University of Minnesota Athletics
Meet a Gopher: Ellen Snyder
10/12/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Cross Country
Oct. 12, 2016 
Gopher Sports: How did you become interested in cross country?
Ellen Snyder: Basically, I started in middle school and I knew I wanted to do some sport that was school-related. It was either cross country or volleyball. I wasn't going to do volleyball. Nobody in my family runs; it just looked interesting.
GS: Cross country is not an easy sport. Running all those miles is intimidating, especially for beginners or non-runners. How did you decide it was the sport for you?
ES: I think I kind of liked that. No offense to volleyball players, I know we have a great volleyball team and they are really talented, it's a lot of hard work. But for me, it was just -- I'm going to do the sport that's harder. I was in sixth grade. It looked more challenging, and that was what I was in to.
GS: Why the U?
ES: I didn't decide I wanted to run in college until I was about a sophomore, and I had it narrowed down to two schools. This team environment was just way better than the other option.
GS: How has redshirting your freshman year impacted your current success?
ES: I probably learned the most I've ever learned about myself -- academically, socially, athletically. If I didn't have that year to grow, the success would not be happening, at least not yet. It was a crucial growing year.
GS: How did adding in competition last year help you grow?
ES: I feel like last year was year one, athletically. It introduced me to a taste of it all. Then this year, finally, I knew from last year what it was all about. (GS: Got your feet wet.) Yeah, and actually act competitive.
GS: Getting into this year, walk us through your race at the Blugold Invitational.
ES: Honestly, I was kind of upset that I didn't make the cut to go to Notre Dame, so I used that as my fuel to perform. I'll be honest, I didn't have too much of a race plan past the first kilometer. I had a time I wanted to hit, but after that I told myself if I was feeling it I was going to try and win the race just because I knew I was capable if I was feeling good at the first K. It helped that I had a lot of Gophers with me at the time, so it was, 'Okay, I'm running with my teammates, it's totally fine.' And then I took off and said, 'Let's do this.'
GS: As you neared the finish line, what were you feeling as you were leading the pack?
ES: I'm not a great finisher. My whole finish, I had to think at 5K, 'Okay, the finish is starting now.' I don't sprint, and there are a lot of fast people that can sprint, especially at the finish. I just had to get that finishing mindset in my head well before the line was even in sight.
When I was approaching it, I was really, really happy. I felt like my hard work was finally paying off.
GS: What was it like after you finished, realizing you had won the race and led the team?
ES: I think for me, when I realized the distance I had on the next person behind me (so, during the race) was when it dawned on me. So that excitement, I used that the rest of the race. Obviously I was very excited when I finished, too. My coach, Coach Nick [volunteer assistant coach Nick Larson] was there, and I immediately wanted to talk to him. I originally wasn't going to run at all; my foot had been bothering me. I wanted to see his face and share the joy with him.
GS: In this race, you cut over a minute off your career-best time. That's a significant amount of time. How did that feel?
ES: Well, that's a good course. A minute is a long time, but if you can consistently each kilometer take off a couple seconds you can get a lot of time shaved off. It was a great course. It was a beautiful day. I had taken a couple days off before, so I was fresh. Usually a lot of things line up in your favor, and this day they did for me.
GS: What are some of your goals for the rest of the season?
ES: I love track. I feel like this is my first year really competing. Last year was almost going through the motions and learning everything, so I'm excited to compete in track.
While Ellen Snyder competed at three meets last year as a redshirt freshman on the women's cross country team, it wasn't until two weeks ago that things really lined up for the current redshirt sophomore as she took home the top prize at the Blugold Invitational. Gopher Sports caught up with Ellen to learn more about this rising star.
Gopher Sports: How did you become interested in cross country?
Ellen Snyder: Basically, I started in middle school and I knew I wanted to do some sport that was school-related. It was either cross country or volleyball. I wasn't going to do volleyball. Nobody in my family runs; it just looked interesting.
GS: Cross country is not an easy sport. Running all those miles is intimidating, especially for beginners or non-runners. How did you decide it was the sport for you?
ES: I think I kind of liked that. No offense to volleyball players, I know we have a great volleyball team and they are really talented, it's a lot of hard work. But for me, it was just -- I'm going to do the sport that's harder. I was in sixth grade. It looked more challenging, and that was what I was in to.
GS: Why the U?
ES: I didn't decide I wanted to run in college until I was about a sophomore, and I had it narrowed down to two schools. This team environment was just way better than the other option.
GS: How has redshirting your freshman year impacted your current success?
ES: I probably learned the most I've ever learned about myself -- academically, socially, athletically. If I didn't have that year to grow, the success would not be happening, at least not yet. It was a crucial growing year.
GS: How did adding in competition last year help you grow?
ES: I feel like last year was year one, athletically. It introduced me to a taste of it all. Then this year, finally, I knew from last year what it was all about. (GS: Got your feet wet.) Yeah, and actually act competitive.
GS: Getting into this year, walk us through your race at the Blugold Invitational.
ES: Honestly, I was kind of upset that I didn't make the cut to go to Notre Dame, so I used that as my fuel to perform. I'll be honest, I didn't have too much of a race plan past the first kilometer. I had a time I wanted to hit, but after that I told myself if I was feeling it I was going to try and win the race just because I knew I was capable if I was feeling good at the first K. It helped that I had a lot of Gophers with me at the time, so it was, 'Okay, I'm running with my teammates, it's totally fine.' And then I took off and said, 'Let's do this.'
GS: As you neared the finish line, what were you feeling as you were leading the pack?
ES: I'm not a great finisher. My whole finish, I had to think at 5K, 'Okay, the finish is starting now.' I don't sprint, and there are a lot of fast people that can sprint, especially at the finish. I just had to get that finishing mindset in my head well before the line was even in sight.
When I was approaching it, I was really, really happy. I felt like my hard work was finally paying off.
GS: What was it like after you finished, realizing you had won the race and led the team?
ES: I think for me, when I realized the distance I had on the next person behind me (so, during the race) was when it dawned on me. So that excitement, I used that the rest of the race. Obviously I was very excited when I finished, too. My coach, Coach Nick [volunteer assistant coach Nick Larson] was there, and I immediately wanted to talk to him. I originally wasn't going to run at all; my foot had been bothering me. I wanted to see his face and share the joy with him.
GS: In this race, you cut over a minute off your career-best time. That's a significant amount of time. How did that feel?
ES: Well, that's a good course. A minute is a long time, but if you can consistently each kilometer take off a couple seconds you can get a lot of time shaved off. It was a great course. It was a beautiful day. I had taken a couple days off before, so I was fresh. Usually a lot of things line up in your favor, and this day they did for me.
GS: What are some of your goals for the rest of the season?
ES: I love track. I feel like this is my first year really competing. Last year was almost going through the motions and learning everything, so I'm excited to compete in track.
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Cross Country
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