Erin Feeney of Scranton Prep started her senior season with a huge bang! Feeney was victorious at the Cliff Robbins Invitational with a new personal best of 18:42, the fastest time in PA on the opening weekend! Feeney is a returning state medalist and was 4th in the AAA outdoor state 3200 meter run! Feeney reflected on her performance and her road to PA#1!
That was a huge personal best on Saturday! Could you have asked for a better start to the season?
I definitely couldn't have asked for a better start to the season. I was extremely happy with not only my individual performance but also that of my teammates. We won the girls race as a team even after graduating three of our top five from last year. Having a competitive team aspect definitely makes cross country much more fun so that's another reason I'm very excited for the rest of the season.
What kind of summer training did you do? How many miles/week? Did you run at any cool places?
This summer I pretty much did base mileage with some tempos until we started team practice in August and I started doing actual workouts. After taking a two week break from running after track states, I started off at around 30 miles a week and by the end of the summer I worked my way up to 50. I attended two track/cross country camps this summer, one at Villanova and another at Princeton. Both were great experiences where I got to learn a lot and meet some awesome people. I also got to run in West Virginia where I went on a weeklong service trip with Habitat for Humanity this July. I visited lots of colleges this summer so while traveling for that I ran in North Carolina, Virginia, Washington D.C., Maryland, and Philadelphia. It's always fun to be able to explore new places on runs.
After finishing 112th at states in 2013, you moved all the way up to 17th last season. You also finished 4th in the AAA outdoor state 3200. What did you change in your training and lifestyle to make such an improvement?
After my sophomore year I decided to really dedicate myself to my summer training. Going from 112th in states my sophomore year to 17th my junior year really showed me what I could accomplish when I put my mind to it. That success just motivated me to work even harder leading into my junior track season. Finishing 4th at states in the 3200 had has the same effect on me for this upcoming season.
What were your goals entering the season and have they changed since yesterday's performance?
My goals for this season are to hopefully qualify and place well in states as a team. Beyond that, I would really love to qualify for either Foot Locker or Nike nationals. My performance yesterday is definitely encouraging but it's only the first race of the season and I know I have lots of races to run before I can even think about nationals, so I'm just going to take it one race at a time.
What other meets will you be attending this season?
This season my team and I will be attending the Paul Short Invite at Lehigh and the McDaniel Baxter Invite in New York.
