Thursday Conversation: Courtney Wood
Every week a runner catches our eye from among all the great athletes in Missouri. This week Courtney Wood, the junior from Neosho High School, did just that by winning the Class 4 District 6 title in a sizzling time of 18:10. This is nothing new for Wood as she has been undefeated all season winning at the Mule Run, Southern Stampede, Nixa Invitational, East Newton Patriot Invitational, and the Central Ozark Conference Championships. With a fantastic PR of 17:47 run this season, she ranks as the 23rd fastest girl in the nation. Whew! Need I say more? Courtney Wood has earned her spot as this week’s Thursday Conversation.
Congratulations on your win at the Class 4 District 6 meet this past weekend! You and teammate Jessica Jackson brought home first and second by 50 seconds over the rest of the field. Tell me some about how the race unfolded and how you and Jessica were able to work together to run such an amazing time.
Jessica is amazing competition. We both stayed behind Kickapoo's Liz Reida for about 1 mile. I followed Jess around Liz and we just kept putting distance on everybody. I made my move just after the 2 mile. I know that Jess has a kick because she is a great half miler. She had me worried, but I managed to kick it all the way in and we both were able to clock good times.
It must be nice having someone like Jessica on the team to train with. Do you do most of your training with Jessica?
It is great to always train with Jess because we're both so competitive. She was injured most of the first half of this XC season so I've trained primarily with the boys team. Jessica and I have different distance training styles. I love long hard runs and she's more of a quick paced track runner.
What does a typical week of training look like for you?
My training week starts out with Maneater Mondays! That consists of a great run on our golf course that has a series of hills, one of which we named "Maneater". Tuesdays are usually longer runs followed by speed workouts on Wednesday. Thursdays and Fridays find us on recovery runs or maybe more golf course work. Saturdays are meet days or another long run.
How does your team go about tapering and resting towards the end of the season? Are you still doing workouts or is it mostly easy stuff right now?
I'm not tapering yet. I'm looking to race some after the State Meet so I don't want to peak quite yet. The team has gotten a little late season rest since we have dropped the two-a-day practices we had at the beginning of the season.
Your team finished second behind the very strong Kickapoo squad. How has your team worked together to achieve the success you are currently having?
Our team has struggled to find a fourth and fifth runner this year, but the bigger the meet, the better our team seems to do. Jessica and Shynel (our third runner) really stepped up and brought the team total down.
One struggle many top runners face is how to stay connected to their team when they are running different mileage and workouts. How do you personally negotiate this to stay connected with the team?
Our team does a lot of fun stuff to stay connected. We went to SWMO XC camp together over the summer. We also get together for cookouts and killer volleyball games at my house. We have also had our traditional canoe trip for several years. We see each other a lot by getting up bright and early every morning for early season practice. We're all in the same boat so we might as well have a ball while we're there. We really have fun being together.
Tell me some about your coach and the influence he/she has had on your life as a runner and person.
Coach Lineberry is a Hall Of Fame Coach and has been around long enough to really know his stuff! He coached both my parents and my older sister, Tanya, when they all ran for Neosho High School. He really knows my personal training needs and abilities and he gives me enough independence to have input on my training.
The battle for the podium in the Class 4 girls individual competition is going to be fierce this year. Who do you see as the top 5 at state in Class 4?
There are a lot of great girls this year. Anybody can have a good day and that will be the difference between the top five. I'm not counting anybody out of the race yet. The girls that have posted great times and seem to be running well are Robison, Phoebeus, Blyholder, Sisson and myself. I also know Megan Yohe and she won't give up any thing easily.
What is your favorite pair of training shoes? Racing shoes?
My favorite pair of shoes are my Sauconys. I have also had a lot of success with Asics trainers. I race in Nike XC spikes.
Do you have any post-season plans?
I am planning some post-season racing, either NXN or Footlocker. I will evaluate how I feel at the end of the Cross-Country season to see from there.
Thanks Courtney. Good luck at Sectionals this weekend!