Mary Kate Anselmini (Ward Melville High; Stanford University) — "I work at a local running store back home, so I have quite a few pairs of shoes. Now, I train in the Brooks Ravenna, Saucony Fastwitch and do my workouts in Nike Streaks. I race in Victory XCs."

Eddie Owens (Packer Collegiate; Princeton University) — "I train in the Nike Frees for my normal runs, which I guess in unconventional, but it's always been the norm for me. I really love lighter trainers and I'm sort of a fan of the barefoot running movement — I've got a pair of Vibrams. For tempo or marathon pace runs, I wear the Nike Lunarlite Racers, which I brought from home. For intervals on the course I wear the Nike Streak XC flats, which are team issued. And then I race in the Nike Zoom XC spikes. We got sent really funky colors by Nike — they're purple with a plaid design."

Otis Ubriaco (Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake High; Iona College) — "I run in Brooks Ravenna, and I am not allowed to race in Brooks due to redshirting, so I'm still wearing my high school victory XCs."

Owen Skeete (Westbury High; Indiana University) — "For training, Adios-Zero (adidas) and some type of Adidas flats. For the race, Avanti's (adidas)."

Tim Luthin (Warwick Valley High; Stanford University) — "I train in Nike Vomeos and race in Nike Victories. Everything is cooler with a swoosh on it."

Ubriaco — "I did barefoot long runs throughout my high school career and I do barefoot strides now. I just liked how it felt and high school and I heard it was good for you. Now I just do it cause everyone else does it. I guess I just give into peer pressure never really questioned why."

Skeete — "Barefoot strides once a week to strengthen our feet."

Luthin — "My senior year of high school I started doing barefoot runs at the end of a run and for strides. Now I like to use them as more of a supplement as opposed to my primary run."

Anselmini — "Coach Plumer puts a strong emphasis on lower leg strength, so that involves not only doing strides barefoot, but doing drills and some of our cooldowns without shoes to activate those muscles."

Owens — "I said before I'm into the barefoot running craze, but I've never really done actual barefoot running. I have very sensitive skin on my feet, and it would probably be uncomfortable for me to run barefoot, even on grass."

Ubriaco — "I use everything as much as possible. Ice bath everyday and I'll get treatment even if it a small ache or pain. For example I had some back pain that was the same thing that plagued me my senior and it stressed me out because it affected me so much throughout indoors and outdoors. I went in got some work on it and some heat and I am feeling already close to 100 percent when in the past it would have been a multiple week ordeal. It really helps me with injury prevention."

Skeete — "Luckily for me I have not been injured in any way since I've been in college, except for rolling my ankles. So far the training staff has only given me prevention drills for my ankles. They also force me into ice baths (I hate the cold)."

Luthin — "I try to get in the training room as much as possible and the massage therapists and ice baths."

Owens — "I never go to the training room, since I'm not injured. I do, however, get a weekly massage just to stay loose. I rarely feel any tightness or soreness. I also take an ice bath a few days before each race. Aside from those resources, I don't really use any of the other extra stuff we have here."

Ubriaco — "Short term I really have no goals besides try and make a NACAC team this winter. It is disappointing there is no Worlds this year but I suppose it being a down year I have a better shot. Just give me something to look forward to. I'm trying to keep myself as dumb as possible this year. There is no use being a headcase as a freshman, reading too much into times. I've never run 8k's before and haven't raced many 3k's or 5k's so there is no point to me in setting standards. Just go out and race and I'm sure good things will come."

Skeete — "Short term is to get through cross county (the worst season for me) and the long term is to drop my times in the 1500 and 800."

Luthin — "Short term goals are basically to get used to the training and support the team. Long term goals would be to stay healthy this year and hopefully break nine in the steeplechase."

Anselmini — "Super short term, I'm looking to make it day by day, stay healthy, and be patient. But in terms of my freshman year, I'm looking towards Stanford's freshman steeple record in the spring and to qualify for NCAAs with that. Over the course of my four or five years on the Farm, I'd like to help the cross country team be a contender for a national title, see what I can do in the steeple, stay healthy, and love racing as much as I do now. I don't think running should ever be a chore."

Owens — "In the short term, my main goal is to continue contributing to the team ... I want so badly to keep my spot on the team through Nationals so I can be a part of something truly special ... I'm within spitting distance of third on the team, but at the same time, we have such a deep team, our ninth or 10th guy can be very close to me also ... At nationals, I'd really like to be well within the double digits — between 60 and 80 maybe and be one of the top true freshmen."

Ubriaco — "Try and extend our MAAC win streak [ed. note: mission accomplished] along with our top 10 at nationals streak, and from there try and get on the podium again at nationals."

Skeete — "Indiana is one of the top teams in the country for cross county and track right now. Our goals are pretty simple to win or place as high as possible or at least beat Purdue."

Luthin — "The teams goals this season are the same as every year, and that is to win a national championship and be the best they can be."

Owens — "As I mentioned before, our team is looking phenomenal right now. We came into Wisconsin [ed. note: a few weeks back] with no expectations and definitely not firing on all cylinders, but we came out completely transformed. We didn't race Sam Pons, who was our third guy at Notre Dame, since he's a bit bothered by a hip injury. It's not too serious, but our coach is treating the situation very carefully, because racing tends to aggravate the injury ... If we get our best squad together come nationals, and we race well, don't be surprised if we're top five. We should crush Heps [ed. note: Princeton won in a winter storm] and the Mid-Atlantic regional, so nationals is the only real significant team goal we've got left ... I was thinking after the race yesterday, if team scores at Nationals were comprised of 7 or more runners, we could be a podium team. We honestly have 8-9 guys who can run together in our interval workouts who run as our 3-11 runners. If nationals included 10 scoring runners, I think we'd win — we're the deepest squad in the country, in my opinion."