Q&A: The Duke of Dominion
By Jason S. Rufner
Dominion High School fields a cross country squad with three seniors among its top five, plus a junior and an impressive sophomore in JT Duke.
During the summer, the Titans trained together at Capon Ridge in West Virginia, hopefully preparing for a run at the state meet.
Duke wants to help his older teammates achieve that goal this year, then meet some personal goals in his high school career.
A former soccer player who took up running at age 12 and distance competition as a freshman, the slightly built Duke now devotes his athletic life to cross country.
On Sept. 20 in Leesburg, Duke had his biggest thrill as a runner by finishing 29th overall in the 101-team Oatlands Invitational. He set a personal best (16:29) for a 3-mile course Oct. 11 at the Glory Days Grill Invitational at Bull Run Regional Park.
We caught up with him Oct. 10 before a casual practice session.
Q: How has your running improved from last year to this?
A: My times have definitely gotten faster by about 20 or 30 seconds. Last year I was either first or second on the team in every event, and same with this year.
Q: What other sports have you played?
A: Last year during cross country season I played on a travel soccer team, but I decided that running is what I like to do better.
Q: What are your college aspirations?
A: I definitely want to run in college, but I need to keep working hard to get better.
Q: What do you plan on studying in college?
A: I'm in the Loudoun Academy of Science here at Dominion, so I really like science and math, so maybe engineering.
Q: You had not run more than three miles before your freshman year. What was it like to make that transition to long-distance running?
A: It was hard at first. After my first cross country season, I had injured my hip because I was training too much -- I had never run that much. They had me running with the varsity about seven, eight miles a day.
Q: What is the secret to successful distance running?
A: Staying hydrated, and making sure you have a good warm-up and cool-down. People think it's weird that we warm up a few miles before we run three miles, but you have to do that.
Q: What's your favorite flavor of sports drink?
A: Water is okay, but it just doesn't taste like anything. (Laughing.) I drink Propel, normally grape.
Q: Why do you like Oatlands so much?
A: I like the hills, especially The Hill. I like passing on hills. I just go up as fast as I can and I don't worry if my leg is hurting, because at the top it won't hurt as much.
Q: What's your favorite running weather?
A: Definitely cold, and even cold rain would be better. It seems easier to run in.
Q: How do you feel after a race?
A: I normally feel like I'm going to fall over. I'm generally in a good mood after I race, but I'm really tired.
Q: Can cross country runners make good sprinters?
A: (Laughing.) Personally, I'm not good at sprinting at all. But I guess they can. I just can't get past the pace of cross country.
Q: Do you ever want to run a marathon?
A: I've always thought that would be really cool. But I'd have to train really hard. I don't think I'd be prepared for it now.
Q: What do you want to improve about your running?
A: I definitely don't want to stay at the same level. I want to move up and have the times get faster. I want to make it to states and place individually well by my senior year.