LRC Q&A With RunningLane & Eastbay Cross Country Champion Natalie Cook
By Jonathan Gault
February 7, 2022
Because there are two national championships in high school cross country, fans typically don’t get complete closure at the end of a season. Some athletes will run NXN, some will run Eastbay (formerly Foot Locker), and some will run both, but only once in history had one athlete won both races — Lukas Verzbicas, who claimed the NXN/Foot Locker double in 2010.
Now, Verzbicas has company. Though Natalie Cook, a senior at Flower Mound High School in Texas, did not technically win NXN and Eastbay in 2021, she did the next best thing, winning both Eastbay and the RunningLane Cross Country Championships, the meet that sprung up in the wake of NXN’s cancellation for a second consecutive year. On December 4 in Huntsville, Ala., Cook was a dominant winner at RunningLane, clocking 16:03 to win by 19 seconds on the lightning-fast 5k course. A week later in San Diego, Cook ran 17:15 to hold off New Jersey’s Angelina Perez for a four-second victory.
Cook’s historic championship run made her a no-brainer for the 2021-22 Gatorade National Girls Cross Country Player Of The Year, which she was awarded last Wednesday at her high school. Coached by her father, Andrew, Cook will run at Oklahoma State in the fall and will be chasing Katelyn Tuohy‘s national high school indoor record of 15:37.12 for 5,000 meters this wekeend at the Husky Classic in Seattle. I spoke with Cook last Wednesday to discuss her big fall, her famously low-mileage (like, really low mileage) approach, and her future plans.
Natalie Cook with her father and coach, Andrew
You were the first woman to win two national titles in cross country in one season last fall. Why did you decide to run both events, RunningLane and Eastbay, and when did you make that decision?
I decided to run both because my team, we didn’t get to have NXN this year, so RunningLane was basically the national meet for our team and we wanted to see what we could do teamwise there (Flower Mound wound up finishing 7th overall). My dad was debating on having me run there but he’s glad he did.
Did you convince him, like, Hey, I’d like to run with the team? What were you thinking about it?
He just asked me how I thought about it, and I was like, yeah I want to do it. This is the last team race I’m going to have because I’m a senior.
In the aftermath of your race, there was a lot of discussion about you being a low mileage runner. How much mileage were you doing per week typically last fall?
During the beginning of the season I was on 10 miles a week and towards the end I was on 15-20 miles a week, depending on how I felt. And then my cross training would be 30 minutes on top of it and then an hour on the days I don’t run.
So how many days per week would you run normally?
Probably like four. I think four. I take Sundays off.
And then you cross-train on the other two days?
Yes.
What is it like having your dad coach you? Does he do a good job of separating dad and coach duties when you’re at home?
I love having him as a coach. I love just being able to talk to him if there’s anything going on. Most people think it’s bad and I don’t like it but I really do like having him here. We used to have issues with coaching, like him being like that at home, but we figured it out and it works out now.
You’re committed to Oklahoma State next year, why did you choose Oklahoma State?
Yes, I did. They want to win NCAAs on the home course and I want to help them. I love Coach Anna [Boyert-Thorp] and Coach Dave [Smith]. They’re really welcoming and I know they’re gonna take great care of me there. And the teammates there are just so nice and I love them.
Courtesy Gatorade
What goals do you have for the track season?
In less than two weeks I’m supposed to run in Washington, it’s called the Husky [Classic on February 11] and it’s a 5k and I want to break 15:37 on the track (Katelyn Tuohy’s US high school indoor record). And in March, we’re deciding what [meet] to run in in New York, there’s one [indoor national meet] with New Balance (at the Armory) or Nike (at Ocean Breeze) that’s hosting it. And I’m going to run in the 2-mile and the 4 x mile with the team.
What do you think is your best distance on the track?
Probably the 2-mile. At the moment, I feel like I’ve been really strong at longer distances. But I haven’t run a mile in a while, so we will see.
Do you follow professional running at all? Do you have a favorite runner?
I like Shalane Flanagan a lot. I’ve kind of followed her and she’s really motivating. I have a couple of her cookbooks as well.
Do you have a favorite recipe?
I don’t yet, but I like all of them.
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