University of Minnesota Athletics
Alama Hopes to Seize Opportunity
10/28/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Cross Country
By Ellen Larson, Athletic Communications Student Intern
MINNEAPOLIS -- Courtney Alama is set to make her Big Ten Cross Country Championship debut with the Golden Gophers this weekend after clocking a career-best six-kilometer time at Jack's Twilight Run at Les Bolstad Course last Friday. Gopher Sports caught up with the Annandale, Minn., native before the race.
Gopher Sports: How has the season been for you so far?
Courtney Alama: It was a little rocky throughout the whole season. I never felt like I was running quite where I wanted to be, but then just this last race I PR'd by about 50 seconds and it finally felt good. I think that was just from the training Coach Hopkins has been having us do. I'm finally at the peaking point towards the end of the season.
GS: Are you excited for Big Tens?
CA: Yes, I'm really excited!
GS: Since you had your PR last weekend, how are you looking to carry that momentum into the rest of the year?
CA: I think it was a big confidence boost, just for myself going into Big Tens. I feel like our team is really excited because it's going to be on our actual home course, which is what we know best. That makes me really excited. I'm using last weekend to just believe in myself and have a good race again.
GS: Do you have any more personal goals for the rest of the season?
CA: My biggest goal is to PR on our course. This is going to be our fourth time running it this year, so at Big Tens I want to get the best time I've ever gotten on it. I also want to stay strong in the middle of the race; I sometimes struggle with that. As a team, our goal is to be top three. To win it would be so awesome on our home course, and I personally believe we could do it.
GS: How has the team chemistry been this year? What makes this group really special?
CA: I think the best part about this group is that we're all so young and new that it's been really interchangeable. There are not really certain people set in the top nine, which makes it exciting. Anyone can have a good day, and everyone is working together to push each other. I feel like, being so young, we connect more in our learning. Our team dynamic is very fun. It's not as serious. Instead of thinking that this is our last chance, we know that we could be the same team for the next two years. It's really exciting to learn from that and grow.
GS: What's your favorite workout?
CA: I'm kind of weird -- I love distance and long-run workouts. I love being on the roads and doing the progressive long runs. My favorite one is in a long run, where we do minute pickups. Not just one minute, but ten progressive pickups. Those are my favorites.
GS: Do you have any pre-race superstitions or rituals that you do?
CA: I get pretty nervous before racing. I eat pretty much the same thing every single time. I tried to throw out my superstitions because they started to get on the way. They don't have to determine how my race goes, so there's nothing too crazy or specific.
GS: How's your year going on the academic side?
CA: It's been really good so far. It's a little tough, since calculus is a struggle. I'm finally starting to get into it. I just declared my major for psychology, and I know I want to go to grad school for physical therapy. I like having that goal set, and I've been doing volunteer work with that. Knowing that the classes I'm taking right now will actually help get me into grad school makes it more exciting, since I was previously just taking generals.
GS: How do you work to find balance as a student-athlete?
CA: I feel like the biggest part is time management. I'm really good about taking a two-hour break to be productive during the day. With being a student-athlete, I know I need sleep. I actually never study past 10 p.m. I'm not a night person, so if it's 10:00, then I go to bed. I know that I can be more productive during the day or in the morning than staying up and trying to study.
Alama and the Gophers host the Big Ten Cross Country Championship at Les Bolstad Course this Sunday. Action gets underway with the women's 6K race at 10 a.m. CT with the men's 8K race to follow at 11 a.m. B1G Fan Fest begins at 8:30 a.m. CT with activities for the entire family.
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Players Mentioned
