Q&A with Addi Dorenkamp, Valley state record holder now at Colorado

Q: How close are you to actually getting back to lacing up the running shoes?

A: I am on my third week of ground running this week. Yeah, slowly getting back into it.

Q: Is there any possibility you would be hitting a meet here, or are you just looking ahead to cross country?

A: I think now … my coaches and I have all kind of decided that cross country this fall is kind of the goal, which I feel like is the best-case scenario for me because it just allows me more time to get back into it and get in a spot where I feel like I can be competitive and race versus trying to rush back to it. Cause obviously I want to race right now (laughs). It does suck to like (laughs) … not be able to race. Yeah, I think it'll be better for me to just wait until the fall where I'll be in a better spot to run well.

Q: How hard has that been for you mentally to get over the injuries?

A: It's definitely really hard, especially when you're coming into a new program injured and … being in a new team environment injured so you're not really at practice all the time, like getting to know people. … Like you just feel like you're on your own, I guess. But then also like the running side of it, it is really hard when I did have a lot of success in high school and it's kind of like a hard pill to swallow (laughs). Like, I've been out for so long. I haven't raced in so long. And that is really hard, you do kind of go crazy a little bit. And it can be hard to watch other people competing. … What I am trying to say is just very isolating.

Q: How are we doing outside of the running? How is everything else blending in?

A: I definitely am, having a lot of fun here. I think just being in Boulder is so cool. And obviously being in the mountains is cool. … Boulder is a very, there's a big running community here. It's really fun. I'm like a finance major. So I'm in the business school and I like the business school here more than I did at Alabama. It feels more like academic I guess. My classes are a little harder, which I like (laughs).

Q: What really motivated you during those low times when you had to overcome yet another injury?

A: I think just remembering how great that time of my life was and how, just fulfilling it felt to break records and win state titles and …. get to run at nationals for cross country. I think remembering the feeling of how like great it felt has really helped me get through it because I want to get to that place again where I can put this work in that I'm doing something and get results from it. Just remembering all those things is what really helps me get through it.

Q: (In high school), you're a big star. You're getting 18,000 people cheering for you at the Drake Relays and state meet. Does that just blow your mind, thinking about that time where you've got this crowd in the palm of your hand, basically.

A: I mean that's something I love about the state of Iowa. The state track meet just brings so many people. It's just really cool because I feel like even when there's like other classes' races going on … everyone gets excited and is cheering. So I think that's just such a cool environment to be in. … It helped - not feel like easier - but it just gets your adrenaline pumping a little bit more and you're like, OK, wow, there's this big crowd, that everyone's watching me. Everyone's cheering. So now I'm going to run really fast.

Listen to the full interview here: https://open.spotify.com/show/2qD8BhgezrrhQ5zuGqg8Cn

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Q&A with Addi Dorenkamp, Valley state record holder now at Colorado