Pre-Season XC Q&A: Fordham Prep Senior, Conor Lundy

Conor Lundy, a senior at Fordham Prep, is coming off a huge Indoor and Outdoor season in 2015. He was part of the historic Loucks Games 3200m, where he broke 9 minutes for the first time with a huge 8:55 run. He also saw big gains in the 1600m, running his personal best of 4:07.5 to win the New York State Championship. Lundy closed his junior campaign with a 14:40, All-American finish in the 5000m at NBNO. Is he ready to translate that 5k success to the cross country course? Last fall, he just missed qualifying for NXN. We catch up with him as he heads into his final season of prep cross country.


You had big breakthroughs on the track at the State and National Level. How do you think that will allow you to step up this year, now as a Senior?

I think the races and meets from last year have given me experience and confidence for this upcoming cross country season. Improving in the track season means I can hopefully make more improvements from last year's XC season, so I am really excited to get out there and test my fitness level.

You were a major player in both the McQuaid Inivitational, as well as the Manhattan Invite, having Top 10 performances overall at each. Are these two meets back on your radar to improve again this year? Or is your focus shifting to other meets?

The McQuaid Invitational and the Manhattan Invite are definitely big meets for our team. McQuaid is actually my season opener and we are hoping to perform really well at these meets and improve upon our times from last year so that we will be even more competitive at CHSAA Intersectionals and Federations. While we are looking forward to competing at these meets, our focus is to be at our best at the end of the season.

In 2014, you were the second individual off making NXN. Does that motivate you to try to make NXN this year? Or do you look at Foot Locker, on a Van Cortlandt Course you are more familiar with, as a viable option instead?

Not making NXN last year is definitely a motivator for this season. However, it is still up in the air which one I plan to do. It really depends on how our team does throughout the season. As of now, I would say that I am leaning toward Foot Locker. Van Cortlandt Park is just a lot closer and I am much more familiar with the course.

What has some of the summer training been like?

Summer training this year has been the best I have ever had. I have been getting in about the same mileage as last year (roughly 55-60 miles a week), but I have been working in at least one tempo run a week to stay in shape. It's been really fun since I have spent most of my running on the trails of Van Cortlandt Park or Rockefeller State Park in upper Westchester. I also ran with my former teammate Joseph Prunty a bunch of times over the summer before he headed off to Holy Cross.

In August, about 10 guys on our team and I headed up to the Cape Cod Running Camp to train together before preseason officially started. It was great to get up there to get ready for a long cross country season. We usually did two runs a day: a short run in the morning and a long run in the afternoon. Everyone seems to be in great shape, so we are really excited to get going this season.

Coming into 2015, you are one of the top ranked returners across the nation. Does that put any extra pressure on you to perform, both in the state, as well as at some of these bigger meets?

I would say there is definitely a little more pressure, but at the same time, the rankings have given me the confidence to put myself out there and run with anyone. I think the biggest thing its to continue to train hard so that when it comes time for the big meets, you know you are ready to race with the top runners in the state and nation.

2014 may have been one of the deepest years of distance running in State History. How do you adjust to 2015, where the front may not be as packed, and you may be running alone out front?

It will definitely be a big adjustment. I was lucky enough to race against a bunch of guys that unfortunately won't be returning, and I learned a lot from them. I think the thing to do is to stay focused on my own goals and, like any race, don't focus too much on another runner. It is always nice to have other runners pull you along to a fast time, but I think this year is more from the front.

Where do you see your team right now? Where do you see yourself as leader on that team?

I see our team as potentially being one of the top 5 teams in the state at the end of the season. It will be tough to win CHSAA Intersectionals since St. Anthony's has so much depth, but I believe we can really make some ground on them and hopefully be right in the mix with the top teams by the time Federations comes. We have a small but strong group of runners, so we are really excited to get out there. As of now I see myself as well as other seniors like Conor Miller, Matthew Dougherty, and Marc Guberti as being leaders and motivators for our underclassmen to perform. We are really hoping for some underclassmen to step up for our fifth, sixth, and seventh spots to solidify a good Varsity team.