Maddox Patterson is the three-time defending Class A State Champion from Sayre. This past spring she added a Class A 3200m State title to her resume as well as trying out the 2000m Steeplechase for the first time. She went on to qualify for New Balance Nationals in the Steeplechase where she finished 10th overall. She answered questions about her upcoming sophomore cross country season.
KY: 3 Goals for XC?
MP: I want to get into the 17’s this year. I also want to have an all around good season. I hope to do well in footlocker and in Great American this year.
KY: Favorite Course
My favorite course would have to be Tom Sawyer’s course or Rumble through the Jungle’s course.
KY: Favorite Race
I like Trinity/Valkyrie Invitational and I also like Rumble through the Jungle.
KY: Why did you and your coaches decide to try the Steeplechase during track?
MP: Well, actually the steeplechase was my idea, ha ha. My Dad mentioned it to me one day and I thought it looked fun and exciting. When I decided for sure, that I wanted to try it, I told my assistant XC Coach, Andrea Richardson, who was a steeplechaser in college. She thought it would be a great idea. Then I told my track coach and he also thought it would be a good idea. The funny thing was that I didn’t know if I could jump a hurdle since I had never tried. I set up a lawn chair in my driveway, making sure it was the right height, and I practiced that initially!
KY: Do you think any of your neighbors wondered why you were hurdling lawn chairs in your driveway?
MP: YES! haha, I’m sure they were thinking what in the world was I doing and I’m pretty sure I got quite a few strange looks.
KY: Overall what were your thoughts on the Steeple?
MP: My overall thoughts on the steeplechase are that I really like it. The main reason I ran it was because I wanted to try something new. I will definitely continue running the steeplechase. It is a lot tougher race the second or third time you run it because you know what to expect. I learned very quickly how demanding a steeple race is. I never practiced the water jump before any of the races because I didn’t have access to a water pit, but I did work on hurdles a couple of times, which really helped. When I ran the steeplechase at NB Outdoor Nationals, I ran the 2-mile the night before. This took too much out of me and I needed to be well rested for such a demanding race.
KY: How are the trips to Foot Locker and Great American last year going to help you in your pursuit of improving as a runner this fall?
MP: The trips to Footlocker and Great American really helped me get experience in super competitive races. I wasn’t used to running in huge, competitive packs. They were both great experiences and I can’t wait for both races this year because I’ll know what to expect and I’ll be more familiar with the courses.
KY: Now that you have seen those super competitive races and know they require more front end speed in the first mile especially Foot Locker, does this affect the way you run invitational's in Kentucky?
MP: I think that competing in races like footlocker has given me a lot of experience with everything. It has helped me get familiar with running in larger packs. I think that front end speed is always important in Kentucky because there is a lot of amazing talent here that getting out fast for an invitational is just as important as it would be for footlocker. Running in invitational's in Kentucky will certainly help me in foot locker in the fall because I will have to use that front end speed a lot.
KY: Thinking outside of the box here, Kaitlin Snapp and you racing has been a big constant over the last three year, is it going to be odd with her not there at regions and state?
MP: Yes absolutely, I think it will be very strange with her not being there. Kaitlin is such a strong runner and I have to say I learned a lot from her over these past three years. I’m positive Kaitlin going to have a great college running career.
KY: So in 7th grade you had no pressure, as a 10th grader do you feel pressure to do well especially being a 3 time defending State Champion?
MP: Yes, I definitely feel a lot of pressure because I put a lot of pressure on myself! There’s always pressure to do well, but I’m sure all runners feel that. We spend so much time training that we want to do well for our coaches and our school. Coach Cornelius does a great job of keeping me under control and focused on having fun.
KY: Going into your sophomore year after winning three Kentucky State XC titles in a row, if you could go back, what advice would you offer to yourself as a 7th grader?
MP: Thinking back to my 7th grade year in XC I wouldn’t really give myself any advice just because I was honestly pretty clueless. I didn’t have any pressure that I just wanted to do well. One thing I would tell myself would be to just have fun and to enjoy it as much as you can.
KY: 2012 was the first time you ever competed during indoor, how did you like that compared to outdoor track? Do you feel it helped you during the outdoor season?
MP: I really liked indoor track. It was my first time doing it and honestly I had no idea what kind of shape I was in because I trained by myself everyday leading up to the indoor meets. It was a lot of fun and I definitely think it helped me during outdoor track.