Transcript: Shawn: Ok. We are here with Mr. Benjamin Morales from Saint George's. Um ok. Lets just jump into it. Ben: Yes Shawn: First, who are you, how old are you and where are you from? Ben: So I am Ben, I am seventeen, I am a senior here and I am from Toronto Shawn: Mmm Toronto. What was it like living in Canada? Ben: Don't remember, I moved here when I was like three, but I go back there all the time Shawn: wow. ok. What sports do you do at Saint George's Ben: Track and cross country, like distance track and cross country. Shawn: How are you liking it so far? Ben: Its been probably the best fit that any school could be for me personally just with the coaching and way that everything works here with athletics. Shawn: Ok. What has been your journey in this particular sport? How did you get into it? Where are you at now? Where do you plan on going? Ben: I started running when I was super young probably in like third grade but I actually didn't take it seriously until probably like Freshman year. And then I really- I am not a kid that is like super talented... thats like, my coaches would say that- and- which is fine. Its taken a while to get where I am at now, but there is still a lot of things that I want to do. Shawn: Ok, ok. Colleges? Ben: Yes. I actually had a call this morning at like 7:30 with a coach. Shawn: 7:30?? I am sleeping. Ben: Ya- its terrible. Shawn: I guess, what motivates you in running? Ben: uh- probably- when I was in freshman year I decided that this was going to be my thing and that like no matter what it was going to stay being my thing. And I guess through that I have made a bunch of mini goals along the way that have helped me get to big goals. Um. In the past I had big goals, that I have either accomplished or haven't. But it's just like steps along the way that I keep trying to accomplish. Like little steps. Shawn: Ok. Ok. If you don't mind me asking, what is one of those big goals that you got? Ben: I want to win the Canadian U18 National Championship for cross country Shawn: Dang! Is that still- is that 5k or 10k Ben: 6k Shawn: 6k? What the- Ben: It's weird. It's like four miles. Shawn: Uh what has been a highlight of your athletic career so far, and why is it so memorable? Ben: I won the state 1600 junior year. Shawn: I was there for that Ben: ya. That's not really as memorable because of like me winning, its more that like that season was so weird. I was injured for a lot of the winter, and then the whole season I was just kinda like scraping as little as I can get off. Like trying to get tiny margins better, and it wasn't happening until that meet, and so I think just having that breakout race was really memorable for me, and I think I will remember that for a long time. Shawn: I will also remember that for the rest of my life. Diving finish to win a State Championship. Ben: Ya that was fun. Shawn: We needed those ten points. The sport is a big mental game, so how do you mentally prepare yourself for a big race or competition. Ben: In the past I haven't really done much. I've like- I realized in that last couple years that like the biggest thing that can get in your way of accomplishing a goal is yourself and like way the way you approach it so I always like try to not think about competitions as much. But this season. This cross country season I've performed really well so far and a lot of that I will say is because I visualize every big race. Like when I go into a big race. I have already won that race ten times in my head. And ten different ways, with ten different days on different weather so I think just. Being mature enough to do that now has really just helped my. Shawn: Its for sure. Like- if you don't believe in yourself, then you're kinda putting yourself in a big hole. Ben: You might as well believe in yourself. Shawn: ya, cause, you're the only one that can really believe in yourself. You have to believe in yourself first before anyone else can. Ben: Might as well. No down side. Shawn: What's your pre-race rituals. Ben: Rituals?- Shawn: I know you don't like talking to people. I learned that in the past. Ben: No- Rituals- I honestly... There's the boring stuff, like I always eat pasta. Stuff like that but I also like. I don't know, whenever I get home from practice on a normal day. I always like lift, I do this stuff, I do homework. But it's like if I have a race on a Saturday. I get home from practice on a Friday. It's like 4:30, I have a shower, I get into like sweats and a sweatshirt and I'm just in bed all night. It's like such a nice thing I do before races. I love it. Shawn: Thats so- I am completely different. I can't think about it. I don't have a ritual so like, it changes like every single race. I eat completely different. It's probably bad but oh well. It's worked for me. Ben: If it works. Ya. Shawn: What music do you listen to before a race? Ben: It changes a lot. It changes a lot. So, some meets I like can not listen to any music, like in the past I put on podcasts like as I'm warming up, just to take my mind off of it. But if it's like a big race that I have been thinking about for a while and I think it's like a bad thing I've been thinking about it, I'll like put on white noise to make myself not think Shawn: Like ocean noises? Ben: For ten minutes, like even if its for like ten minutes it makes a difference. And other days I'll listen to like Shakira. Shawn: Shakira? Waka waka? Ben: It changes a lot. Shawn: That's cool. Um. Not Drake or anything? Yeat? Ben: Ok. Yeat. I have tried Yeat before. Shawn: Country music? Ben: No, no. Country music- The thing with the super like upbeat, intense music. Like I listen to rap, but the thing with that before a meet is you kind of give yourself a false sense of security. In the sense that you don't need to push yourself that hard, because if you're warming up and your so pumped up and your like I'm gonna go break the world record, I'm going to do this- gonna do that. Then it kind of gives your body like a false sense of like. You actually still need to do it. Which thats just me. Some people are different, everyone's different. Shawn: I am the same way. I have to listen to like slow, calm music. Even like depressing music to like make me sad so that I want to go win. Ben: Exactly, anything to like get you locked in. Shawn: Um. Shoot. What is a challenging moment or Setback you faced in your athletic career, and how have you overcame it? Ben: Uh. I think I mentioned earlier Junior track season when I won State. That was super hard. Getting injured was hard just because I had a lot of big goals for that winter. But even that aside the whole season its like things were not coming together. Like workouts were going great, training was going great. I was super consistent. But racing- things were not coming together. But I don't know I kind of just like kept stupidly believing it would all work out at some point. Like just tell myself it will work out, it will work out, and it worked out. So I got lucky I guess Shawn: Well last year, was weird because we traveled a lot. Like out furthest meet was three hours away. In Walla Walla. Ben: Ya and we went down to Colfax like a million times. Shawn: like three times. Went to Pasco. State was in Yakima. The odds were stacked against us. Ben: it was a lot. It was a long season. Shawn: What role does teamwork play in your sport?How do you and your teammates support each other both on and off the course- track. Ya Ben: I don't know what you call it uh ya. I have been super lucky with my teamates inside and outside of school. Here at Saint George's, I like- I don't know. I feel like everyone can get in their head a lot and having like a group of guys where like you are running and you're not even thinking about the fact that your running, you're just talking about some stupid thing. Shawn: Ya just having random conversations Ben: Or it's like the stupidest conversation. Like being able to do that with my teammates has been great inside of school, but also like being able to do that on my club, like for Spokane Speed Academy, I've been able to be around some really talented guys who have like really pushed me and I can actually leave a lot of my improvement to that. Shawn: Ya. Spokane Speed Academy. Shout out Ceicle and the boys. Ben: Sign up. Shout out Ceicle. Shawn: Um as everyone knows, Saint George's has a great track and cross country program because of our coaches. I guess, who are your main coaches and how have they helped you and inspired you through the journey? Ben: In eighth grade. I remember talking to Rick for like the first time. I was doing a run with like the highschool team and he was so scary. Like this old guy who was super good at running, and he was super scary, but I don't know, over the first two years of me actually running, like actually training, I like wasn't good. I wasn't like the guys they were like 'oh he's going to go run super fast'. But Rick and TJ kinda like trained me as if I was that guy. And they knew that I would do the work as if I was that guy who was super good. And I think now its like, Rick and I are able to have these big goals of winning State, winning Nationals. Its like think if they didn't think I would be able to become an actually like good, solid runner, then that wouldn't. Like none of this would have been possible. Shawn: I would for sure say our coaches are like our biggest supporters along with our parents and stuff, but they are for sure like our number one fans. Ben: Nothing we do is possible without them. Shawn: Exactly, and they will be like. We can do great, but they will be the first ones to tell us what we did wrong. Like doesn't matter if you just ran super fast. Ben: Tj is always going to tell you to get out faster. Shawn: Ya, you can always get out faster with TJ. What do you believe are the most important qualities for an athlete to posess? And how do you incorporate them into your training and performance. Ben: Um, thats a hard question. I think the most important quality for someone to posess... I mean I'm not saying I know everything, but I think if you are able to go a long period of time. Only focused on one thing and just being super consistent in that one thing, there is no way you can fail. Like if you are able to go months and months on end of just training. Even if it sucks. Consistency, consistency, consistency, there is no way you can fail because you'll get better mentally, you'll get better physically obviously, and its just what you'll learn in that period of just like being on your own, doing it. Is so helpful that come the next season if you're training with people, or if you're not, you'll just be a much different athlete. So I like being able to like being ok on your own, and to do something on your own for an extended period of time training wise is super helpful. Shawn: Ya, I forsure agree. Stress is a big part in sports as we both know, we both ran on some pretty big stages in our time, so how do you stay composed and how do you deal with high stress situations and pressure and those big races where you are racing the fastest people in the country or the fastest people in the state. How do you deal with that? Ben: I mean I can't say I deal with it very well. But I think I've learned what gets me stressed. I also think I've learned, stress only becomes anxiety if you let it. Like going into a national championship or a state championship, you're going to be stressed because, there is a lot on the line, but you don't have to be anxious. It only becomes anxiety if you let it become anxiety and if you dwell on it. But like probably- I guarentee there was a time yesterday where I was stressed because of an upcoming race, or time trial, but it's like. That doesn't matter. The stress isn't what matters, what you do durring the race is what matters. And you've practiced that a million times in workouts, and if you've practiced pushing yourself a millon times in workout then, if you've done the work, there is nothing to be anxious about. It's out of your control basically. Shawn: Dang bro, you should be like my mental health coach. These words are inspiring. Ben: I mean you were at nationals with me this summer, it's like that was a super high stress situation, but all of us. We were all competing, we were all around each other that, we were kinda just like we've all done the work. It doesn't matter. Shawn: Ya. I viewed it like, you're there because of how good you are so you might as well have fun while doing it. So there is no point in really stressing. Like how many people can say they ran at Hayward feild? Like- that. Ben: Exactly, and like even if you don't, even if it goes horribly. Shawn: Like ya, well it kinda did. Ben: I mean I don't think it did for you. But, like, lets say you got like lets say you ran like 2:10 in the 800, like lets say it went absolutely horribly. The absolute worst case senario is you go home, and you come back the next year. Like that was the worst case senario. So I don't know. I think- Its different for every meet but like not letting stress become anxiety is completely under control. Shawn: So you already shared your goals that you want to become part of the Canadian cross country U18 team, so I guess that could be a short term goal because you're what. You're 18? Almost 18? Ben: I'm seventeen. I turn 18 in March Shawn: Dang Bro, you're young. So I guess what would be some long term goals? Like running at the olympics, running with Yakob Ingebrigtsen? Like- Ben: Ya I mean like everyone probably. I mean you probably have like that stupid dream as a kid. It's like you want to be the fastest or its like everyone has that stupid dream. But I feel like my biggest long term goal right now is I really want to know. I'm really just excited to know where I'm gonna go to school and know who I'm going to run with. But I think dependent on where I go to school, I think I'm really excited to see what I can do in college, cause I don't actually know at all what my limit is. There is so many things in training that Rick and I haven't tapped into, like my volume is super low. We- I train on my own everyday. So I have no idea what it's like to train with a group of guys that are better than me. 20 more miles a week. So I'm actually really excited. Like I don't know what's going to happen after highschool, so I don't know. I'm not thinking that far. Ya I just don't know what's going to happen. Shawn: Excited for the challenge. Exactly. Ben: Like I could go win NCAA title or not. Like I don't know. Shawn: That would be pretty cool. Ben: ya. Shawn: My friend won the NCAA title. How has sports impacted your time here at Saint George's? Who have you met and what relationships have you formed though this time? Ben: I don't think, I don't think I could. Like any of the stuff I've done now like even if you just take my exact times of the exact races I've won or goals or anything, I don't think any of that would have been possible without this school. Like if I went to Mead, or Lewis and Clark, because I wasn't, I'm not a guy that you're gonna say is going to go win U18 nationals, I'm just not. But I'm lucky that I have coaches that actually see that I can do that and believe in me. And I also think academicaly like. I don't know. You, you probably understand, but there is something different, going into a race you didn't only have training but you also had like Shawn: two tests, essays, homework Ben: IB tests, essays, it's like. You just- you just feel so much better than everyone else. That I don't know I just think its like it's been great. Shawn: It's like, you feel like it's a story. Like the odds are stacked against you. Like these kids didn't have two IB tests, three essays, like. Ben: They didn't just write a 2000 word IA Shawn: Exactly. They don't know what we are going through, but we are still going to perservere and win. Ben: Facts Shawn: Um we are going to rap up here. Um, what would be some word of widsom you would give to younger athletes, like the little dragons or just random people that could be listening? Ben: um, I mean, how young are we talking. Theres not much you can tell a- Shawn: Ok. Just middle school and up. Ben: Middle school and Freshman? Ok. I think, it's ok. Like the one thing I would say is it's ok to have like stupidly big goals. Like even if you run a six minute mile, you're allowed to want to run a four-minute mile. Like what you do now doesn't determine what you will do in a year or two years, as long as you just do work. And if you have those big goals, doing the work will be the easy part because, you'll be motived too. The hard part will be everything else. Shawn: Ya. Ok, so last question. What upcoming events and races and meets should we be on the lookout for? And attending and supporting you? Ben: Attending, I don't know about attending because both of them are pretty far away, but. Shawn: Ya cross country is- Its hard to cheer for cross country meets, or at cross country meets, cause your like racing the course with the people. Ben: Ya it's hard. Uh the next meets are, Districts, which is districs, it's just the qualifier for state, so we're just trying to get through that one. State is kinda a big one. Obviously Shawn: I'll be down there. Yelling. Ben: Really? You don't got to.. Shawn: Nah, I'm making a sign. Ben: Oh, ok. Gonna show up. Shawn: Going all out. Ben: Ya. So state is a big one, um, and then like I mentioned, Canadian Nationals is one that I've been working for for a while. Shawn: So that's in Canada I'm assuming? Ben: Yes. yes yes. Shawn: Alright, well thanks Ben!