Ferguson's Lauren Gonzalez has seen her time drop thirteen minutes over the past three years from 32 minutes down to 19. As a junior she finished in 27th at the 4A state meet and hopes to improve on that performance in her final season for the Falcons. She how she got started in the sport, what she credits her improvement too, and what she likes to do outside the sport in this Cross Country Q&A.
How did you get into cross country?
I was introduced to cross country my seventh grade year. I instantly fell in love with the adrenaline rush you feel when racing. I unfortunately got injured that year so no longer continued my eighth grade year. Then one day in the summer I saw Coach Raposo ( my coach now) and from that day on I started running from scratch once again. I started off my first time trial with a 32 for a 5K Which automatically would be a downer for any cross country runner. I told myself that as long as I worked hard and was dedicated I could strive to be at least number seven on my team placing me in varsity. My first real meet was Spanish River and that meet is when I dropped from a 27 minute 5K in the Falcon Invitational to a 24 one week later, landing me the fifth spot on varsity. That was one of the most memorable invitationals of my freshman year.
Thirty-two minutes for your first 5K. How do you stay focused and determined with a first race like that?
It's always hard to stay focused in this sport, sometimes you have a streak of bad races and you just want to give up. It's what happens when you least expect it, the day you run a PR, The day you feel invincible that pushes you to give it your all. You always have to tell yourself to never give up just like in a race you can't give up the last 100 meters after working so hard for the other 4,900m. No matter how many bad days you may have, when that one great day comes along you'll be glad you can say you never gave up.
Your time drops from 32 minutes to 19. How has your training impacted that?
Since my freshman year training has completely changed for me. I started off running just three to four miles as a long run and now I go up to 10 miles, sometimes 12 when you include bridges. Our training for the week usually consists of two long runs, plyos and aglilities, striders, and workouts such as fartleks, quarter repeats, or 800's.
Coach Raposo has been a huge influence on you. What makes him a great coach?
Coach Raposo is an outstanding coach he always knows how to motivate his athletes, whether they had a bad day or a good one. He has always told me since my freshman year that some kids have talent and become successful cross-country runners while others purely have to work hard. I never thought I could go from a 32 minute 5K to a 19:26 but he always taught us that before anything you have to believe in yourself.
Coach is known to be a joker at times. Do you have any funny stories?
Let's just say there are too many to count. Raposo somehow knows every lyric to every song and is constantly a great boom box throughout runs. He seems to get out of every promise to the girls team, such as if we got top ten at the state meet, then he'd let us shave his legs or dress him up as a girl. Nothing embarrassing has happened yet but he's in for a surprise since it's my senior year. He probably makes a" promise" to us girls just to get us hyped for the state meet, but we all know he never actually pulls through with it.
You mentioned Spanish River and how that was a breakout meet several years ago. You won this weekend, individually, at Spanish River as well. What is it about that meet that brings out the best in you?
Spanish River has to be one of my favorite courses. For some reason I always tend to be extremely nervous for a meet but in the Spanish River Invitational my nervousness turns into adrenaline. Besides always looking forward to the invitational the weather is always perfect racing weather. This year the course changed so I was a bit nervous since they incorporated a hill, but at the end I pulled myself together and pulled through for my team coming in as the 4A individual winner.
Are there any other courses you really like?
One of my favorite courses of all time has to be the state meet .I love how it starts off with a hard up hill (well for us Floridians at least) and ends with it. I especially like that the spectators can watch the whole race un fold in front of them , but not be right in your face allowing you to still be in your zone for the race. I love when racing conditions aren't scorching hot since I typically run in that daily in Miami. My favorite meet layout has to be a course that only has one loop for example I enjoy Larry and Penny Thompson Park in Miami.
Your boyfriend is also a member of the cross country team. Has that helped you two become closer?
My boyfriend is Julian Santiago and we did meet through running. It's great to have someone you care about share the same passion as you. We definitely always ask each other for pointers when one of us has a good day, and try to push each other in practices since we practice together. The best part of having him there is knowing that it's something we both love. It's funny how we don't mind not going out on Friday nights because we have a race or morning practice on Saturday. Instead we stay home and watch movies and talk about strategies for the next morning.
What's been the high point of your four years so far?
My high point of my three years so far has to be coming in 27th place last year at the state meet. Not only did I have a tremendous drop from regional to state (34 seconds), but my team came in top ten for the first time ever. It's crazy how now this year were contending to be one of the top five schools in the 4A classification being the only public school. This year I'm hoping to break 19:00 and place in the top ten at state hopefully being my highlight of my senior year.
THE FUN STUFF
I hear your nickname is Sprinkles? How'd you get that ?
Honestly Raposo gives all of us nicknames. I'm always giddy and wearing a smile and for some reason my nickname is Sprinkles. He claims I look like a former athlete who shared the same personality as me and he used to call her that as well.
What are some things people might not know about you?
I actually sing. This year I wanted to try out for a show called "The Voice" but unfortunately it required to much time off of running and school and being my senior year I didn't want to ruin my season. I'm always participating in all my schools talent shows and competitions which is always fun to have my whole team come out and watch.
When you aren't running what else do you like to do?
I usually am always running, but if I'm not you can find me doing homework, at the movies, shopping, or sneaking in a Blizzard from Dairy Queen without my coach noticing.
If you were stranded on an island with three things what would they be?
I would take my Gatorade water bottle, running shoes, and probably my iPhone to listen to music since I'd probably be stranded for a while. Hopefully it wouldn't die to fast.
Do you have a favorite brand of running gear?
My favorite brand of running gear would have to be Nike attire and then Asic Trainers. I traditionally run with Nike waffles. Since you never know what type of terrain to expect, I like to be on the safe side. I tend to wear the same racing flats for every meet. There kind of my lucky charms I've ran some of my best races in them.
What is the piece of advice anyone has given you?
The best piece of advice anyone has ever given me has to be to never give up no matter how tired you are, every girl you're racing feels the same way. Never feel afraid to go out a little harder than usual. This is all advice from Raposo.
More On Lauren