Torin Christianson of Chanhassen class of 2019
Personal Records
800m - 2:00.91
1600m - 4:36.41
3200m - 10:11.37
5K (xc) - 15:56.00
XC State 2017 - 13th Place
XC State 2016 - 136th Place
XC State 2015 - 156th Place
What city were you born in, and what sports did you grow up playing?
I was born in Garden City, Michigan. My folks are from Minnesota, however they moved to Michigan for a job. I only lived there until I was 3 years old. I grew up playing soccer, lacrosse and football.
Which sports do you play in high school?
I played lacrosse until last year when I moved entirely to running. I played lacrosse for a travel team in high school so I could participate in track season. I have lettered in track twice and cross country three times. I did play on a club team in the summer for lacrosse.
The position I played in lacrosse was midfield. I got many scoring opportunities but knew I would be a better runner.
How did Chanhassen do this year in the Metro West Conference compared to the other teams?
We won this meet for the third year in a row. Nick Scheller and I went out in the lead. I took the first mile and then Nick passed me after mile one and went on to win the race.
Give us a blow-by-blow of the Section 2AA race this year.
At the section race there was a guy who went out hard from the gun and led the first 800 or so. He wound up dropping back.
Then there was a group of three: Nick Scheller and myself from Chanhassen, and Isaac Basten of Buffalo that led together for the first mile. Then after that Basten started to pull away with Scheller trying to catch him. I wanted to save something for the last mile so I let them go.
Hudeife Mire of Willmar passed me to go with the others so that I was running solo for most of the second mile. Then with a little more than 1000 meters to go I tried to pass or catch up to the rest of the group. I did manage to pass Mire but the other two guys were too far ahead. So the order of finish was Basten, Scheller, myself, and Mire.
Zach Long was the top returning runner for Chanhassen this year having ran a 15:56 at NXN in the fall of 2016. Due to injuries he was unable to compete for most of this season. His presence might have made a difference for the Storm this year had he been able to run. So the top three teams were Buffalo, Willmar, and Chanhassen.
What Chanhassen runner from the past inspired you as a runner?
Tyler Kobilarcsik. He graduated in 2016. He was a senior when I was an 8th grader.
I asked for tips and general advice like what to eat and running form.
He qualified for state as an individual. He runs for U of Wisconsin at Eau Claire in cross country and track & field.
Give us a description of your training over the years. Have you changed what you have done from year to year?
I do what Coach Powell tells me to do. My training has been pretty consistent with added running camps in the summer.
We have captains practices in the summer. We run 35 to 40 miles per week. We do run hill repeats every week otherwise it's mostly straight miles.
What mistakes do you see beginning runners make? What would you say to them?
The thing I see often is young runners going out too fast on races and training runs. I would tell them to get a strong start and move up during the race until they are comfortable with a race strategy and the negative split might be something that works for them.
Do you have a favorite workout?
1K repeats are my favorite workout. We do them on the track with a 3 minute walk between. The coach gives us a time we should run them in. My group started out the season aiming for 3:20. Later on we were running them in 3:05-3:10. I actually averaged 2:57 towards the end of the season. We have about 20-25 boys on the team.
What other kinds of workouts do you do?
We will do a workout like this: 10 minute warm up jog; 800-400-400-200-200 with 3 minute recoveries standing between each. Then after the set we get full recovery. Then we repeat the set. This is followed by a 10 minute warm down.
During track we do broken 400s.
Who are your favorite athletes? (From any sport) Why?
I admire Mo Farah, because he's fast. He hangs out with his family and seems to care for them. He's also open in his thinking with others.
What spikes, shoes, apparel, etc. do you wear?
I wear the Kilkenny spikes and my training shoes are Ghost 10's.
What is your diet like?
I eat pretty well most of the time; I usually eat a sandwich on race day and carbs the night before. I eat bagels in the morning. I drink 100 ounces over the whole day. I drink 20 ounce water bottles every hour. Calculators online tell you how much water to drink. Runner's World articles have recommended this.
Did you win any cross country races this year?
Yes, I won the Crown College Invitational race. Scheller and I decided to go with the negative split approach in that race. We let some other kids lead the race. At the mile mark we took the lead because they slowed down.
Tell us about your race strategy?
I don't really have one, going out super fast does not work, and I tend to have a good kick so I work with that.
The first five seconds I try to be up there. My goal is to make all-state, the first 25, so I want to be close behind the first group. I also like to pace my race off my teammate Scheller.
First mile mark is where I start to feel bad. I try not to slow down the next half mile.
I expect to start picking guys off at the 2 mile mark. 1000 meters to go is when I do my final buildup. My final sprint is about 75 meters.
What obstacles have you had career in your and life that you are willing to share?
Last year I had a couple of things happen. I had a pre-stress fracture in my right foot. After the conference meet I went to the doctor. I had to wear a boot. I still ran on it but I was in a boot during the day! I had to ice it after practice every day.
I had a pretty fair section meet having finished in 4th place.
Then I had sub-par state meet and NXN. I went to the doctor and he said I had mono.
It's likely I picked that up between the section and state meets.
Do you have any plans for after high school?
I am currently looking at college options I just had my first visit at West Point over MEA.
The MIAC and some other local Midwestern college conferences have sent me letters but I have not received anything from a D1 school yet.
Give us the names of your distance running coaches for cross country?
Andy Powell-Coach Powell's strength is his motivational speeches and the fact I don't want to disappoint him.
Mark Williams is a child at heart and he relates to all of us and it helps that he runs with us too.
What else are you willing to share with Milesplit readers?
I can ride a unicycle. I am an FCA student leader. I have a summer job doing landscaping and snow removal in the winter. I enjoy building computers and riding my jet ski. In the winter I snowboard and snowmobile with my friends and brother. My running career started when I completed the Twin Cities 10 Mile at the age of 10 and yes I ran the whole ten miles.
The reason why I ran the TC 10 Mile Race was at the urging of my mother who is into running. It was that race that convinced me that I might have some ability in the sport.