XC Spotlight: Adam Bradtmueller - Sarasota High School

(Photo by Tom Connor)

 

Sarasota junior Adam Bradtmueller is one of the top returners in 3A. Bradtmueller, showed he was consistent in 2013, breaking sixteen minutes six different times. He was 9th at the flrunners.com Invitational Race Of Champions and 17th at the 3A Cross Country Finals. See how he started out in the sport, his biggest accomplishments to date, his goals for 2014, and more.

How long have you been running and how did you get started?

 

Growing up I always had an abundance of energy and my parents were signing me up for sports so I could burn it off. When I entered the 7th grade I decided to join my middle schools track team and the following year I broke the 1600m school record in 4:58. It was then when I realized that running was the sport for me so I quit football and basketball, then joined the SHS XC team which was easily the best decision of my life.

 

Do you remember your first real race?

 

Like it was yesterday. My first real race was the Lecanto invitational my freshman year. Not only was this my first meet but it was the first I got to stay in a hotel with my teammates. To make a long story short lets just say we probably wont be invited back to that hotel any time soon. After having a fun time at the hotel we raced in the morning and won in a tiebreaker. This was a great experience for my first race because it showed me about how much Cross Country is truly a team sport.

 

How is your summer training going?

 

Answer: My summer training is going great. After a vital member of our team announced that he had given up on Cross Country and would not be running next year I thought that our team was doomed. But after logging miles with the remaining members on the team we have become much closer and better runners. I have had a much better summer than I had last year training wise and I feel fitter than ever. (of course it doesn’t hurt when your training partner is Zack Summerall)

 

What kind of mileage have you ran?

Over this summer I have been running a consistent weekly mileage in the 45-50 mile range. I have been running mostly time based runs so my mileage varies depending on my pace.

 

Do you do any cross training or specific nutrition plan?

 

This summer for cross training I have added some light strength training and swimming in. A couple times a week I invite my teammates over  to my house and we do a strength session in my garage.  As far as nutrition plans go I just try to make sure that I am eating lean meat, fruits, and vegetables every day without falling into the temptation of junk food.  I may slack a bit on the eating of vegetables but other than that I feel that I do a pretty good job on getting the right fuel in my body.

 

Which meets will you be running in this year. 

 

This year my coaches have cut down on the meets I will be competing in. The meets that I will be running in are the Fort Myers Optimist Invitational, North Port Invitational, The Fleet Feet Invitational , The FSU Invitational (prestate), The Sarasota Tri-County Championship (Hosted by SHS the best school in the land), and of course lastly I will be competing in the state series.

 

Do you have a favorite course? Which course do you think is the toughest in the state?

 

If I were to pick a favorite course out of all the courses that I have run so far I would have to pick the Footlocker South Regional course at McAlpine park. The course that I consider the toughest course in the state would definitely be the Seffner Christian course at Sydney Dover Trails in Brandon. This was our regional course last year and it was here were I showed a moment of weakness at the finish line. I’m sure my friendly competitor Dean McGregor remembers this moment very clearly.

 

Out of all your running accomplishments so far, which stands out the most?

 

I feel that the accomplishment that stands out to me so far is my freshman year when I won the Footlocker South Regional Freshman Race. That was by far my favorite race and my favorite part of it was when I finished and my teammate (that had formed himself into a role model of mine that year) Courtland Bernard was waiting at the end of the finish chute to embrace me in a teammate to teammate victory hug screaming “You did it!”. To this day that is still my favorite memory of my running career.

 

What are your goals for this upcoming cross country season? What do you look forward to most?

 

My main goal this season is to be competitive with my teammate Zack Summerall. I’m not looking to beat him in every race but it would be nice to finish in front of him one or two (or seven) times. This is my main goal because I know that Zack is one of the best out there right now and if I can stick with him then I will be pretty high up there too. The main event I’m looking forward to this season in the FSU Invitational because it is here where I can see how I stack up against the top competition in the state.

 

What do you love most about running?

 

The thing I love most about running is the feeling you get after a PR where you realize that all your hard work is paying off.

 

Finish this sentence.  Adam Bradtmueller is ____.

 

Adam Bradtmueller is cooler than Zack.

 

We wanted to get in-depth and personal with Adam. Check out the low down.

 

Do you have a favorite quote?

 

Yes, I do have a favorite quote. This might sound a bit cliché but my favorite quote is “To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift.” ~Pre

 

Do you have any pre-race rituals or routines?

 

I do not have any individual pre race rituals but before the race we all gather around our team leader and do the famous “Sota Boys Chant”

 

What is your favorite food?

 

Sour patch kids are without a doubt my favorite food.

 

What professional athlete would you like to meet most?

 

I would like to meet Leo Manzano.
 

What is something that most people don’t know about you?

 

If your profile picture on Instagram is a picture of you running I feel obligated to follow you back.

 

If you were stranded on an island with three things what would they be and why?

 

I would bring a girl, food, and a bug spray that kills spiders on contact. I would bring a girl so I could start a family, food so I could feed that family, and the spider killing bug spray because nobody likes spiders.