Willis competed over in Europe several times this past summer (Tom Borish)

1. Let's start off with your last collegiate race last season. How much did falling in the 1500 meter final at outdoor nationals contribute to your phenomenal track times over in Europe? Did that motivate you to push yourself even harder?

I don't think it made me any more motivated, but knowing that I was going to Europe made me a lot more positive after the fall. I managed to get over it pretty quickly and joke around about what happened.

2. Can you describe the racing atmosphere over in Europe?

The European circuit is pretty much all about business and not really any time to have fun. Everyone is there to race fast, and then move on to the next meet. You spend the whole time in hotels watching foreign television and try to do anything to kill the time. There is very little chance for sight seeing and there are no college aged girls to hang out with. Running fast over there feels easy though. The rabbits do a great job and the weather is usually perfect. In the 1500m there is no time for tactics. You have to do your best to get into a position in the first 100m, then you have no choice but to stay there until the last 300, the pace is just too fast. It's a great experience at times, but it's nothing like having a college team to celebrate with after each race.

3. Having run against the best in the world this summer, what are your thoughts on all the recent drug scandals?

I think that there is a lot of stuff out there, but at the same time there are a few really talented people who are just born to run. With some big names caught for EPO, hopefully this will make others think twice about turning up to Athens next year juiced up. I think we will see some more realistic times being run in the games and hopefully give the rest of us a chance of seeing how good we really are? I refuse to believe that Kevin Sullivan is not one of the best middle distance runners of recent years, yet there are so many guys who have run faster, and vanished from the scene just as fast.

4. What kind of training were you able to do for cross when your outdoor season was so long?

I took two weeks off then had 4 weeks of gradual buildup back in New Zealand. I went something like 40,50,25,70 mile weeks. I was pretty much just running 10 miles a day up in the hills and taking days off whenever the weather was good enough for golf (since it was winter back home). My last day in NZ I got to run a relay leg for my home club, which was pretty sweet running around the Wellington bays. I ran 3 miles in around 14:10.

5. Your team is ranked 7th coming into the season. How does everyone look heading into the season?

We have everyone returning plus Alex Le'heroux (4.04 mile/8.55 steeple) who redshirted last year. The guys are definitely more confident. For many of them this is their last year and really want to give it 110% at making all-American and try and help the team finish high. So the sacrifices are being made, we just need a little luck on our side to stay healthy and I think we will have just as good a shot as anybody to do well. I believe we have the talent to have 5 all Americans. Nate Brannen and I just need to help the guys out during the races to show them what they are capable of.

6. Has your team done their famous "Michigan" workout yet? If so, how did it go?

Yeah we did one in the first Friday back from school. It went pretty well, we stayed tight as a pack but possibly pushed it a little hard for this stage of the year. We use the first 3 weeks of school to get ready to train hard. Once October rolls around, Ron will let go of the reigns a little more on the workouts and we will pick up the intensity.

7. You finished 28th at cross country nationals last year. What kind of goals have you set for yourself this cross season?

I am hoping for a big improvement on last year. Nate Brannen and I were really intimidated by the pace and didn't give our selves a chance to finish well until the final straight. This year we want to put ourselves in a position to have a chance at top 10.

8. What races does Coach Warhurst have your "A" team in leading up to regionals?

Michigan State, Great American Shootout, Notre Dame, Central Collegiate 4km, Pre-Nats, and the Big Ten Championships. We have 10 guys who all have a shot at being in the top 5, and another 3 who are be ready to take someone's spot on the travel team so we don't even know who will be in our "A" team until the Nationals.

9. How has the transition been with the loss of Kevin Sullivan and the addition of Tim Broe as an "official" assistant coach (even though he has been unofficially for some time)?

Tim and Kevin are great for support when you have questions about how things are going. Kevin is always on the phone to Ron and comes into town for the occasional track workout so it never really feels like he left. Tim is just one of the guys and keeps things really chill down at practice. We joke around about our bad golf games and the girls on the team. My best workouts last year were when I had Tim, Kevin or Nate with me. Their knowledge and pedigree is invaluable to the program and it helps keep everyone on their toes, even Ronnie.

10. Lastly, what are your goals for this coming year and how do the Olympics play into them? Do you have a general racing outline that you will follow?

The Olympics are definitely the goal. To guarantee my spot on the New Zealand team I need to improve my time from 3.36 to 3.34. If my winter buildup goes to plan, I will red-shirt the outdoor season. The two big meets in Oregon will be my first chance to qualify but if that doesn't workout, I will hopefully have 2-4 races lined up in Europe at the end of June. For the indoor season I will just be looking to get a solid base and race more 3000's and 5000's. We are hosting the Big10 indoor meet this coming March, so I'll try and score as many points as possible to help an upset Michigan win.