Wallace placed fifth at the 2002 Big Ten XC Championships |
Adam Wallace is a fifth year senior and team captain at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He attended Dartmouth for two years before transferring to Wisconsin. Two years ago as a junior at the NCAA Cross Country Championships, Wallace finished 30th earning an All- American certificate. Last year Wallace qualified meters for indoor nationals in the 5000 with a 13:57. After a summer dedicated to running 150 miles a week, he is ready to tackle the 10k at Terra Haute. He offers and insightful view for those who are willing to dedicate their lives to running, even if they are not the most talented individuals. He may have trained harder than anyone in the nation this summer and season, but does not have the talent that many have. A true inspiration to the American distance runner!
1. Two years ago you placed 30th at the NCAA XC championships in negative 17 degree temperature (with wind chill). Do you remember how the race played out and how you placed 30th?
I wasn't very confident going into that race. I was hoping to be in about 50th with 400m to go. Keller, Eckerly, and I were in about 100th place at the mile and then we just started picking people off. I didn't really change my effort level, I didn't throw in surges or anything, and I just kept passing people as they went out the back door.
2. What is your fitness level now compared to two years ago at this time? What kind of mileage and training have you been putting in?
The quality and quantity of my mileage and my workouts have been a level above anything I've done in the past. We count mileage a little differently at UW, but I did 14 weeks this summer/fall at around 150 mpw (miles per week).
3. How is the team looking heading into the championship part of the season? As a team captain do you feel you guys can get on the podium?
I think we answered everyone's questions at Big Ten's. We'll be even better at the NCAA Championships.
4. You transferred to Wisconsin after attending Dartmouth college for two years. Why did you decide to transfer?
I didn't see myself improving by staying at Dartmouth. Mcardle was a freshman and only starting to develop. I knew Jerry from high school when he recruited me at North Carolina, and since academics were still very important to me, Wisconsin was a relatively easy choice.
5. What kinds of times are you looking to run in during the indoor and outdoor track seasons?
28:30 for the 10k and 13:45 for the 5K.
6. Why do you feel the Kenyans are so dominant in comparison to Americans? What can we do to close that gap?
I don't think it’s because they work harder, or smarter, or are tougher, or blah blah blah. In my years of running I've met a ton of talented guys who fell off the map. Everyone thinks Torres is so special. All he's done is continued to improve every year, and since he was so talented to begin with, now he's one of the best. The same is true for Ritz. Lots of freshmen improve their 5k times from high school by 30 seconds. But Ritz’s PR from high school was in the 13:40’s. All I'm saying is that their is a lot of talent in America that ends up Being wasted. I don't know if there are cultural reasons necessarily why American kids get complacent or lose interest in distance running, but I've seen at least a dozen guys who could kick my ass running 1/3 of my mileage who eventually just quit running for one reason or another.
7. Word on the street has it that you are quite the scholar. What are you majoring in and what is your GPA?
My major is chemical engineering and my semester GPA's have consistently been inversely proportional to the mileage I was running at the time.
8. Do you plan to compete after college? If yes, in what events?
Yes, in the marathon. I'm hoping I run good enough this year to impress one of the post-collegiate groups.
9. What kind of advice can you give to younger runners who want to be good, but may not have all the talent in the world?
If you can run 40 mpw without getting hurt, you can run 45. If you can run 6:00 pace everyday, you can run 5:50. And training is relative, it never really gets that much harder, you just run more miles and run them faster, and what used to seem hard becomes seems easy. Gradually increasing your fitness through training, its not rocket science.
10. What is the training philosophy and atmosphere like in Madison? Why do you feel Wisconsin is one of the major cross country powerhouses?
Wisconsin is one of the major cross country powerhouses because of our attitude. There are a thousand Drew Hohensee's and Colin Steele's that graduate from high school each year as far as talent and PR’s go. Almost all of them go to other schools and disappear. One or two come to Wisconsin because they do not want to be part of anything less than the best, and because of that attitude they develop themselves through training and commitment into All-Conference, All-Americans, etc., they end up contributing to the team.