MileStat.com\'s Brandon Miles interviews Ben Hubers of McEachern High School in Georgia as Hubers earned his second trip to Footlocker Nationals by placing second at Footlocker South in Charlotte with a time of 14:51.
MileStat.com: Ben, how did you feel the race went for you today? You were one of the top returnees from last year and have had some good races this year. Then you had a defeat at the state meet by Girma, but today you came out on top of him.
Ben Hubers: Today went great. I got out fast. Maybe a little faster than I would have liked, but not anything too crazy. After that, we kind of just held pace and kept it strong. After about a mile and a half, I felt fairly relaxed actually. I felt like I had plenty left, so I kept the pace strong still. With 400 left, I saw Girma ahead of me and was like \"You know I can catch him.\" I just went after it.
MileStat.com: Experience is often overlooked how did you feel the experience of last year\'s race here and also how Foot Locker Nationals helped you today and in two weeks in San Diego?
Hubers: It will be an immense help. Just knowing today, I know the course better and the competition better. It is just great to come out here and now what you are up against as well as what you\'ve done yourself. Then in San Diego, once again you know the competition and raced against most of them. You know the course and know everything they are going to throw at you and dazzle you with when you get out there. It just helps to know what\'s happening, so you can stay calm and focused on the race.
MileStat.com: When I was talking to some of the Virginia guys earlier, a lot of them were mentioning how they definitely look forward to Balboa because it is a hillier course and do well on them. How do you feel on a hillier course versus a speed track like McAlpine? You\'ve raced on some pretty fair and challenging courses this season.
Hubers: Yeah I\'ve raced on a few fairly hilly courses. For Balboa, I\'ll be more prepared this year. That is the one thing that killed me last year was I did not have enough hill training later in my season to really get me ready for that. But once again the experience comes into play as my coach knew that this year, so I\'ve been doing everything that I need to do to get ready for that course. I\'ll be ready.
MileStat.com: Talk about the difference in pressure from last year with your first year qualifying to this year when you had the experience and expected to finish well. What was your mindset? Was it any different from last year?
Hubers: Last year there wasn\'t a whole lot of pressure on me. I just went out there and expected to do well. This year I think there still wasn\'t a whole lot of pressure put on me. Just pressure from myself more than anyone else. Hopefully there is going to be a little bit more pressure on me when I get out to San Diego. Hopefully some people will be expecting me to do well. I love it though that scared gut feeling before a race is what helps you do well, so pressure helps.
MileStat.com: How did you view your loss to Girma at the state meet? A lot of people like to have a loss early on in the season and have a reaction to it that is positive. How did you view the loss at the Georgia State Meet?
Hubers: That did play a larger role into today. It made me a little more nervous, but I know a couple of weeks ago there was something wrong with my throat. There was some phlegm and nasty stuff in there. I couldn\'t really breathe right. I hate to use that as an excuse, but I was not 100 percent ready I don\'t think. This time I came out here and was ready. I knew if I was 100 percent, it would have been a closer race I think. I would have been even with him and setup to win.
MileStat.com: Well you definitely raced well today and congratulations on making the trip back to San Diego. Good luck in two weeks.
Hubers: Thank you. Its a big honor.