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Sprinter
January 23, 2006 KR had the opportunity to interview our country's top female sprinter. We hope you enjoy this interview. If you don't know Lauryn, why not tune into the Reebok Boston Indoor Games this weekend and see her run? Photos are courtesy of laurynwilliams.net |
CAROL'S QUESTIONS
KR: What is the significance of your signature "sub11"? LAURYN: Sub means below. So "sub" is a popular expression in track because during workouts your coach will say, "I want you to come in sub 27," or whatever and that mean you have to make each rep in 27 secs or less. So sub 11 is under 11 secs which is 10. 8. 10.9. 10.6 - anything under ten and my goal is to become a sub 11 sprinter where the majority of my 100 meter races are under 11 secs. To help with this goal I have pledged $1000 scholarship to a female athlete in her senior year of high school every time I run under 11 seconds this year.
KR: What is your favorite healthy food? Any healthy eating tips for kids?
LAURYN: I have lots of favorites in the health department. If I can only pick one though I'd say salad because you make add whatever you want to it. I like Mandarin oranges and Craisins along with green olives and tomatoes with a little Caesar dressing. The fun part about salad is you can pick and choose what u like sky is the limit because there are so many fruits veggies and meats to choose from. I would just remind kids that it is OK to eat other things that are less healthy but remember to limit them. Fast food daily is way too much of the bad stuff. Occasionally yes often NO!
KR: Is being petite an advantage? (I'm talking about your height).
LAURYN: Everyone is created differently and the advantage comes when you are comfortable with who you are and use the way God made you to your maximum potential. I have never looked at my height as a disadvantage. I just worked with what I got. Tall or short it is all in how you think of it inside your head. I will say that I have been told by others that my turnover is unreal the fastest they have ever seen so maybe that is where the advantage is.
KR: I read a story about you running with a German Shepherd. Do you still run with your dog?
LAURYN: The story about my German Shepard, Ben, is more my mom's story but I did run with him a lot up and down the street and around the neighborhood. I now have 3 Great Danes who love to run but aren't so fast. I bring to practice with me often but they tire fast.
KR: How would you encourage a child who is a reluctant athlete to participate in fitness activities? (This would be for a child who is not athletically gifted).
LAURYN: I would tell that child that it is not about winning or losing it is about health and fitnes. Your health is your life. It is how long you live. It is the quality of life you live. If you don't exercise you may be at risk for a lot of complications and disease that could otherwise have been prevented. You don't have to compete but it is your duty to yourself to exercise. There are lot of program that working on this, like the many programs where you run a marathon step-by-step over a period time and you run the last mile at an actual marathon. You do it a little at a time. It's not a race just a program with the goal of finishing.
KR: Please tell us a little about your involvement in the USATF "Be a Champion" program.
Lauryn: The "Be a Champion" program was created to promote fitness, good health, and a positive and drug-free attitude for youth. I go to different schools and answer questions and sign autographs and sometimes just hang and talk with the kids there. It is everyone's duty to give back so that the world can be a better place. If different people hadn't come and talked to me who knows where I would have ended up.
KR: Are you involved with any other programs or charities?
Lauryn: I have my own Web site LaurynWilliams.Net which shows what I am up to and what project or adventure I am currently involved in. Right now I am the spokesperson for fun4kidz which is an organization that helps children participate in sports clubs for free. There are so many kids that have athletic ability but aren't given the opportunity because their parents can't afford these camps and different athletic programs. I think all kids should try as many sports as possible so they can find their niche and the sooner the better developing skills from a young age is what gives you the opportunity to become world class athlete. I also volunteer at Arcols Elementary here in Florida in a hard of hearing class. I have been learning to sign and the kids are helping me while I try to inspire them to be good kids and also active in sports. I have recently done Run for Something Better which I'd like to become more involved in and A Right to Play is another logo you will find on my Web site although I haven't done an activity with then yet because of scheduling.
KR: Do you have any "favorites" to share with our kid visitors?
Lauryn: I love orange and purple (color). I like the Negotiator and A League of Their Own (movies). I know a lot of people are disapproving of his music but I love Trick Daddy's music and in particular his Thug Matrimony CD # 5. I think it is called "Parle". His music I think is changing direction and he has lot of songs telling kids to go to school to pursue the dreams and respect your elders. I know you know the saying "Trick love the kids" and I really believe that part of him shows in some of his music.
KR: Where do you live? Where did you grow up?
Lauryn: I was in Cranberry, Pennsylvania, until age 3 when I moved to Detroit, Michigan until age 11. Then I moved to Rochester, Pennsylvania where I finished high school and I now live in Miami, Florida.
MICK'S QUESTIONS
KR: What is the most important thing for long term improvement?Lauryn: The most important thing for long term improvement is definitely attitude and mind set. There will be bad workouts and plain old bad days. There will be injuries and other obstacles but what is important is the ability to take a step back and do a self assessment and say what is my long term goal, what have I done toward getting there and what else can I do to help me get there? You are only as good as the potential inside of you and the point of training is to try to maximize your potential there is a such thing as not doing enough and over doing it and though you can never know for sure where you are you should be confident in the work you have done toward achieving maximum sucess and at the end of the day it won't matter if you walk off the track with less than first place because you will know you stepped on and put your best foot forward not anyone else's foot not a foot that is pumped up with drugs and so is not really you just ur plain old foot that you have worked hard to make go the distance the right way.
KR: When do you first start running and when did you decide you really wanted to get serious about track?
Lauryn: I started running at age 9 and didn't like it. I didn't become serious until I got to college. I figured if this lady (my coach) thought enough of me to pay for my school I had better train my best so she would feel like she was getting her money's worth. All I wanted to do was go to school and since she gave me that opportunity I wanted to repay her with my best effort at track.
KR: What are the most important fundamentals kids should learn about sprinting?
Lauryn: LOL! Funny as this may sound I am the last person to ask about the fundamentals of sprinting. I have next to no knowledge about sprinting. I rely on my coach 150% for how to train, what to fix etc. Advice I would give you is start to listen and learn from now so that you can be more aware of what your body is doing vs. What it should be doing. We used to have clinic at Miami and my teammates would work the clinics and I would just stop by to say Hi because I had very little to offer about how to better technique.
SHIZUKA'S QUESTIONS
KR: At what age did you realize that you had the gift?Lauryn: I didn't realize my talent until I got to college. I knew in high school that I was good but I didn't understand until I started to succeed on the college level and when it all came to light for me was when I won the national championships in college and also ran the 2nd fastest time in the world in the Olympic year. Then it hit me.
KR: How does it feel to win a Olympic medal?
Lauryn: The best part about winning my medal was that it was unexpected. I think working hard all your life and finally achieving your dream has to be very satisfying but for it all to have taken me by surprise made it really special. I like to use the phrase blessed in abundance. I say that everything that has happened since I won the college national championships couldn't all be my blessings. I must have been given so much mistakenly. Lol. All I was training for was an NCAA title and I got the Olympic silver, a professional career and a world championship medal. Wow!
KR: Which is your strongest point in the 100meters your start or your finish?
Lauryn: I am not sure which part of my race is the best. My answer changes to this question each time I am asked. I have had problems with my start but for the most part if I nail my start then I have won the race but last year it seemed as if I was losing the race after 60 meters so my finish was so straong. I had a good base from my fall training so I don't know what the deal was with that.
ED'S QUESTIONKR: The young female athletes on my team, ages 12-14 would like to know at what age did you know you were going to be a sprinter and how did you know?
Lauren: I think the most important drill would be the A-skip. It is the basis for walking, running, and definitely sprinting. You know the saying You have to crawl before you walk. That is how the A-skip applies to running. It teaches you the basis for good running technique: knee up, heel up, toe up. If you can walk like that, then skip like that. It will program it into your brain and before you know it you will be running like that and making the most of your stride.
LINK: Laurynwilliams.net Please visit Lauryn's Web site to find out more about this great woman.
E-mail the editor at KidsRunning.Com with comments on this article. goodrow@infionline.net
