By Lillian Malmberg '17
SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Santa Clara Broncos (SCB) spoke with senior Peter Stephens (PS) of the cross country/track team about what he does to prepare for a race and his time here at Santa Clara.
SCB: How are you enjoying your final season of cross country at SCU?
PS: I definitely feel like I have learned a lot over my five years in cross country here, especially with preventing injuries. I've been somewhat injury prone in my time here, with foot problems, low iron and hip tendinitis among others. Last spring a running expert, who also helped Brian Crook and Ryan Greenough, helped me fine-tune my gait so that I place less stress on my body when I run. I was able to have a solid summer of training and have been feeling in the best shape of my life in workouts. Since it is my final season, I am feeling some pressure to perform at the level that I think I am capable of, but no matter what the postseason brings, I'm glad to have had this chance to run with awesome teammates and coaches.
PS: Yes I have. Before the race I try to relax and save my energy for the race. The team has a warm-up that we do before races that involves a 15-20 minute run followed by drills and strides. Recently I've been fine-tuning my warm up so that I am fully prepared when the gun goes off. At the recent Roy Griak Invite I felt like I was not properly warmed up for the first 5k and I really only started feeling good in the last 2k of the race. This has led me to switch up the routine by increasing the warm up to 25-30 minutes and throwing in a fast 400 at the end to get the legs moving. Finally a good meal the night before the race is crucial; I'm not too picky on what it is as long as it's filling.
SCB: What is your favorite memory from this summer?
PS: My favorite memory would have to be backpacking with a few friends and our dads after commencement last June. It was a great cap to our four years at SCU and we had a blast just exploring the wilderness and enjoying that moment in our lives. Another good (depending on your definition of good) memory was going up to Tahoe with some of the guys on the team before preseason and killing ourselves running up mountains at altitude.
SCB: Do you have any goals for your final year at SCU?
PS: Run really fast.
