This week our athlete spotlight features Emily Rich from Bingham High School. Rich won the 5A state championship this fall in cross country. In the 2012 track season she also anchored the state winning sprint medley relay team. Rich is coming off of a solid showing at the Olympic Oval, running an indoor personal best in the mile of 5:06. Rich is getting ready for the Simplot games where she will again run the mile. Next year, she will join her former Bingham teammate Laura Young at BYU.
How is training going right now?
Pretty good. I’m mostly just focusing on getting a lot of mileage in right now mixed in with some speed here and there.
How have you felt in your races so far?
Pretty good, especially in my last one at the Olympic Oval in the mile. I felt really good, I felt strong going into it.
Was there a strategy in dropping down in events and running the mile and 800 this past weekend at the Oval? Was it in preparation for anything?
Yeah, I just thought I’d work on more speed so I’ll be able to handle a faster pace for the mile
Are you going to be running at the Davis Distance challenge?
No, I’m going to take this week off so I’ll be fresh for Simplot.
What are you doing at Simplot?
I’m going to be racing the Mile.
What are your goals for that?
Well I definitely want to hopefully get about a 5:01, which is my PR. Anywhere within two or three seconds of that range would be nice…. Or faster!
After running the mile last week at the Oval, do you feel like it’s a possibility for you to go under 5:00 at Simplot?
Yeah, it would definitely be painful but I think I could do it.
What do you feel your best event is?
It’s kind of hard to say. I think I’m better in cross country than I am in track. In track it’d be the two mile because I’m more endurance than speed. However, I really like the medley because I like chasing down people, but not the open 800.
So in the medley do you like it when you get the baton in third or fourth place?
Yeah, that’s my favorite.
So you don’t want your teammates to get you the baton in the lead?
Well, it helps but it’s just fun when it’s in third or fourth because then I get to chase some people down.
Last year you had Laura Young on your team who ran under 5:00 in the mile and placed well at state in track and cross country. This year you haven’t had a teammate like that who can pace workouts with you or stay with you in races. Is that harder?
Yeah, it’s definitely been a lot harder. It’s harder to get myself out there and sometimes to just make sure I’m running fast enough and staying motivated. I’ve had to be a lot stronger mentally without her here.
Are there any up and coming girls on the team that the state should be ready for?
Yeah, we definitely have a lot of distance girls on the team that are going to be really good in the next few years. Marlee Mitchell will definitely be up there.
You mentioned earlier that you are focusing right now on just getting a lot of mileage in. About how much mileage do you typically do in a week?
About 50 miles a week right now.
Do you plan on increasing that mileage as you go to college or stay about the same?
Increasing it for sure.
What is the hardest workout you have ever done?
Probably one that we just started doing this year. We’ll do a 1600, a 1200 and then four 400s and we’ll do three sets of that, and it’s at a really fast pace. And then after the three sets we’ll do a mile at the end.
Do you think you’ll do anything harder than that in college?
I don’t know, I hope not.
Has Laura Young told you any horror stories about the workouts at BYU?
She told me that they’re really hard and way harder than what you do in high school, but she also said that you kind of get used to it. But I heard it’s pretty bad the first few weeks.
You decided to go to BYU for school next year. What was it that attracted you to BYU?
I really loved the team, and all the coaches. When I was on my recruiting trip there they were all just way nice and welcoming and I just loved that atmosphere.
See Emily's athlete profile HERE.
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