Luke Labatte of Rosemount Class of 2019
800m - 2:02.27
1600m - 4:23.67
3200m - 9:30.26
5K (xc) - 15:38.50
XC State 2016 - 27th place
XC State 2015 - 102nd place
T&F State 2017 - 3200m 6th place; 1600m 11th place
Does anyone on the Rosemount Irish have a nickname?
Only the top two runners have one. Spencer Schultz is Ostrich and I am Giraffe.
What sports did you play growing up?
I played soccer though elementary school. I played football in 6th grade, baseball in grades 6-8, and "in house" basketball in grades 3-5. I started track & field in a program in Eagan when I was in 3rd grade and began running cross country in 7th grade.
What are your current sports?
Cross country and track & field but we also have an intramural basketball team.
What is Head Coach Chris Harder's training style for the distance runners?
He has us doing 200s and 150s for sprint workouts. Our endurance emphasis is on long repeats. We generally do 4xMile with 1:1 jog recoveries early in the season with later season jogs shortened to 1 minute in the late season. We have a 1200 loop that we do 5 times and the recovery is similar to that of the mile repeats but only reduced to a 2 minute jog towards the end of the season.
In track & field our sprints are generally shorter as in flying 40s.
During cross country the recovery jogs are timed with a stopwatch. The way we do the recovery interval is to jog out halfway and then comeback to the start. At least one runner in each group has a watch. We use a GPS for long runs and for our mile splits. My longest run ever is 13 miles.
What do you do in the summer to prepare for cross country?
Our summer training takes place in Lebanon Hills six days per week. We sometimes picnic there too. A coach is usually there when they are allowed to be by MSHSL rules. The other days captains organize the workouts.
Have you ever been injured?
I have never been injured in high school but I did have an injury in one heel when I was in 8th grade. The cause was running in unsupportive shoes. Now I use over-the-counter gel inserts. I use them to help my flat feet.
Who are the top seven runners at RHS?
Mark Biechler, Danny Cox, Payne Freske, Jack Labatte, Elliott Nicholson, Spencer Schultz, and me. Our order is not always the same. Jack and I are twins.
You and Spencer Schultz went 1-2 in the tough South Suburban Conference Meet and your team won the team title again. What were the top teams there?
Rosemount, Prior Lake, Eastview, Eagan, and Lakeville South in that order were the top teams.
What are your favorite meets?
The Owatonna Ev Berg Invitational, which we won this year, is my regular season favorite. Otherwise I tend to look forward to the section and State meets.
How do you approach race strategy?
This has changed for me a bit compared to when I was younger and not as good. When I was starting out I had to look at more variables because I tended not to know much about the people I was racing against. But as I've grown older and finish more towards the front the number of people I have to know about has reduced. So what I try to do is to know what each person's racing style is, and act accordingly to my advantage.
Do you like to lead or follow in a race?
Usually I prefer to follow rather than lead and I did sit back when I was younger. However if the group is running slow I know that I must take the lead if I want a fast time. Sometimes no one wants to lead in the top group.
Is cross country a team sport?
It is both a team sport and an individual sport. You need quality individuals but its better if those individuals support each other. However you need to set individual goals.
What should your coach tell you the day before an important race? How should he act the day of the race? Should he save his final remarks for early in the week or the last minute?
During the regular season Harder tends to not give as much advice. He basically tells us to put our best effort forward. He might tell a few individuals to try to stick together.
For the championship meets he gives more details during the week leading up to the race. He is always a bit more serious on the days of any race.
How do you set your goals?
It's a little bit different for cross country as compared to track & field. In cross country times do not mean as much. What matters is where you place. So your goal is to finish higher than you did the race before relative to your competition. In track I try to improve my time from the previous week. I do not expect my first meet to be a personal record though.
Do coaches run with the teams?
Our coaches run when we do long runs. Sometimes there will be a coach on a bike because we have four coaches. Harder is a very good runner!
What is your favorite course?
My favorite place is at Valley Wood Golf Club in Apple Valley. I enjoy it because it is only five minutes from our high school. We never get to run there during the season though.
Do you have any plans for after high school?
It would be fun to run in college. At this point I have received letters from all three divisions but only one from DI and that is the University of Minnesota.
What else are you willing to share with us?
Last year I made All-State All-Academic, am a member of the National Honor Society, and have a 3.97 GPA.
