Dublin Distance Fiesta meet director Chris Williams was able to field one of the most competitive Northern California 3200m. races in recent memory. With the first 5 runners all surpassing the previous meet record of Garrett Rowe (9:22..07), the race more than lived up to the hype. The winner may have been a surprise to some but Fred Huxham has put together quite a resume in his 3 plus years of high school racing. He is a 2-time All-NorCal XC selection. He finished in 2nd place as a junior and senior in the NCS XC Division III and went on to finish in 3rd place (2012) and 4th place (2013) at the CA state XC meet. He ran 4:15.63 at Mt. SAC in a full mile last year and finished in 3rd place at the Stanford Invitational 3k. Fred got the season rolling this year with a 4:14.38 indoor mile at the University of Washington Open. Following his victory last night at the DDF, here are Fred's reflections of his race.
1) What was the plan going into the race?
Going into the race there wasn’t too much of a plan. My coaches told me to just trust myself and stay with the leaders no matter what. We knew that if I didn’t let a gap form in the first seven laps, I could rely on my speed on the last lap to give myself a decent shot at winning.
2) Did you talk to any of the competitors before the race and was there any idea how the race would unfold? Can you take us a bit through your own race?
Not too much. Aidan did mention he was going to push the pace a bit on the first few laps, but it didn’t change my race intentions. I was really just trying to run my own race. In the beginning, Aidan pushed the pace more than I thought he would so I figured I could tuck into the main pack and slowly reel him back. That plan worked out as we caught him and Todd somewhere in the middle of the race. From there, I stayed tucked in behind Blair and Gabe until about 300 to go where I made my move.
3) What is your current weekly mileage? Length of long run? What workouts have you done recently? Doing anything different this year compared to other seasons?
Currently I’m running about 50 miles a week, sometimes a little less, sometimes a little more. As for my long run, I run pretty much the same 11 mile route every week. I’ve done a variety of workouts recently, but last week I did 5x1000 on the track, and the week before I did 4x200, 3xmile, 4x200. Honestly, I’m probably running less volume than I did last year, but with higher intensity.
4) Can you tell us a little bit about your coaches Laura and Jake Schmitt?
Jake and Laura have been my cross-country and track coaches for almost four years now, and in that time I’ve formed incredible relationships with the both of them. They’re always in-tune with what I’m doing both on and off the track. I think that anyone that knows the two of them understands that they don’t just set out to train great athletes, they set out to train great people. If I need help with anything, I can always look to them for guidance. They play a critical role in all aspects of my life.
5) What is your next big race for you?
My next big race will be the Stanford Invitational. I’ve been at Stanford the past four years and it’s always a competitive track meet. This year I’ll be focusing on the mile there.
6) You ended up choosing University of Washington for college. What led to that decision?
Obviously, after being around Jake for four years I’d heard about some of his great experiences at Washington. Eventually, I wanted to see everything that he’d talked about, especially after truly meeting Coach Metcalf in the summer before my senior year. When I visited the university this past fall I had a blast hanging out with the guys from the team. I could easily tell Washington was a place where I could spend the next four years going to school and running. After my visit, there wasn’t much of a question of where I wanted to go.
| 1,600 Meter Run (Graph) | 4:22.28 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 4:22.28 | 2012-05-12 | Marin Catholic Athletic League Finals | » |
| 4:34.86 | 2012-05-10 | Marin County Athletic League Trials (MCAL) NC | » |
| 4:30.78 | 2012-03-03 | Skyline Invitational | » |
| 4:34.12 | 2011-04-23 | Viking Track Classic | » |
| Two Mile Run (Graph) | 11:22.50 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 11:22.50 | 2010-09-11 | Ed Sias Invitational | » |
| 3,000 Meter Run (Graph) | 8:38.15 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 8:38.15 | 2013-03-29 | Stanford Invitational | » |
| 3,200 Meter Run (Graph) | 9:10.73 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 9:10.73 | 2014-03-15 | Dublin Distance Fiesta | » |
| 9:33.53 | 2012-05-26 | CIF - NCS Meet of Champion Finals | » |
| 9:36.34 | 2012-05-12 | Marin Catholic Athletic League Finals | » |
| 9:48.08 | 2012-04-28 | Viking Track Classic | » |
| 9:54.51 | 2011-05-28 | North Coast Section Finals | » |
| 9:47.27 | 2011-05-21 | North Coast Section Championships | » |
| 9:47.30 | 2011-05-20 | Redwood Empire Finals (NC) | » |
| Three Mile Run (Graph) | 15:02.00 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 15:02.00 | 2013-11-23 | CIF North Coast Section Championships | » |
| 15:32.00 | 2013-10-25 | Mt SAC Invitational | » |
| 15:06.00 | 2012-10-19 | Mt SAC Invitational | » |
| 15:44.00 | 2011-11-12 | CIF North Coast Section Championships | » |
| 16:51.00 | 2011-11-10 | MCAL Cross Country Championships | » |
| 22:55.00 | 2010-11-10 | MCAL Finals NCS | » |
| 5,000 Meter Run (Graph) | 15:08.00 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 16:47.10 | 2013-12-07 | Foot Locker West Regional | » |
| 15:08.00 | 2013-11-30 | CIF California State Cross Country Championships | » |
| 15:14.00 | 2013-10-12 | Asics Clovis Invitational | » |
| 15:30.00 | 2012-11-24 | CIF California State Cross Country Championships | » |
| 16:29.00 | 2011-11-26 | CIF California State Cross Country Championships | » |
| 17:52.00 | 2011-10-22 | Yoshaany Rahm Invitational | » |
| 16:18.00 | 2011-10-08 | Asics Clovis Invitational | » |
| 15:50.00 | 2011-09-24 | Stanford Invitational | » |
| 17:26.00 | 2010-09-25 | Stanford Invitational | » |
| 800 Meter Run (Graph) | 2:04.01 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2:04.01 | 2012-03-03 | Skyline Invitational | » |
| One Mile Run (Graph) | 4:14.48 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 4:14.48 | 2014-02-16 | UW Open | » |
| 4:15.63 | 2013-04-18 | Mt. SAC Relays | » |
| 4:20.11 | 2013-03-29 | Stanford Invitational | » |
| 4:28.87 | 2012-04-06 | Stanford Invitational | » |