It's just like with any other sport, if you want to get to that next level, you have to sacrifice a lot. You almost have to be selfish.

Everywhere I've turned somebody has wanted to sacrifice me for my own good—only /they/ were the ones who benefited. And now we start on the old sacrificial merry-go-round. At what point do we stop?

A lot of these long distance runners start out at junior high. They have just as good times but they're also running 80 miles a week. So you see a lot of potential in someone who is running 20 miles a week. You see a lot of growing potential.

Training hard was not just going to the track at 3:30 and running hard. It was going to bed at the right time, eating the right food and going to bed at the right time. Training was all day long. Track became my life. It really became more of a science to me. Track literally became when to get up, what to eat and when to go to bed.

My junior year was a stepping stone to my senior season. That was my first full season running. I knew I was going to be better my senior year.

He won the two mile that year. That year he was the runner to beat in the state of Kansas. We were the only two that separated from the pack.