Claudia Saunders. It's Decision Time for this D1 State Hurdle and Cross Country Champion!

Claudia Saunders

Cin. Princeton, 2012

Personal Bests

·         100 Meter Hurdles     14.29

·         300 Meter Hurdles     42.54

·         400 Meter Hurdles     1:00.32

·         400 Meter Dash         56.44

·         5000 Meter Run         18:04.50

·         55 Meter Hurdles       8.59

·         60 Meter Hurdles       8.92

·         800 Meter Run           2:22.26

·         Pole Vault                   10-0

 

OHRunners:  You mentioned in our “Who to Watch” article last August, that you were a gymnast and had to have surgery from an injury when you fell in practice and that during your recovery you started hurdling.  You loved it and decided to stick with it.  Did you run both CC and hurdles in 7th and 8th grades?

Claudia:  Throughout 7th grade and part of 8th grade, I was still heavily involved in gymnastics.  I did both CC & the hurdles 7 & 8th, but I only came to maybe 1 or 2 school practices a week. I just ran in a few of the meets until the latter part of the 8th grade track season when I quit gymnastics. 

OHRunners:  How would you describe yourself as a competitor?

Claudia:  As a competitor, I would say that I am very aggressive.   Ironically though, sometimes I’m not aggressive enough, which causes my bad races. 

 OHRunners:  CC and hurdling are almost at extreme opposites when it comes to track.  Hurdling is a sprint and technique event.  CC is a distance race that requires some speed, but more endurance.  Doing both requires versatility as an athlete.  Describe or define what you believe are your strengths in each?

Claudia:   I think my overall strength in the short hurdles in my technique. I would like to think that I have good technique. haha. I think my strength in XC is that combination of speed and endurance. I think the best of both is combined in the 300H and 400H, as I can come on really strong towards the end of the race.

OHRunners:  Let’s talk about CC and then hurdling individually and then we’ll discuss your goals for this indoor and outdoor track season.  As a Sophomore, you finished 6th in the D1 Girls State Meet at Scioto Downs in a time of 18:42.96.  As a Junior, you were 7th in 18:12.4.  You were the D1 Champion this past fall at National Trails, running a PR of 18:04.50. We have never had a State hurdler Champion win the State CC championship.  How would you compare that win with your 2010 1st Place 100H State championship in 2010?

Claudia:  That is a hard question! I don’t think there is one that is really harder than the other. I used to think that the hurdles were harder because you have to concentrate so much more because the race is so short. But really, you have to concentrate just as much during a CC race. During a CC race, concentrating on maintaining contact with people and knowing when to make your move demands just as much focus and aggressiveness. You run longer to train for CC, but training for the hurdles is a lot of quicker, more intense running and detailed technique work. 

The 100H win was kind of surprising. During that State meet, I remember thinking “don’t worry about winning, just run a perfect race.”  So when I won, it was slightly shocking, especially since the 300H is my better of the 2 hurdling events.

My CC seasons have been full of sickness, injury, only competing in half of the meets, and then more injury. When I was finally able to put together a complete season free from all of that, I knew I had a decent chance of winning. Winning that title was like compensation for all the previous frustrating seasons before. I want to be remembered as someone who could do both, so there isn’t really one that was better than the other because I need both to be remembered as a versatile athlete. 

OHRunners:  Going into the race, what were your expectations?  What was your race strategy.  At the first mile you were in a tight group of around 12 girls, tucked in behind Anna Boyert of Medina.  What were your thoughts at the mile?

Claudia:  I expected the pace to go out a lot faster than it usually does. I think that is what happened.  I don’t remember the actual split however. My strategy was just to be aggressive, and to maintain contact with the lead pack as closely as possible. I knew someone would probably take the first part of the race out hard.  I just wanted to not let them get too far away. At that point, I was feeling strong and very happy with where I was at. 

OHRunners:  Just before the 2-mile, Anna had increased her lead to around 5 yards and the following group was just five girls.  At what point did you catch Anna?

Claudia:   I believe we caught her around the 2.5 mile mark.

OHRunners:  When did you take the lead and how did you feel as you made the turn to the straightaway to the finish?  What were your thoughts the last 200m?

Claudia:  I took the lead around the last 200/300 meters. As I was making the turn, I felt so light. I kept thinking just run as hard as you can. When I crossed the finish line, this huge grin burst across my face. I just couldn’t help it. 

OHRunners:  In that race you became the State’s leading girl’s distance runner, besting the majority of the States D1 returning 1,600 and 3,200 runners.  Jacquelyn Crow of Lebanon, the 8th place finisher, was 2nd in lasts years State 3,200 race.  Elyse Bierut of Rocky River, who was 2nd to you in CC, was 7th in last years 3,200.  Anna Boyert of Medina, who finished 4th in CC, is the leading returner in the 1,600 with her 3rd place finish last Spring. Sydney Leiher, of Beavercreek, the 3rd place CC finisher, was 8th in the 1,600.  Therese Haus of Solon, the 5th place finisher, was 7th in the 1,600.  Monica Lake of Mason, the 6th place finisher, was 10th in the 1,600.  With this in mind, one would have to consider you to be a favorite in the Indoor and outdoor track season if you were to run the 1,600 or the 3,200.  What are your thoughts on this?  Have you considered running either of these events instead of hurdling?

Claudia:  I have definitely considered running those events; it’s extremely tempting.  However, running the hurdles is a lot of fun and I’m not ready to give that up yet. 

OHRunners:  Before moving on to some questions in regards to hurdling, one more observation.  You have run a 56.44 400m.  That time would have placed you in the top 6 in the State 400m last year?  If you were to concentrate solely on the 400, you would have to be considered one of the favorites.  What are your thoughts on running the 400?

Claudia:  I actually really enjoy running the 400. Unfortunately, it’s right before the 300H, so I haven’t really been able to run the open 400 a lot in high school. I would love to be able to run the 400 more, but you can’t always run everything. 

OHRunners:  Let’s move on to the 100H and the 300H.  As a 9th grader, you were 7th in the State in the 100H with a time of 14.81.  You were 3rd in the State in the 300H with a time of 42.65.  As a Sophomore, you were 1st in the `100H with a time of 14.49 and 3rd in the 300H with a time of 43.30.  Last Spring, as a Junior, you did not qualify for the 100H finals and were 7th in the 300H finals.  Your 7th place time was 45.06.  In the 100H, 7 of the finalists were all underclassmen, including yourself, and will be returning.  This includes four of the top five; Chantel Richardson of Chesterland, the 1st place finisher in a time of 14.39 Ki’lesea Perry of Col. Marion, the 2nd place finisher with a time of 14.42, Faith Washington of Reynoldsburg, 4th,and Melody Farris of Lorain, 5th.  What are your thoughts on the 100H and running them again this year?

Claudia:  I am so excited for the 100H! Last year’s state meet didn’t go as well as I wanted. Haha! So I’m really looking forward to racing the 100H and hopefully running a PR. It’s such a fun event. 

OHRunners:  In the 300H, you were 7th last year.  Three of the top five are returning; 2nd  place finisher, Melody Farris of Middlesburg Hts., 43.47, Faith Washington of Reynoldsburg, 3rd in 43.58 and Paige Yeager of Solon, 4th in 44.35.  What are your thoughts on the 300H this year?

Claudia:  The 300H is probably my best event, so I always get really excited to run that race. Just like the 100H, there's going to be a lot of great competitors, so I’m definitely looking forward to running the 300H.

OHRunners:  You are a very talented and versatile athlete and runner.  Can you tell us what you will concentrate on this Indoor and Outdoor track season?  What are the determining factors in your decision?

Claudia:  Thank you very much. During indoor, I will focus on the 60H and the 400. Because the 60h are so short, they really stress your technique, while the 400 will help me get work in on my sprinting. During outdoor, I will focus on the 100 & 300H and 4 x 400. I may run another relay, or open event, depending on what we decide to do.

OHRunners:  I’m sure that there is some relief in several of the distance girls as they read this, but let’s move on to more specific hurdle questions.  How much of a break did you take after the CC season before you started preparing for the indoor track season?  When you started back training, what did your training consist of?

Claudia:  Following NXN I took about 2 weeks off and then started to run easy distance again.

OHRunners:  Can you describe a typical week of training for an indoor meet?  Monday through Friday?

Claudia:  Indoor track is generally more laid back than outdoor. We go to the weight room Tuesdays & Thursdays. The remaining days we run anything from 400s-4 miles. 

OHRunners:  For a late season outdoor meet?

Claudia:  Late season outdoor practices consist mostly of detail work- drills, practicing exchanges, and pin pointing specific parts of the race that need work. Most of the running is short and just working on keeping our legs fresh.

OHRunners:  Please describe some of the specific drills that you do in regards to starting blocks, speed and rhythm to the first hurdle, in between the hurdles and lead and trail legs.

Claudia:  The drills I do for the hurdles are a lot of isolated work of the trail and lead leg. These are drills like kicking the lead leg over the hurdle and walking through the hurdles. We also do a lot of starts to the first hurdle focusing on coming out straight and staying down. 

OHRunners:  When you are preparing for a hurdles race, do you visualize the entire race from the start to the finish?

Claudia:  Yes, I do a lot of visualizing.

OHRunners:  Take us through a 60H and 100H race from the start to the finish? 

Claudia:  The 60H and 100H put so much strain on your technique. I always focus on getting a great start & being as aggressive as I can to the first hurdle. After that, I focus on slamming my lead leg down and pushing all the way through to the line. 

OHRunners :  Take us through a 300H race from the start to the finish?

Claudia:  The 300H race is similar; being aggressive to the first hurdle is very important. When the fatigue sets it, it’s even more important to focus on form & to run a clean race. 

OHRunners:  Earlier, you mentioned running a perfect race?  What is a perfect race?

Claudia:  I probably should have said that differently. What I meant is that I strive as much as possible to just run the best race that I can run. I know if I do that, I will have no regrets despite the outcome. Winning that State title was incredible, but knowing that I ran a solid race to win it made it even better.  

OHRunners:  Thank you so much for your time Caudia.  We are looking forward to watching you run this spring.