Michael Fout: Looking Back, Looking Forward
(Elite Athlete Blog - Entry #5)
Posted May 8th, 2008 at 2:00 PM by Michael Fout
Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Elite Athlete Blogs, Michael Fout, High School
Welcome to the official blog of 2007 Footlocker Cross Country National Champion Michael Fout! Make sure to bookmark the link http://michaelfout.thefinalsprint.com and check back every other Thursday for Mike’s latest entries as he completes his senior year of high school running and begins his NCAA career at Florida State!
Yesterday, May 7, I officially became a man. And by that, I mean I turned 18 years old. As you could probably guess, I do not feel any different than I did when I was 17. Another year, another two seasons of running almost complete. Along with my birthday celebrations came reflections on the past. Those reflections dealt, of course, with running. And what a year it has been.
This time last year I was a healthy body, running everyday and incredibly excited about the track season I was putting together. I was beginning to think that I could be a national caliber runner. My first goal: Winning the state championship in the 3200 meter run. As the days until the state meet quickly passed, I was beginning to feel very anxious to see if I could reach that goal. In my head, I knew I could do it. The day came, and there was no way I was going to lose. It turns out, I didn’t! I had done it. It was, however, by no means easy. I won by just over a second as a hard charging, now freshman IU runner, came on strong. But as I crossed the line, an unexplainable feeling of excitement rushed through my body. Next stop: Nike Outdoor Nationals. I ran a 9:03 3200 a few weeks prior to NON and my goal on that chilly night in North Carolina was to run sub 9 for 2 full miles. As everybody knows, the 2 mile field that night was ridiculous as far as talent goes. I knew I had a good chance and that I could just hop on the end and “go for a ride.” I wound up finishing 11th and ran 8:58 for the full deuce! I knew I had to now put together a great cross season so that people would not think my run was just some fluke. Let the work begin.
Cross season came, and I was very confident after a strong track season. I was ready to roll. After my team finished 2nd in the state finals at the end of October, I was even more amped up to run well in the individual part of the season. With my win at FLMW, I gained some more confidence and knew that I had a very strong field to face at FLN. Winning FLN, as I have said time and time again, was a dream and the best way to cap off a nice cross country season. Track this year, as it has been discussed, has been a struggle to get going. However, I refuse to give up and let my senior year track season escape me. I have recently gotten some good news from my sports medicine doc, and I will also be running our conference meet today. So, I have some renewed hope and look forward to putting together another dream season.
Looking forward another year in the future is difficult because so many changes will take place. I will be at Florida State and hopefully be running strong like my future teammates are now. To all of the Indiana guys/girls who read this blog, best of luck to you all as the post season approaches. I hope to see all of you at the state track meet at the end of the month. And to all, keep up the great work! Thanks for reading.
-Michael
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Tags: college running, college track & field, cross country, dealing with injuries, florida state, fsu, high school, high school running, high school track & field, high school XC, michael fout, mike fout, ncaa, ncaa track, the final sprint elite athlete blog series, thefinalsprint.com elite athlete blog series, track and field
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