Cailie Logue, is a home grown girl she arguably is Kansas best female distance runner and conitinues to add to her resume. While in high school Cailie was a 9X Kansas state champion on the track (4x 3200m, 3x 1600m, 2x 800m) and a 4X Kansas state cross country champion.. Now at Iowa State University her list of honors has grown:
Cross Country All-American (2019)
USTFCCCA Midwest Region XC Women's Athlete of the Year (2018, 2019)
Big 12 Women's Cross Country Runner of the Year (2018, 2019)
Midwest Regional Champion (XC: 2018, 2019)
Four-time Big 12 Champion (XC: 2018, 2019. Outdoor: 5,000m - 2019; 10,000m - 2019)
Big 12 Cross Country Women's Scholar-Athlete of the Year (2019)
Big 12 Women's Outdoor Track & Field Performer of the Year (2019)
Big 12 XC Women's Runner of the Week (Oct. 8, 2019)
USTFCCCA All-Academic (XC: 2017, 2018, 2019)
Academic All-Big 12 First Team (XC: 2018, 2019; T&F: 2019)
Team USA Member - IAAF U20 World Championships (2018)
USATF Junior Outdoor National Champion, 3,000m & 5,000m (2018)
Academic All-Big 12 Rookie Team (2018)
Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll (Fall 2017, Spring 2018, Fall 2018, Spring 2019)
USTFCCCA Midwest Region XC Women's Athlete of the Year (2018, 2019)
Big 12 Women's Cross Country Runner of the Year (2018, 2019)
Midwest Regional Champion (XC: 2018, 2019)
Four-time Big 12 Champion (XC: 2018, 2019. Outdoor: 5,000m - 2019; 10,000m - 2019)
Big 12 Cross Country Women's Scholar-Athlete of the Year (2019)
Big 12 Women's Outdoor Track & Field Performer of the Year (2019)
Big 12 XC Women's Runner of the Week (Oct. 8, 2019)
USTFCCCA All-Academic (XC: 2017, 2018, 2019)
Academic All-Big 12 First Team (XC: 2018, 2019; T&F: 2019)
Team USA Member - IAAF U20 World Championships (2018)
USATF Junior Outdoor National Champion, 3,000m & 5,000m (2018)
Academic All-Big 12 Rookie Team (2018)
Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll (Fall 2017, Spring 2018, Fall 2018, Spring 2019)
We contacted Cailie and this is what she had to say.
What you are doin as far as your training goes?
-As far as training goes we are back to base and strength training. We are gradually working our way back to our full long runs and increasing our volume. We aren't doing track workouts anymore. We have replaced what would usually be a time for speed work with fartleks and tempo runs.
How much what kind of training ur doing since you don't have a spring season?
- After we heard the season was cancelled we took some time off. How long was up to the individual athlete and their level of fatigue. I took a few days off, but we had permission to take as much as 2 weeks off if we felt tired. After this, we ran how we felt for a week. This could be anywhere from no run to a 20-30 min easy run, or a run up to an hour long. During this week of running how I felt, I ran approximately an hour each day, making this week around 55 miles of easy running. The next week, our coach sent us a training schedule which focused on building our base and preparing for a potential cross country season. This meant that we started to incorporate fartlek's and tempo runs twice a week, and long runs and mid-week long runs during the week too. This past week I ran 64 miles with doubles on Monday and Thursday. A 10 mile mid-week long run on Wednesday. A fartlek on Tuesday, and a 5-mile tempo on Friday. Saturday was a long run of 12 miles. We will continue to progress from this point. However, we have the advantage of being very patient and making sure our progression is gradual. It's very important during this time that we listen to our bodies and rest when we fell it is appropriate.
How did you feel when you got word that you lost your spring season, what did you think about being able to get this lost season of eligibility back?
- We were every disappointed that we lost our spring season. My heart mostly broke for the seniors on our team. While we now know that the NCAA has ruled to give our eligibility for outdoor to us in future years, some seniors on our team needed to move on with their professional and career goals and will not be a able to return to take advantage of this opportunity. I know that many of them felt they were in the shape of their lives and ready to set PR's and solidify the progress they knew they were making. I know that many seniors in high school may be feeling the same way. While some of the seniors on our team have decided to return to use this year of eligibility, it has required sacrifice on their part as well, as they delay pursuing their professional career goals for another year. I am very grateful to have the opportunity to use this eligibility at a later time. We know that the NCAA and the University have made many sacrifices to allow us to have this opportunity. We realize that the health of our nation is our priority at this time.
Give me a little reflection back on your high school running career and what come to your mind.
-When I think back on my high school career. I mostly feel grateful for how my high school program helped prepare me to be ready to train in a collegiate system. The progression I made in high school helped me to continue to progress gradually in college and handle the level of training expected while minimizing injury. However, the success that I had in high school, while very fun and rewarding at the time, does did not carry a-lot of meaning once I got to college. The NCAA's is very competitive. The experiences I had in high school helped me to progress and learn and were an important part of my preparation for being a proficient member of a collegiate team. Some of my accomplishments in college have been beyond my expectations for myself at the time, while other performances I have had have fallen disappointingly short of what I hoped for that day. That is something I have learned is part of being in a highly competitive environment. However, this same competitive environment, has allowed me to chase dreams, develop high yet achievable goals, and continue the progression that began way back when I just started considering myself to be a serious runner as a high school freshman.
Are you still in Ames or are you back in Girard?
-Just for clarification, I am unsure if it is really important or not, but we live outside of Girard near a small town called Galesburg. This is about 30 minutes from Girard. However, because I grew up in Girard's school district, I claim it as my hometown.
What advice would you have for a high school runner who just lost their senior year and is wanting to to run in college?
-I would tell a high school senior who just lost their season: I realize that this situation is not fair at all. However, when you look big picture, running in college is about the experience and that is what you will look back on. With that being said, recognize the loss, but don't spend too long feeling sorry for yourself. Take the times and experiences you have from high school and contact coaches at the list of schools you would want to attend. Make the best you can out of this situation and don't let this keep you from pursuing an experience you dreamed of having. During my recruiting experience I would assume a school was not interested in me because they had not reached out, however, I found that sometimes coaches may have been thinking the same thing. One of these schools I reached out to as a junior was Iowa State, where I now attend college.
What kinds of classes are you taking that we're moved to online and how's that going for you? Also what is your major?
-I am currently a Kinesiology & Health major at Iowa State University with a pre-physician assistant option. Most of the classes I take are in concepts relating to human movement and exercise science as well as many of the classes you would see doing a general biology major like chemistry, genetics, anatomy & physiology, and other biology courses. While I plan to stay for a fifth year, I am also planning to minor in psychology.
This semester I am taking motor control, genetics and genetics lab, personal finance, and sociology of sports and exercise. I was in physics and physics lab too, but this was a bit too heavy of a course load for me, and I opted to drop the course when courses went online this semester. The physics course I was in was very time consuming and with limited internet bandwidth, I decided to return to my study of physics at a later date.
Other than that, my genetics class was already in an online format, so that transition was very smooth. My motor control class is operating off of lectures that were recorded last year. While I miss interacting with my classmates, it has not hindered my ability to learn the material much. My favorite course this semester, and the course that I felt was impacted the most by the switch to online was my genetics lab. However, the instructors and graduate T.A.'s in the course have been very responsive to any questions we have via e-mail or video conferencing. The transition to online has been effective in helping us learn the important concepts. However, it is just more fun to perform the lab in person!
All of my courses are placed online through canvas. Exams are now taken open note through Canvas or online with a lock down browser and web camera. Final Exams will be taken this way too.
Last question I promise what have you been doing for fun since we are all stuck at home in these times?
-For fun during these times, I mostly zoom friends or teammates and hang out with my family. Also, going for my runs everyday has been one of the most fun parts of this time for me. I really enjoy getting outdoors and clearing my head. I also bake or help cook dinner and listen to Podcasts and Ted Talks on topics I find interesting. I am currently listening to the Podcast "Keeping Track" by Alysia Montano, Molly Huddle, and Roisin McGettigan.
Thank you so Cailie for doing this and we hope a blog will be in your future, soon here at Ks.milesplit