Interview with John Ricardi

Major(s) / Degree: Civil Engineering
High School/Hometown: Gardiner High School, Gardiner Montana
Hobbies: Running, Mountaineering, Kayaking, Fly Fishing, Hunting, Downhill Skiing, Rock Climbing
PR’s: 800 1:58, Mile 4:22, 3k 8:37 8k 25:33, Steeplechase 9:31
Favorite Food: Chinese Food
Favorite Saying: It's not my favorite but it will work for now,"If at first you don't succeed keep on suckin til you do succeed"-Three Stooges.

How has your summer training been going?
Training has been going great. I'm living at 8,000 ft elevation out in Canyon Yellowstone. I'm working four ten hour days in Norris Yellowstone, Sunday through Wednesday. I do the majority of my training at 5:00 a.m.which can be scary at times do to the wildlife, like grizzly bears. I start workat 7:00 am and am done at 5:30 pm. If I decide to run in the afternoon, like on Tuesdays when we have a happy jack run that is of a longer distance, I normally just run up Mount Washburn, starting at 8000 ft and climbing toover 10,000 ft to the summit and then come back home. Cleaning toilets has made me realize the importants of my college education to fullest extent. Lookingforward to getting back to Iowa.

What is your favorite workout that you have done over the summer?
My favorite workouts over the summer are my long runs up in the mountains. They are beautiful and really make me strong, as I climb thousands of feetto the summits.

Have you run any road races this summer?
I just ran the Montana Mile on the 15th of July at 9:00 pm. The race wentall right considering this was our first week at higher miles and I had already worked a fourty hour week of manual labor. I got out to a terribly slowstart, the leaders had me by 50 meters with 800 to go. I made a really big move to catch the leader and overtook the lead with 500 to go. However I was passed with 250 to go and again with 100 to go and ended up 3rd overall barelymaking the stand. With that race behind me and my long run the next day I decided to run the half marathon the next morning at 7:00 am. With dinner in me at11:00 pm after the mile race I couldn't fall asleep. 5:00 am came fast and we were driving to the half marathon, my dad, my sister, and I. I ran the half at a very comfortable pace starting with the first five miles at 5:50 pace. After that I naturally picked up the pace and felt very good now running 5:30's a mile. Having had eaten so late I was starting to have gut problems at mile nine and had to take a pit stop which cost me 30 seconds and we'll leave itat that. I finished the race comfortably clocking a 1:14:52 half marathon andwon by four minutes, it was pretty low key. The kicker is I missed the course record by two seconds. With that I am incredibly pleased with the training we've been doing this summer and feel I'm exactly where I need to be forthis fall, not sharp but gaining a very good aerobic base.

Tell us about your summer job working in the mountains.
My job is great. I work in Yellowstone as I have mentioned above, one of the most popular vacation destination points. I live in a efficiency apartment with my sister during the work week and I live with my dad in Gardiner on my days off. The neat parts about my job is the scenery and the wildlife. I run on the north rim trail right along the Yellowstone River. I see elk and buffalo daily, along with coyotes, Moose, and I even saw a Grizzly bear. It was a sow and she walk 10 ft in front of my work truck, that was pretty neat. The bad thing about my job is sometimes people don't properly know how to use the bathroom and I'm the sucker that has to clean it up. All in all it is great.

What advice could you give to some of the newcomers into the program about the transition from high school to college, academically and athletically?
Simply put, you need to work extremely hard athletically and even harder academically. Be ready for some bumps in the road but welcome every challenge as the opportunity to learn and become better because of it. Most importantly have fun and be patient because the years in college I found out go by extremely fast.

What has been the most important lesson that you have learned while at Iowa State, either through running or in the classroom?
My most important lesson has been learning but more importantly practicing patience, persistence, and hard work. To go along with this I love the quote, "There are no miracles in distance running."

What are some individual goals that you have made for yourself, both short term during the cross country season and long term down the road?
My short term goals have been to make the top seven this fall or at leastmake sure that I do my part in getting this team in the top three at conference which I believe will set us up for a trip to nationals. My long term goalsare to always improve and enjoy my running so that I might improve enought tosomeday earn All-American honors.

How do you describe this year’s team compared to other teams that you have been on in the past?
I feel that our team is going to be very close. With that I feel we willfeed off each other and have a very successful year.

What is your best running memory from Iowa State?
The Roy Griak Invite last fall.

Most people have a philosophy on running. What’s yours?
Don't take it for granted, enjoy.

Why did you decide to become a Cyclone?
The rich history and most importantly the opportunity to win a Big 12 team title in cross country.