Name: Rishi Inja
School: Rockwood Summit
Q: What does your training look like right now given the current situation?
A: Until now, pretty similar to our regular training as we are just given the workouts by our coach. But now the district is completely shutting off schools, including the track, so we are going to have to be creative until we can use the track again.
Q: What are you doing to stay busy other than run right now?
A: I've high key been binge watching the Simpsons from the beginning and wanna finish it before we go back to school. Also just finished a massive lego rocket ship with 2 of my teammates which took awhile.
Q: What was your most memorable race/moment?
A: My most memorable race was at state my junior year and in the 4x800 I was the lead off leg and started off in 13th and was able to hand it off in 5th with a 2:01 split to give us a good shot at all-state. Unfortunately we ended up in 9th (Thanks Schiffy).
Q: What was the funniest thing that happened during your running career?
A: At the Festival of Miles one of my teammates was wearing a falcon costume for the mascot race and he was going off on Jack Crull and asked where that man was and he was actually right behind us and heard everything. Now all he wants to do is race Jack Crull and win. #watchoutCrull
Q: Who would you consider your biggest competition over your four years?
A: It is hard to choose one, as a lot of teams push us to be our best but I feel as if us and Webster Groves have a bit of a friendly rivalry between us in the mid distance and distance races.
Q: What was your greatest accomplishment?
A: My junior year making it to state and finishing 3rd as a team as it was a surreal experience to even be at state, but to podium as a team was just the icing on top.
Q: If you could do it all over again what would you change about your running career in high school?
A: The only thing I would change was starting cross country right from freshman year instead of playing soccer because moving to XC my sophomore year was one of the best decisions of my life as XC is just a fun sport to be a part of.
Q: What were the most difficult obstacles you had to overcome?
A: One of the most difficult obstacles I had to overcome was my junior year in the winter I had my first experience with an injury, tendonitis. It was hard to have to stop running for the whole winter and ther first month of the season but I knew it was what was best for me to be healthy by May.
Q: What will you miss the most?
A: I will definitely miss the experiences I have made with my teammates whether it be smoothie king runs, pasta dinners, or just talking about random stuff on long runs or complaining about workouts.
Q: What advice would you give to younger athletes?
A: Definitely take advantage of the summer and winter to consistently train because you will be surprised at how good you will get if you train when a lot of the competition may not be.
Q: What kind of an impact has your coach had on you and your team?
A: The impact our coach has had on me and my team in the past years is we run not just for ourselves, but for each other. Our coach also emphasizes on staying humble and gracious in all aspects of life. The coaches also showed us how dedication can lead to success.
Q: What are your college plans?
A: I am attending Rockhurst University and even though given the choice to run there I decided not too and plan to just to play club soccer and run all for fun.
Q: Who would you like to say 'thank you' to?
A: I would like to thank all my coaches, teammates, and friends. I would especially like to thank my parents for being so supportive toward my running, driving me to indoor meets, and always pretending to show interest when I talk about running stats even though I know they have no idea what I am talking about.
Q: Is there anything else you'd like to add?
A: Missouri best not be canceling the season since I already got some fire new spikes.