University of Minnesota Athletics
Warm-Up Lap: Q&A with Kat Keller
1/18/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
MINNEAPOLIS - Fifth-year senior Kat Keller acknowledges that her track & field career as a Golden Gopher has already surpassed her expectations, but that does not mean she does not have ambitious goals for her final season. GopherSports.com caught up with the sprinter from New Richmond, Wis., as Minnesota prepares for this weekend's Border Battle Dual with Wisconsin.
Gopher Sports: How did you first get into track & field?
Kat Keller: In elementary school, we used to do track & field days at the end of the year where we would obviously do different events that entailed running, and I would beat everybody. We knew I was fast, but I was big into other sports too like basketball and soccer, so I never was going to concentrate on one. Then I just gradually joined it in middle school and then just kept going.
GS: When did you realize track was something you could do at the next level?
KK: That probably wasn't until my sophomore or junior year of high school. I knew I wanted to run, but I didn't know what level I could run at. I always kind of wanted to go to the U of M and it ended up working out.
GS: What was your recruitment process like?
KK: It was pretty basic with everything. Like I said I really wanted to go to the U, so it was my main choice. I came here to visit and do my official and talk to my coach. It wasn't anything extensive by any means.
GS: Has your college track career been like you expected?
KK: It's definitely been more than I thought it would be. I'm pretty hard on myself with performing and stuff like that, so it's been really good with winning Big Tens. I never thought I would come here and win Big Tens by any means. Being on the 4x400m relay is a super fun and exciting thing every meet. It's definitely been more than I thought it would be.
GS: Is there a race that stands out more than others in your memory?
KK: That one would definitely be the 4x400m relay at Big Tens. That one, every time we talk about it I get chills and I get nervous again. You just remember every second of it, every thought process that went through your head, and all that kind of stuff.
GS: What was that experience like for you?
KK: It was funny because before the race, when we didn't really know what the team scores were like, we were being talkative like we usually are when we warmup. The 5K was still going on at that point. Then Coach Bingle told us that we were one point behind and we had to beat Michigan and told us where they were ranked and that he knew they would run fast. It was funny because everybody just shut up; it was just quiet in that instance. You could tell that everybody was super nervous, but we were all very excited to run, too. It was that moment that you never get again in sports, and you can't even ever imagine that happening again.
GS: What's your favorite distance to race?
KK: I would say the 400m; it's what I train for. I have to run a 600m this weekend, and I am not very excited about that. Then I run the 200m for exercise and practice, but the 400m is definitely my favorite, which is crazy to a lot of people.
GS: Has the 400m always been your favorite?
KK: No, it definitely hasn't. I did the 100m and 200m mostly in high school, and then I added the 400m my junior and senior year because I knew that if I wanted to come here I would have to do something a little bit more, and so I started training for the 400m, too.
GS: Did the 400m come natural to you?
KK: I am definitely more of a long sprinter. I don't think we realized that until I started to train for the 400m, but I definitely enjoy the longer workouts and don't like the shorter workouts.
GS: How is your academic career wrapping up for you?
KK: This is my last semester. I am technically still in my undergrad, but I had only one credit of kinesiology that I had to finish. I want to go on to PA school after this, but I am taking a year or two off to work obviously and travel. Right now, we are planning a trip out west on a train. We are going to go to Colorado, Utah, California, Oregon and then Washington to visit my aunt and then come back. As of right now that is what I plan on and then I hope to travel internationally as well, possibly to South Africa.
GS: How did you decide you want to go to PA school?
KK: My strength coach from high school is a really good friend still, and I largely credit her with where I am today. At first, I thought I wanted to be a strength and conditioning coach, too. I talked to her about it, and she encouraged me to look into PA school. I wasn't sure about it at first knowing it's a lot of hard work, but I decided that I might as well try after I looked into it more.
GS: What are your goals for your last track season?
KK: I definitely want to run 54 in the open 400m, and I also want to improve in the 4x400m relay. I think that is a goal of all of ours.
GS: What's the team like so far this year?
KK: I feel like you can definitely tell that we are a young team. When we're together at practice, there are only a few of us upperclassmen and a lot of underclassmen. It's good though, you can definitely tell the younger girls are stepping up and doing what they can, and that is all you can ask for. It has its challenges, but you figure it out.
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Players Mentioned
