Shook took fifth in the 2002 NCAA steeplechase final (Mactrack.net) |
1. You won four MAC championships (cross country, indoor 3,000-meter, outdoor 5,000-meter and 3,000-meter steeplechase), set three MAC records and competed in two NCAA Championship meets. What accomplishment are you most proud of after your great season?
There is just something about the feeling that I got when Toledo walked away with the 2001 Cross Country M.A.C Championship trophy, that makes me consider that my most proud moment ever in running. Not only was I lucky enough to be a part of a Championship team, but I also saw first hand, everyday how much hard work and dedication every woman on the team poured into our program, and I knew how much we deserved the title. Earning an award with such an awesome group of athletes; a group that I consider to be a part of my family, tops any individual accomplishment hands down!
2. You are one of several women to break the 10 minute barrier in the 3,000 meter steeplechase. Did you expect to break 10 minutes this year and was that one of your goals?
I can remember being injured during Penn Relays last year and watching the Women's Steeplechase from the stands. The winner crossed the line in under 10:00, and I was amazed! At the time, it seemed like more of a wish than a goal for me. Of course I wanted to run under 10:00 someday, but I expected that it would take a bolt of lighting and a winning lottery ticket first. At the beginning of this season though, that bolt of lighting struck. I was running for someone in particular, as my grandpa had passed away in January. I knew that he was going to carry me to something I had only once wished upon a star for.
3. Kevin Hadsell has taken the Toledo distance program to a new level. How much influence has he had on your tenure in a Rocket uniform?
I think honesty is a big part of coaching. Coach Hadsell gives his honest predictions before each season on what he thinks is an obtainable goal as a team and individually. Many times I question what he expects, but he is always confident in what he feels. By being so positive and so proud, I feel he has pulled our team together and has made us realize that we can do virtually anything. When we put on our Toledo uniforms, we never line up for ourselves, but for our team and for those goals that he embeds in our minds, almost as if it is already a reality.
4. What are your general running or training plans and goals for the upcoming 2002-03 season?
I am more excited for this next year of running than I have ever been. I am so confident in my team and I am finally beginning to realize the caliber of runners that I get to train with everyday. No spot on our team is ever set, so training this summer and during the season will prove to be competitive as a group…and in the end will hopefully prove itself.
5. What are some of your additional interests outside of running?
The little free time that accumulates outside of running and school is spent on a few of my favorite things. I'm a music buff, so I am content with just hanging in my room with a burnt cd of my favorite songs blaring, while I create some gaudy masterpiece that I like to call "art". But when time permits, my favorite thing to do is visit my family. There is a certain comfort that I get with just being able to sit for a couple of hours with my mom and shoot the breeze. I also have two little sisters…so entertainment is not hard to come by!
6. You've been quite popular on the Mactrack.net message board lately considering your recent success. Is there anything that you would like to clear up with your past ties to Miami of Ohio?
It makes me laugh that people find my life so interesting and so controversial, that they find it necessary to make it part of theirs. I respect any comment that is thrown my way, as long as it is honest and is gathered by facts. Opinions are made everyday, and everyone is guilty of judging sometime in their life…I just hope that someday I can permanently create a name for myself that over-rides any "mistake" that I made in the past, and labels me only as who I am now. Until then, I will continue to hold the title of "The Transfer" proudly! I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason…and I wouldn't change anything in my past, because it has all contributed to who I am today.