Footlocker Diary: Mike Swope.
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After all the fanfare from his many supporters accross Florida,
Winter Park's Mike Swope shares his experience from Footlocker Nationals:
Perhaps the closest to royalty any high school runner can hope to come!
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BY MIKE SWOPE.
Thursday Dec 7,
It started out as just a normal day: I went to school, and did the normal
routine. After school, at about 2:30, my dad and I drove down to the Yacht and
Beach Club to start the afternoon. We got there at about 3:15, and most of
the other athletes had already arrived and gotten all of their stuff. I
walked into the hotel, and they had people telling me where to go as soon as
I got out of the car. We had our own room where all the Footlocker kids
checked in; in the room they had video's playing of past races, and another of the
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"Right off the bat...I could tell that it was gonna be an awesome weekend!"
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regional races. All I did was tell them my name, and in two min I had a bag in my left hand and the
"key to the world" in my right. The bag was packed full of free stuff;
it was straight to see my bag right next to Allan Webb's and Ryan Hall's as
well. After all that, I went up to my room and met a bunch of the guys from
Footlocker, mostly from the Northeast and South regions. Before I met
everybody I wasn't sure how they all were going to act, but right off the bat
everybody was real cool and I could tell that it was gonna be an
awesome weekend!
After everyone got in they had a beach party for us at about 7:30 right
on the boardwalk at Disney. The party had a DJ and some games for us to play. I got to know
some more people and sat with all the South guys. At my table I was sitting
with Webb, Brian McGovern, Bobby Lockhart, Mint Henk, Arron Fisher, Sara Bei,
Jessa Vauck, and Anita Sariaki. Other than Mint, they all had been here
before, and it was fun hearing all their stories.......After dinner and some
games we went over and watched the illumination show; they roped off a
special spot for the Footlocker finalists and had some dessert for us
too.......For the most part, Thursday was real laid back and gave everybody
the opportunity to meet each other. At about 10:30-11:00 we got up to our
rooms and fell right to sleep. My roommate was Michael Kitter from the West--
he placed 23rd at Footlocker, but has track PR's of 9:03 and 4:12.
Friday Dec 8,
The day started out with a huge buffet breakfast in the lobby, and you could eat
from 6:30-8:00. I chose to eat at about 7:50 so I could get as much sleep as I
could. I ate with Ryan Hall and Charlie Hineon and talked to them for about
45 minutes.........Everybody was eating at different times. After the
breakfast we went to the course where we got out to tour the course and then did a
light 25 minute run. I ran with all the South guys, and we discussed race
strategy a little. For the most part those are the guys I got to know best,
other than a few others from different regions. Our group (South) definitely
knew how to chill. Everybody was getting interviewed by their local
newspapers and that sort of thing.
After the run we went back and had free time from 10:30-1:00: the group
of us (South team again) went to the ESPN Club and ate there. They gave us
Disney dollars and basically paid for everything. After lunch we just sort of
hung out, and I got to know a few people I hadn't met and talked to some
others I had. At about 1:15 we headed to Disney where we went in some parade.
I sat with Hall and some of the girls from the West. Then they took a
picture of us all in front of Cinderella's castle. I talked with Hall some
more on the way back, and then we had some more free time from about
3:30-7:00. We had a banquet at 7:00 in one of the banquet rooms, and it
lasted until about 9:30. Arron Fisher was nominated for the Wendy's High
School Heisman and since he couldn't be in New York where they had the 12
finalists they hooked us up on satellite and we got to watch that. He didn't
win, but just being in the final 12 in the nation is a huge honor. Everybody
congratulated him, and then we all were off to bed by about 10:15
Saturday Dec 9,
I woke up at around 7:15 and got a light breakfast and did a little jog
and stretched--just tried to stick with my normal routine. We left the Yacht
and Beach Club around 8:30 for the course. Once we got there they had
Mike Swope at Footlocker Nationals 2000.
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sections for each team and basically leave you alone until after the race.
The South decided to warm-up about an hour and 15 minutes before (the race). After the warm-up
I caught the end of the girls race where Bei and Anita tore up the last 300
meters together, and that couldn't have been a better race to watch before
the biggest race of my life. Now everybody was really starting to focus,
and I could definitely sense that everybody was ready to race. It was awesome to
be there with the best and get right in the mix of things. I did my final
strides and talked with Coach Hill for about 15 minutes before my race. Like
always, he had the right thing to say and got me even more so ready to run
with the best. He always has a way of putting things in perspective and
letting us know what we have done, and what we still need to get done. I prayed
with him, then I was off to the starting line......I think I was more focused
during that race than I ever have been. During the race though I just felt
like I didn't have my normal stride or feel. I went out slow, and I was at
the back of the pack going through in about 4:52. Then I maintained that pace for
the second mile with a 9:44 at the two mile. Then I was moving my way up and
was in about 6th. I ran my first 800 of the last mile in about 2:24 and I was
ready to close hard, but then my legs just decided not to work. I wasn't
real sure what was going on, because it was just such a change from how I had
been feeling just seconds ago. I just buckled down and tried to finish as
strong as I could, but just didn't have enough left and I faded to 16th. I
wasn't real sure what had happened and was kind of mad after the race. I
normally have a big Gatorade right when I wake up, and the officials said that
my electrolytes were depleted, so it was a learning experience and now I
know better. After the race though it was awesome to see all the support I
had. It was an incredible when I finished, and even throughout the race, to
hear everyone from Florida cheering. I think almost all 64 finalists had
something to say about how I had a fan club. After the race I was down and
out for about 25 minutes. I knew I had left everything on the course though, so it
was a good feeling. I just couldn't talk or stand up. I do want to thank
everybody for cheering for me though: it was real cool to know you had a
bunch of people helping you out on the way. Also, to the Port Charlotte guys
thanks a lot for the sign and everything. It's great!
After the race we really all got to relax and have fun. When we got back
to the hotel we had free time from 12:00-6:30: we ate at the ESPN Club, and
hung out in the pool for the rest of the day. It was relaxing and to know
your season is over and a little burden is off your shoulders as well. Everybody
was having a lot of fun, and they were all real easy to get to know. At 6:30
there was another banquet, which the parents and our coaches were invited to,
I also brought three of my friends since it was close by. Billy Mills
spoke at the banquet, and we watched the videos of the weekend. After the
banquet they had a dance for us that lasted until about 2am. It was a cool way
to end the weekend, and everybody was into it so that made it straight. Most
of the people had check-out times between 5:00-6:00 so nobody really went to
bed. We went down to the big hot tub and pool around 2:30, then got kicked
out around 3:30, and hung out on the pier for the next couple hours. Once
everybody was leaving it was just Joe Thorne and I. We just talked about the
weekend and stuff as we said bye to everybody else............It was one of
the best weekends of my life, and they truly treated us like kings!
Photography by Jim Cox. Edited by Jason Byrne.
by MIKE SWOPE for flrunners.com: December 21, 2000.
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