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University of Colorado Buffalo Christian Thompson, a junior and former competitive snowshoe racer from New York, has been progressing as a runner since he landed in Boulder. After a redshirt cross season to start and two consistent years of running—topped by a 44th-place finish at last year's NCAA Cross Country Championships—Thompson is looking to crack into that All-American pool of runners and help the Buffs to another strong showing at the big dance.

The Rocky Mountain Shootout was yesterday. That was your opener?

Yup. That's correct.

Can you talk about the race a little bit?

I was hoping for a little bit more. I think I was in shape to break 25 minutes there, but I still set a five-second PR on the course there and ran like 25:11 from last year. The team ran well, too. I was the third guy on the team. Joe Bosshard ran 24:44, which is the sixth-fastest on our course and ONLY Olympians are ahead of him.

That's not bad company.

Yeah. He's a redshirt sophomore. And Andrew Wacker ran 25:05, which is a 45-50-second PR on the course. He ran well. Our fourth guy was at 25:47, which is a 10-second PR for him. I don't think we were as fast as we were last year, but over eight guys, I think we were. I'm hoping we continue to improve. Wetmore usually gets us good and healthy at the right point of the season.

It fits well into your progression as an individual and as a team?

I think everyone that's healthy and racing is pretty reliable in that they're staying there. The big thing, this year, is that everyone who is fighting for the top seven, hasn't blown up in a race. We're very consistent and I think that's going to help us out a lot, come Big 12s and nationals. You need reliable and level-headed people on your team to run well at The Shootout, but when you get to Terre Haute on November 22^nd, you have 254 runners on the starting line that can run just as fast as you and it's a completely different animal. I think everyone will do fine in that situation.

You were right outside of being an All American last year?

Yeah, I think I was 44^th and 3.2 seconds outside of being an All American. That was a little bittersweet, I guess. It was a huge improvement from the year before when I was 208^th. I just need to keep improving and I'll get something good.

While we're talking about that, where are you setting your team goals and where are you setting your individual goals?

I'd like the think that we keep getting better and after last year at Big 12s, I'd like to think that we would like to win Big 12s and go out on a high note. Then, CU hasn't been on the podium since we won in 2006. We definitely would like to get back up there. That's everyone's goal, to make it to nationals, hoping to win. We definitely want to get back on the podium and I think it's on everyone's mind to win and bring a national championship to Boulder. I think a lot of people on the team came here to hopefully win one of those. I know I did. We want to win Big 12s and go top four at nationals. I think Big 12s are pretty open. A lot of the teams have a top four and the fifth man is kind of shaky for some. I think it's going to come down to the fourth and fifth man at Big 12s.

And you're just looking to improve individually?

I'd like to be top five at Big 12s and All American at nationals, maybe top 25. If I'm the sixth guy or the fifth man at nationals and I'm All American, I'm still going to be super happy if five of our guys are All American. We'd be right up there. I just want to continue to improve. I can't control what other people do and we'll worry about ourselves, hopefully. I want to improve and help the team out.

What has your training been telling you about this season? How are you feeling?

My training is going better. I'm doing some runs that I thought would never be possible in my college career. I've been feeling good and I think at this home meet, not many teams taper much for them. We did normal work up to about two days before. We felt the normal fatigue. I felt a little tired. I took it easy today. I didn't really have any other hiccups. I was sick for a couple of days and took two days off in an easy week. Other than that, it's been great training and I really haven't had any interruptions and the team's had their best summer ever. I think that's helped out a lot.

What about your training has progressed? Has your mileage been constantly progressing?

I've been at 105 for a couple of years now. This summer, I've just been running a little bit faster on the easy days—nothing ridiculous...maybe 6:40s, 6:50s. Then, we've got a new strength coach and I think that's been a big difference. He's really been helping us out a lot. We've just been trying to stay on top of the little things. Other than that, it's the same volume and workouts have been going a little bit faster. I'm a lot more relaxed with my training and letting things happen.

What were you doing in high school for mileage?

Over the summer, I'd be in the upper 50s and mid-season, I was like 45-50. It was nothing crazy. In season, I used to just use races as workouts. Then my school didn't have indoor track. So, my junior and senior year, I started snowshoeing competitively. They make running snowshoes. I did that and then my senior year I did junior cross and went into outdoor track. I never did indoor track.

So, how has your mileage progressed?

I ran 65 during the cross season my freshman year that I redshirted. So it was not too big of a jump, which I believe helped me to adjust to college. After the season I built up to 80 miles a week for indoor and outdoor track. My progression has been gradual, so nothing crazy like I think some people have done at CU. And then in the spring, I did 80 miles. My sophomore year, in the fall, I was at like 90-95. I was like, “you know what? I'm going to do five more miles and log 100 miles for the week.” I did 100 and then that spring I did 105 and I've been at 105 ever since then. At the time, I didn't feel super tired, but looking back on it, I don't know...I'm just finally getting used to it. I think the thing with Wetmore's program is that it takes a little bit of time to get used to the volume. He definitely individualizes your build up. That was nice. Like I said, being here two or three years at 100-mile weeks, I've been feeling better. It's kind of crazy now, when I'm going 12 or 13 miles on easy days. In high school, you had this really good feeling about yourself, like, “I just did 12 miles for my long run. That's pretty awesome!” Now, it's like, “oh, an easy day.” Some of the freshman are doing 65 miles and doing sever or eight a day. I'm like, “man, I miss those days.” It's a gradual build-up and not everyone is able to do a quicker build-up. Some take it a little bit slower. I haven't ever been like super warn out where I can't run because of the mileage.

Looking back to when you first started doing the bigger mileage and it didn't feel as good, can you attribute that to not taking care of the small stuff like you said you are now?

I think so. Especially my freshman. Freshman year is a huge learning experience. I'm super glad I redshirted my freshman year of cross. I didn't have that pressure of having to go out and perform. I did a couple of unattached races and adjusted to college. Even in track, you almost feel like you don't belong. You go from taking 11^th at Footlockers your senior year to being 11^th on your team. That was a huge kind of awakening. I really wasn't doing much of the little stuff. I did a lot of it in high school and it kind of took me a while to realize, “hey, this isn't high school anymore. If you want to do something, you've got to do all the little things more.” You're not going to out-train someone by just doing more miles. I was doing the miles, but it's stuff outside of running that you have to do. I guess after 2008 at cross, I was 208^th at nationals. I was like, “all right, that was embarrassing and I don't what that to happen again.” Since then, I'm doing a lot more of the little stuff. It's not adding stuff, it's tweaking it from experience. Freshman year, I was definitely not doing any of it. Being in the dorms where food is free and you can have so much food there...I put on some pounds. That's just another learning experience for the first time, being on your own. It's continually learning stuff.

How bad did the diet change stuff get?

It wasn't too back, but my roommate and I, Andy Wacker, who I've been roommates with since freshman year—and if Wetmore reads this, he'll probably hate me for this—we had the Hard Drive Cafe convenience store on campus and three nights a week, maybe, we would just go to the Hard Drive and get a pint of Ben and Jerry's and take it down at like 8:30 or 9 p.m. We would do homework and I think the unhealthy snacks just added up...especially the Ben and Jerry's ice cream. Even if you're doing 100-mile weeks, that stuff can add up. Just having more food there, you have more plates, and then you notice other foods there and you're like, “oh, I'll have some of that! A little bit of this and a little bit of that.” It adds up. It never got out of control, but if you want to be competitive at 100-miles a week or trying to get All American...don't do it.

You had the “if the oven's hot, it'll burn anything” mentality and you can attest that that's not the case?

Yeah. I think everyone kind of goes through that in college. Especially freshman year. I've talked to Wetmore about it. This past track season was definitely not what I was hoping for. Usually I would be like 154 and I was at 164. Sometimes you're like, “I'm doing 105 miles a week. I can eat however much I want to and whatever I want to.” It's not the case.

Why did you choose CU in the first place?

I was really deciding between the University of Montana and Colorado. I wanted to get out of the Northeast. I love the Northeast a lot. I do miss the leaves changing, especially in The Adirondacks. I've been in The Adirondacks a lot. I just wanted to see a different place. I ultimately chose CU to see how far I could go as a runner. I felt like if I was going to do that then Wetmore is the guy to do it with. Boulder is an awesome place to train and my dream was always to be a professional runner. I thought if I was to achieve that then Colorado is the place to do it. I think that was why I was like, “all right. I want to go here.” I haven't regretted it since. I've loved every minute of it.

Has your dream of becoming a professional runner changed?

I'm on the fence right now. It's still what I want to do, but it's getting to the point where I'm like, “is this going to happen? Is it not?” Based on my training and stuff, I feel like I should be up there with where Bosshard is. Some times things just go the way they are. That's definitely still a dream of mine. I'm still not sure if it's going to happen or not, but I guess we'll know once we get racing in cross country and we'll know a lot better. Anything can change in a year. I have a senior year and I might do something.

What does someone with an international affairs degree do for a job?

I'm an international affairs major and I understand different cultures and different countries and the government of each country and how they interact and stuff. One of the fields that a lot of people go into is just working at the US Embassy in other countries. Like, I'm concentrating on Latin America. I'd like to work at a US Embassy in a Latin American country and maybe be a liaison between businesses and if they want to do something in that country, I'd be the guy to tell them what they should do and how that culture is.

I've got a little help here with a few questions from Kyle Merber, of Columbia. He asks: how big of an influence on your decision to go to Colorado did the book “Running With The Buffaloes” play?

The first time I read it was my 10th-grade year of high school. I read it and was thinking, “why would anyone NOT want to come here?” Then I didn't really think about it for a while. I think my first letters that I got were later on my 10th-grade year and I'd never heard of them or knew where they were. Then when colleges started looking and getting more serious, I read it again. I was like, “man, they do a lot of miles,” and was scared that everyone does 100-mile weeks and everyone hammers six-minute pace for their long runs and all their runs. That's why I was thinking about going to Montana, too, because there's something in there about the Torres brothers going to Montana. I was looking into that and thought that was pretty cool. I made a pretty big decision, but what ultimately sold me was when I came out for the junior nationals, when they were out in Boulder. It was 2007, I think. I had probably my worst high school cross country race ever at the race. I was like, “wow, I just crossed that school off my list. I guess I'm not coming here.” Wetmore saw me after the race and he basically didn't care about the race and was like, “hey, we're going for a run tomorrow. If you want to tag along, you're more than welcome to.” I went for that run and I think if I hadn't gone for that run, I wouldn't be going here. That run sold me. I was thinking that I was going to get dropped and was going to be racing again, but they're probably like every other team...not racing every day. “Running With The Buffaloes” helped me look into Colorado, but it wasn't really the decision factor.

Who are some of your favorite runners?

Someone I've looked up to since freshman year is now our assistant coach, Coach Nelson. Billy Nelson. Running with him freshman year and then him going to the Olympics. That was kind of cool, like, “hey, I can do something with running. I trained with him. He's not some un-human person." If I had to pick a couple I really enjoy watching...that's a tough one. I've kind of always liked Chris Solinsky because he's always been a bigger guy, kind of like me a little bit. I'm not huge, but I'm not a toothpick, like some people are, like the majority of distance runners are. I've got thunder thighs. I don't have toothpicks. It was him. Even before he started to have this amazing track season, I was like, “you know, there's no way I'm getting down to 130, like some of the top guys.” He's 160 and he's still running really well. I think it's finding what works best and with some of the interviews he's had on Flotrack, that I've watched, he's said a lot of stuff that made sense. Chris Solinsky is definitely up there. Then I'm always voting for former senior Buffs. Watching the 2008 Olympics when Billy made it, Jenny made it, Jorge made it, Kara Goucher made it. Then, Casey Malone, who's our throws coach, he made it in the discus. That was pretty awesome, just finishing your freshman year and seeing all these people make the Olympics.

Another question from Kyle: outside of running, is there anything you're skilled at enough to be ranked in the top percentile of the population?

I guess snowshoe running. I did that in high school. Another kid from New York, Zach Rivers, we raced quite a bit and we ran snowshoe nationals. I think one year I won, he was fourth. Then, my senior year of high school, we went one-two. I guess snowshoe running would be it.

How fast do you guys run for 5K on snow, in snowshoes?

My fastest 5K in snowshoes was 18:44. If you make the national team for snowshoeing—and there's not snowshoeing world championships—you get first choice to go to this biggest snowshoe race in the world in Italy. It's Fonda, Italy, a small town of like 3,000...like the towns we grew up in. It was like 6K or 7K and I think I went through 5K in 18:44. On a flat 5K, my fastest was 20:14.

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

It would probably be going home and my dad always makes really good pancakes. Probably pancakes and there's a grocery store in Candor that we always get breakfast sausage from. I'd get sausage from there and my dad's pancakes. That would be the meal I'd have.

Can you share a crazy running-related story?

There have been quite a few of them, I guess. One was last spring, when we were going out for a normal long run, 20 miles at this place called “The Grange”. I won't say names, but one of the guys was feeling kind of good—although he's not usually up there. One of our other guys who's usually up there, didn't like it a whole lot. So, basically it turned into Tour De France style run and he ran right behind him without any gap. It wasn't too funny for those two guys up front, but for the rest of the pack...

The Peloton?

Yes. The Peloton! It was great to see the person up front go to the side and the other guy would fall in. This was going on for probably five to seven miles while we kept sight of them. It was pretty ridiculous. (Laughs) That was pretty funny.

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