NATURE VS NURTURE

My Coach Damon Martin and I celebrating my 4th place finish at the 2008 Marathon Olympic Trials in Boston.

1. What is the athletic background of your parents and family? None of them ever did sports. My father liked baseball and used to coach a team on our town. Probably, I was not even born when he coached.

2. When did you begin participating in your sport? 8th grade I played basketball for a 1/2 of a season.

THE EXTRAS

1. What was your early experiences with sport like? I love every single aspect of it. I was hooked. Great experiences.

2. How instrumental were parents and coaches in the early part of your development as an athlete? I had only one coach in 8th grade that really motivated me... Parents were never involved.. Here in the US Coaches have been the biggest influence in my development as an athlete.

3. How were you introduced to your sport and how many other sports did you seriously participate in? My High School PE teacher encouraged me to join the track team back in 1997. There is only one other sport I have seriously participated. This was basketball in middle school.

4. Is your success a product of nature or nurture? Both.. I have always loved outdoors, but without the support and encouragement of my coaches I would not be nearly the athlete I am today. Ex: I did basketball when I was 13 and I did not do sports again until I was 18- Thanks to the encouragement of my PE teacher...


5. Are you an expert in your field? (by your own definition) No, I still have a lot to learn and improve.