Blogs : NCAA Division III Blog

Interviews: Julian Boggs of Colorado College

                                   (Photo courtesy of the Columbus Running Company)

Julian Boggs (pictured far left) is currently a junior at Colorado College.  He is a two-time Division III Cross Country and Outdoor Track & Field All-American.  He placed 27^th at the 2005 NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships and was runner-up in the 5k at the 2006 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track Championships.  Julian looks to lead his team (currently ranked 22^nd in the nation) to a berth in the 2006 NCAA Division III Cross Country Championship.

By: Derick Lawrence (9/03/2006)

Could you tell us a little bit about yourself (where you're from, how you got started running)?
Well, I'm from a lovely quaint little college town in central Kentucky called Berea. To tell you the truth, I grew up a soccer player at heart, but was a little lacking in the talent department. Like so many former athletes, I turned to running when the doors to real sport closed to me after high school. I stuck with soccer all throughout high school, and only ran cross my junior and senior years, cramming what little training I could into the two weeks between the last soccer game and regionals.

What were your PR's in high school (cross country and track)?
I ran a 4:31 in the 1600 in high school, which in Kentucky in Class A turns out to be fast enough to win state. My best 3200 was 10:13 and I cut a swift 16:49 in xc, the one time I broke 17.

What are your current PR's (cross country and track)?
8k: 25:16
5k: 14:38
1.5k: 4:01

What made you choose Colorado College?
Somehow, I guess through random recommendations I kept getting and the poster of some obscure Colorado mountain up in my room, it got stuck into my head that CC was my dream school. When they offered up a hot financial aid package, I couldn't very well refuse.

What was your training like this past summer?
Not optimal, but certainly the best I've had so far. I was able to keep it above 80 for the most part, with a couple 100's. Lately I've had to bring it down to 70's between recovering from anemia and this nagging knee (yes I ran 100 miles a week while anemic, I do not recommend it.)

What are your goals for this cross country season (individual and team)?
Pretty lofty. But I've found that high goals inspire confidence, and confidence is the real factor, beyond talent, that separates the men from the boys. So that being said, I feel like I should be right there in the mix at nationals, and when Yuot surges, we'll see who can stick. As for the team.... well, no one will believe me, so I might as well go ahead and say it: top 5. Yeah, yeah, I know we're not on ANYBODY's list, but there's not too many teams that can bust out 3 All-Americans, and we could be one of them.

What kind of car do you drive?
Two-wheeler, actually. Trek 470.

What's your major?  Favorite professor?
Bio major, focusing on the botany side, although we don't have even a botany concentration at CC. Uhh, I doubt many people are familiar with the whole of CC's faculty, but for what it's worth, I've done a lot of work with Shane Heschel and he's a pretty chill fellow.

What are your plans after college?
Well, that's a little hazy. Grad school? Road whoring? Living in the woods training my butt off all primal? Who knows.

Who has been the biggest influence in your life and/or running?
Running? That's easy. Unlike many DIII runners, I've had the benefit of having a live-in guru, Tony Krupicka, who spent fall semester of my sophomore year sleeping under my bed (don't ask) and making me get up at 6:45 to run every morning. I attribute a lot of the improvement I've had over the last year and a half to him. If you want a glimpse of the kind of psycho we're talking about here, check out the October issue of Ultrarunner magazine.

What's the most memorable road trip that you have been on?
So many...

What do you like the most about Colorado College Cross Country?
The team. No question. My incoming class was huge (although at a tiny program like CC "huge" has a different meaning than at say Calvin) and we've grown incredibly close, constantly inspiring each other to take our running to the next level.

What's the running environment like at Colorado College?  Where does the team train?

(Photo courtesy of Colorado College)

Running environment = epic. Every Monday we get driven to a new spot in the mountains, right next to the city. Included is a shot of Garden of the Gods, which you can run to FROM CAMPUS.

What are your thoughts about Colorado College joining the SCAC conference?
Well, last year we spent that weekend in Denver, running the annual Halloween road race, and lemme tell you, some of those 50-year-olds are fierce. So yeah, we're looking forward to take on some young bucks.

Any parting words for readers?
You may think you're training hard enough, but really you aren't. If you're even using words like "enough" then you're selling yourself short.

Thanks to Julian for a great interview.

Julian

8:40 PM, November 21, 2006 .. Posted by Anonymous

You are the best, Julian! An Old Friend from KY

woooooooo

8:56 PM, November 11, 2007 .. Posted by A-ron

You're my hero Julian!! I liked the question about you after you graduate.