UWRF athlete of the week: Distance runner Katelyn Moore

Katelyn Moore is a freshman distance runner from Hudson, Wis. She set a 15-second personal record in the mile this season with a time of 5:11. That was good enough to take first place in the event at the Parents' Day Open at the University of Minnesota last Saturday. The time ranks her 7th in the WIAC and 6th on the UWRF All-Time Performance list.

The Student Voice sat down with Moore to discuss her first season at UWRF and her plans to keep improving her mile time.

Q: What made you want to come to River Falls?

A: I was looking around for schools that were within four hours from where I was and that had a conservation program. I visited here, and I really liked it.

Q: What were your first impressions of the program?

A: All the coaches and the athletes that I met seemed really nice. It seemed like it would be a good running environment and a good team atmosphere.

Q: What events did you mainly focus on in high school, and are those the same events you’re currently doing?

A: In high school I mostly did the 1500m and towards the end I did some more 800m and high jump. Now I’m doing a lot of 800s and 1600s and high jumped a little bit. I had some shin split issues, so I haven’t been high jumping that much.

Q: How different is college track than high school? Have you run indoors before?

A: There is a longer indoor season. The workouts are a little bit different and just the new people. It’s still kind of the same team atmosphere; everyone is really close. We had three indoor meets every year (in high school) and that was it.

Q: What is different about running indoors?

A: I guess I just had to get used to it first. It’s kind of nice because you get to count off your laps faster.

Q: What have been the biggest challenges this season?

A: It’s been transitioning from high school sports to college sports and getting used to having new teammates and coaches. Just a little bit with my shins hurting, but I’ve been resting them and they’re getting better.

Q: How has the amount of experienced distance runners helped you this year?

A: They’re very encouraging. It’s kind of nice to have people who know what they’re doing and will help you out and encourage you to reach for your goals.

Q: What was the competition like on Saturday?

A: There were some schools that we have been competing against and a few University of Minnesota running club members. There were three other of my teammates in the race, so that was nice too.

Q: What is usually your strategy in a 1500m race? Do you stick with the pack or start off as a leader?

A: I usually go out too fast because I get excited and I usually don’t do as well towards the end. This last weekend I stuck to a pace I could keep up the whole time, which is why I dropped my time so much. I try to do a regular pace, but I get excited at the beginning.

Q: What was the race like on Saturday?

A: At the beginning I was sticking with my teammate Nikki (Jurik) and we were towards the front. Then she passed some people and I went with her. Then the last 300m I felt really good, and I kicked it to the end.

Q: What led you to post your personal record by close to 15 seconds?

A: Since my teammates were in the race, I knew they were trying to get about the same time I was. I stuck with them and it’s encouraging to have your teammates with you. It helped me stick to the pace I wanted. I never ran the mile in high school because we did 1500s, but when I converted it back it was two seconds off my (all-time) PR for the 1500m.

Q: What are your expectations for the WIAC indoor meet?

A: I’m just looking to hopefully maybe drop a couple more seconds and just have fun, because I don’t completely know what it’s going to be like yet, but I’m excited.

Q: What will you be looking to continue to improve upon for the outdoor season?

A: Just to keep dropping times and keep working towards getting better in all the events.