say, “this is what we're all about and this is what's here. If you're willing and ready to do this, this is the place for you.” We just take big pride in the fact that with the hard, we're also a family. We take that to the extreme, too. We're all here for each other and we all have each other's backs—the women and the men.

You and your teammates recently got to go out to Washington, D.C. and meet The President. What was that like?

It was a cool experience. It was a once-in-a-lifetime thing that not everyone gets to do, to get to stand on the White House lawn and meet The President and get to hear him speak. It was really exciting, too, that all of our hard work and all the time we've spent. Not only did we win a national championship, but we got here to do this. It's exciting for the team and for the coaches, knowing that people do care and do recognize the time and effort that college sports teams put into their sports to be the best.

What else did you do while you were in the nation's capitol? Did you run much?

Yes, we ran every day. We did some exploring, some adventure running. It was nice, getting to run somewhere nice and somewhere different and to see different places. We got to see the places that other schools get to train at. It's a little bit different than running around her in Stillwater. We know these trails inside and out and it's a little different not knowing where you're going.

It must be different in D.C. then it is on those long dirt roads around Stillwater?

It's a little bit more rural and you notice it when you're running down a path next to a canal or a river and you're like, “this could be a little sketchy.” But it's also fun.

Later on this year, do you know if you're going to be doing a lot more 5Ks or 10Ks? Do you have big goals?

I'm not really sure which I'm going to be running yet, but for both, I'm definitely looking to beating 13:42—which I ran out there at Mt. SAC. I'll try to get that and get to 13:30 or better in that. In the 10K, if I do get a chance to run it, I'll probably shoot for 28:30-28:40. I think that would be a really good place to start out and to hit right off the bat. Once I feel that feeling, I can go back, get in some more hard work and maybe get it down to 28:20 maybe toward the end. I'd really like to see what I can do, because there's no limits on that.

Coach Dave Smith, what did you like about him when you were looking at school?

What I really like about Coach Smith is that not only is he a great guy and great coach, but he takes pride in doing this and in his hard work. He's not one to be outworked by anybody. There's a mentality of being a coach to each runner and really focusing on what your needs are and what makes you a great runner. Not just taking the whole team together and saying, “you have to be this, this, and this!” That doesn't work for everybody. Everybody has certain things and certain mileage that makes them a good runner. Just being that coach that says, “if this is what works, then we can start here. Let's build on that process and get faster and increase those miles to turn you into the best possible runner you can.” Also, this is where we get our family thing from. We get it from him. We give four-five-six years of our life and this should be an exciting time. This is should be somewhere where you want to spend your time, live, and be a part of this team, and be a part of that family away from home. You always look forward to coming back and it's hard to be away from the team, too!

With your super-deep team, how much is the training/coaching individualized?

It's yes and no, because we all train with each other, but at the same time too, that gives us a chance to see how we all work together. Having guys to work with that are top-notch runners, you can go out there when you're ready to do workouts and you can push things a little bit. That's what makes us better and that's what makes the team better. At the same time, people do know what needs to be done. Each person is individualized in their running as well.

When you get free time, what are you doing for fun?

When we're not running or training, doing homework for school, we're just like any other student or person. We're at somebody's house watching football, going to the football games, going to the movies together and anything and everything. Most times when we're not doing those things, we're at someone's house with football on...relaxing when we can.

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

That is tough. I'd have to say that my favorite foot is meat tortellini. It kind of varies, but that would have to be it, especially two nights before a race.

Can you share a crazy running-related story?

Back in high school, this is like my sophomore year. For some reason, on that particular day, it had to do with some runners. They got in trouble at some point in time with the cops. They put it out to all different cops that they were looking out for runners. They were pulling over all kinds of runners, asking questions and stuff. I was going through a neighborhood back toward the school and about four cops came after me, trying to stop me. They were asking questions about this and that. I was like, “I have no clue what in the world you're talking about!” I think the funniest thing was how my coach and high school was like, “why'd you pull me over? Was I speeding?” But if I'd done that...who knows what kind of trouble I'd have gotten in.

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