Aug. 26, 2010
Each day Siena athletic communications is highlighting a fall sport with in-depth preseason coverage. Check SienaSaints.com daily to follow the progress of your Saints through season previews, feature stories, Q&A's and video.
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Siena men's and women's cross country arrived on campus yesterday and is set for the coming season. We sat down with junior Ian Donnelly to talk running and Siena cross country. He's been Siena's top men's runner the past two seasons and led the men's team in every race he competed in last year. He hopes Siena cross country can improve across the board in 2010.
How did you get into cross country?
I'd been playing soccer since I was three and it wasn't until 8th grade when my travel team broke up and my dad suggested I give running a shot. My older brother ran throughout high school so I joined cross country and since then I've really enjoyed it. I enjoy the team aspect and the individual aspect.
Talk about the team and individual aspects?
That's the unique thing about running. You're an individual, but there's the team aspect where your top seven guys or girls score and you want the lowest places. The team with the lowest score wins the meet. Then you also have the individual aspect where you want to do your best and get first, second or third.
Your brother Ryan ran cross country here, was that a big factor in choosing Siena?
Yeah it definitely had a large role in it. He basically influenced me to come here. The campus was great, the coach was good and [so was] the whole team. I just got a good feeling at Siena.
What was it like running with your brother the first year?
It was good. At first I was skeptical about it, you know having an older brother on the team, but he was a great leader and helped me with the distances. In high school you race 5Ks which are three miles and in college you step it up to 8Ks which are five mile races. There's even a 10K at the very end of the season which is six miles. So he played a big role in giving strategies and advice on how to race in college.
Is that the toughest thing for a freshman coming in? Getting used to the distance?
Yeah. You have to pace yourself. In high school it's more all out and go for it. In college you have to pace yourself between miles.
How have you been personally so successful at Siena?
I listen to my coaches. Previously with Coach Bowles and now with Coach Wade. [Coach Wade's] doing a great job. Learning from them and trusting them and putting in the work. It's just dedication and hard work. If you really want it you can achieve it.
What is your training program like?
During the summer it's more adding to your base. It's a lot of miles. Very easy running. Not fast, just a lot of miles. You start off gradual and build up until you're at 50-80 miles a week. So when you come into season you have that strong aerobic capacity and that base which allows you to add in more speed. Then your turnover gets quicker and that's when you peak for your races further down the road.
What are your ideal conditions for running?
It's different for everyone. I feel like everyone enjoys 60 degree weather and a little cloudy. You don't want to be running in sunny or hot weather. But I tend to do better when it's warmer out like 70 or 80 degrees. I don't have a problem with the heat. Towards the end of the year it can get pretty freakin' cold, especially just wearing the short-shorts and the singlet.
Have you ever raced in marathons or triathlons?
I've done two triathlons. They were sprint triathlons during high school and those were pretty fun. It's a half-mile swim, 16 mile bike ride with a 5K run at the end. Those are a lot of fun but right now I'm concentrating on running throughout college. I could definitely see myself doing more triathlons or marathons later in life.
What goes through your mind in a race?
Just go with the flow. Stay calm, control your breathing and stay focused. Further along in the race is when you want to start making moves and know when to pick up or go hard on a certain hill. You want to see how your body is feeling and monitor yourself.
Do you ever think about your opponents or are you just focused on yourself?
You always want to keep track of your opponents but you want to be self controlled. Your opponents might be going out faster or slower but you want to listen and feel your whole surroundings and see where everyone is.
What are your goals for the team and for yourself this season?
I think we're going to make a huge improvement this season. We picked up a lot of good freshmen with a lot of potential. The returning guys have been putting in the work so we have a good young team. With Coach Wade, she's getting us moving in the right direction. We're doing all of the little things, the strength training, cross training, and dieting [in addition to] running. As a team that's going to make us much stronger.
And for myself, I got injured last December with plantar fasciitis, a foot injury, and that took about six months to recover from. It was on and off this summer but now I'm feeling good. I just want to keep improving and stay healthy. That's my goal this season. If I PR, that's great. But I want to help the team and stay healthy.
