Athletes 7 6/14/07
Lauren Fleshman
Interview with Lauren Fleshman (LF) by Justina Jassen (JJ).
Birthday: 09/26/1981
Events: Middle Distance/Distance
Height: 5-8
Weight: 125
PRs: 4:11 1500m -- 8:43.95 3000m -- 15:02.52 5000m (2005)
College choice: Stanford
JJ: So Lauren, when did you start running /playing sports?
LF: I started playing sports when I grew legs. I played every sport the boys in my neighborhood could think of (including completely made-
up ones). I played softball for 8 years and gave it up once I started running as a freshman in high school (age 13).
JJ: At that age, what made you run every day? What did you get out of it?
LF: I loved practice. Coach DeLong led a group of awesome coaches who made it fun to work out butts off. We ran a lot, we ran up
mountains, we did an altitude camp in the summer for a week, we went on beach trips, had pasta parties, had root beer floats after hard
workouts.
For me, working hard was always associated with having fun and rewarding yourself for being what DeLong called a “stud.” DeLong made it
a point to give out the biggest and coolest trophies at the banquet. He set it up so we would be personally congratulated at City Council
meetings or School Board meetings. Every week, an athlete was selected as the athlete of the week, singled out at practice, bragged
about by coach, and got a special T-Shirt. I wanted one of those T-Shirts. And every time we qualified for another meet past our League
Finals, we got a patch for our letter jacket. If you worked hard for 4 years as a Cowboy, you left high school with more ribbons, medals,
trophies, t-shirts, buttons, pins and high fives than any kid could hope for. It was awesome.
JJ: So skip to being a senior in high school; How did you choose your college?
LF: The most important thing to me was being on a good team. I didn’t have to be on the best team, but I wanted one that was in the mix
every year, so I looked at the NCAA Cross Country Championship results with DeLong my senior year in November and made a list of the
top 15 teams. I looked to see which of those schools gave me letters - and the ones that didn’t I wrote a letter to telling them I was
interested in their school.
Second priority was the coach. I didn’t have to be best friends with them, but I wanted someone who had consistent success and
currently had more than one good athlete who I could train with.
I looked through the media guides to see what the teams would be like once I got there. Then I narrowed it down to 5 schools after
talking to some coaches on the phone. I eliminated coaches who were too pushy and tried to rush me into signing with their school before I
had time to see them all.
Then I visited my 5 favorite schools and I refused to make up my mind until after the last trip. On my trips I paid attention to how the
kids on the team interacted with each other. I watched them closely. It didn’t matter how they treated me as much as how they treated
the people they shared a uniform with. Stanford had it all.
JJ: What were your memorable achievements in college running?
LF: Winning my first individual NCAA title at Hayward Field as a sophomore was unforgettable. I sprinted to a big lead with 600m to go
and everyone thought I mistook the lap as the final 200m, but in reality I was just going for broke. I held the lead to the finish and that
final 100m with the crowd on their feet made my hair stand up on my neck. Afterwards, I ran on a cool down alone and lay on my back,
spread out in a grass field and just soaked in the feeling, just in case it never happened again.
My biggest accomplishment was living up to the challenge of being the anchor of our DMR as a freshman indoors when we won nationals! I
was lucky enough to get 4 more titles to my name before I left Stanford. Other fond memories in clued watching Animal Planet in hotel
rooms with Sally Glynn the night before races to calm the nerves (although watching zebras get their throats chomped by lions isn’t
exactly ‘calming’, rocking the team van at cross country meets singing theme songs from our team CD, and gathering together in the finish
chute after every race, good or bad. We always looked for each other.
JJ: What motivates and inspires you?
LF: I am inspired by people who excel at what they do while maintaining balance in their lives. Singular focus is easy. Balance is the real
challenge.
JJ: Who do you look up to, and why?
LF: I look up to my parents because they didn’t have it easy growing up and worked like crazy to make a good life for their family. Even
though we didn’t have a ton of money, my parents were creative and we always found fun things to do like camp, take road trips, barbecue,
and enjoy each other. They picked jobs that allowed them to be involved with us kids so they could come to our sports games and stuff,
which meant way more to us than any fancy toys or expensive vacations.
JJ: What are you currently training for, and plans for the near future?
LF: I’m training for USA XC Nationals in February, USA Track Nationals, and the World Championships in Osaka this summer. I’d like to
be top 8 in the final round of the 5k. I have not made the final yet at Worlds. It would be cool to get a PR for 5k and 1500m too.
JJ: Personal mission statement?
LF: It is my mission as a runner to hold my love of running above temptations for short-term success. I will work hard, stop and smell the
roses along the way, and leave the sport better than I found it.
(So let’s assume you’re hooked on Lauren by now, and you want to know more – here it is.)
JJ: What’s your full name?
LF: Lauren Michelle Fleshman.
JJ: Any nicknames?
LF: People call me "Lulu", "Fleshy" or "L", but "L" is my favorite.
JJ: When were you born?
LF: September 26, 1981
JJ: High School?
LF: Canyon High School – The Cowboys!
JJ: Parents’ names?
LF: Joyce and Frank (Joycee and Frankie).
JJ: Siblings?
LF: One younger sister (3 years younger) named Lindsay. She is a softball and rugby player and kicks butt in every sport she tries. She
runs recreationally.
JJ: What did you major in at Stanford?
LF: BA in Human Biology and a Masters in Education.
JJ: Favorite Food?
LF: My Dad’s Spanish omelettes. I love Mexican food too.
JJ: Favorite Movie?
LF: When Harry Met Sally
JJ: Job title (what you say you do, in your own words)?
LF: I am a professional athlete and consultant.
Lauren Fleshman has been voted team captain on most team she’s been on since she was 8. Many of her high school and college records
still stand. She has competed on 6 USA World Championship teams so far: 1 Junior XC (Top American), 2 Senior XC (led the USA to
bronze medal in 2005), and 3 track World teams for the 5k.
Interview with Lauren Fleshman (LF) by Justina Jassen (JJ).
Birthday: 09/26/1981
Events: Middle Distance/Distance
Height: 5-8
Weight: 125
PRs: 4:11 1500m -- 8:43.95 3000m -- 15:02.52 5000m (2005)
College choice: Stanford
JJ: So Lauren, when did you start running /playing sports?
LF: I started playing sports when I grew legs. I played every sport the boys in my neighborhood could think of (including completely made-
up ones). I played softball for 8 years and gave it up once I started running as a freshman in high school (age 13).
JJ: At that age, what made you run every day? What did you get out of it?
LF: I loved practice. Coach DeLong led a group of awesome coaches who made it fun to work out butts off. We ran a lot, we ran up
mountains, we did an altitude camp in the summer for a week, we went on beach trips, had pasta parties, had root beer floats after hard
workouts.
For me, working hard was always associated with having fun and rewarding yourself for being what DeLong called a “stud.” DeLong made it
a point to give out the biggest and coolest trophies at the banquet. He set it up so we would be personally congratulated at City Council
meetings or School Board meetings. Every week, an athlete was selected as the athlete of the week, singled out at practice, bragged
about by coach, and got a special T-Shirt. I wanted one of those T-Shirts. And every time we qualified for another meet past our League
Finals, we got a patch for our letter jacket. If you worked hard for 4 years as a Cowboy, you left high school with more ribbons, medals,
trophies, t-shirts, buttons, pins and high fives than any kid could hope for. It was awesome.
JJ: So skip to being a senior in high school; How did you choose your college?
LF: The most important thing to me was being on a good team. I didn’t have to be on the best team, but I wanted one that was in the mix
every year, so I looked at the NCAA Cross Country Championship results with DeLong my senior year in November and made a list of the
top 15 teams. I looked to see which of those schools gave me letters - and the ones that didn’t I wrote a letter to telling them I was
interested in their school.
Second priority was the coach. I didn’t have to be best friends with them, but I wanted someone who had consistent success and
currently had more than one good athlete who I could train with.
I looked through the media guides to see what the teams would be like once I got there. Then I narrowed it down to 5 schools after
talking to some coaches on the phone. I eliminated coaches who were too pushy and tried to rush me into signing with their school before I
had time to see them all.
Then I visited my 5 favorite schools and I refused to make up my mind until after the last trip. On my trips I paid attention to how the
kids on the team interacted with each other. I watched them closely. It didn’t matter how they treated me as much as how they treated
the people they shared a uniform with. Stanford had it all.
JJ: What were your memorable achievements in college running?
LF: Winning my first individual NCAA title at Hayward Field as a sophomore was unforgettable. I sprinted to a big lead with 600m to go
and everyone thought I mistook the lap as the final 200m, but in reality I was just going for broke. I held the lead to the finish and that
final 100m with the crowd on their feet made my hair stand up on my neck. Afterwards, I ran on a cool down alone and lay on my back,
spread out in a grass field and just soaked in the feeling, just in case it never happened again.
My biggest accomplishment was living up to the challenge of being the anchor of our DMR as a freshman indoors when we won nationals! I
was lucky enough to get 4 more titles to my name before I left Stanford. Other fond memories in clued watching Animal Planet in hotel
rooms with Sally Glynn the night before races to calm the nerves (although watching zebras get their throats chomped by lions isn’t
exactly ‘calming’, rocking the team van at cross country meets singing theme songs from our team CD, and gathering together in the finish
chute after every race, good or bad. We always looked for each other.
JJ: What motivates and inspires you?
LF: I am inspired by people who excel at what they do while maintaining balance in their lives. Singular focus is easy. Balance is the real
challenge.
JJ: Who do you look up to, and why?
LF: I look up to my parents because they didn’t have it easy growing up and worked like crazy to make a good life for their family. Even
though we didn’t have a ton of money, my parents were creative and we always found fun things to do like camp, take road trips, barbecue,
and enjoy each other. They picked jobs that allowed them to be involved with us kids so they could come to our sports games and stuff,
which meant way more to us than any fancy toys or expensive vacations.
JJ: What are you currently training for, and plans for the near future?
LF: I’m training for USA XC Nationals in February, USA Track Nationals, and the World Championships in Osaka this summer. I’d like to
be top 8 in the final round of the 5k. I have not made the final yet at Worlds. It would be cool to get a PR for 5k and 1500m too.
JJ: Personal mission statement?
LF: It is my mission as a runner to hold my love of running above temptations for short-term success. I will work hard, stop and smell the
roses along the way, and leave the sport better than I found it.
(So let’s assume you’re hooked on Lauren by now, and you want to know more – here it is.)
JJ: What’s your full name?
LF: Lauren Michelle Fleshman.
JJ: Any nicknames?
LF: People call me "Lulu", "Fleshy" or "L", but "L" is my favorite.
JJ: When were you born?
LF: September 26, 1981
JJ: High School?
LF: Canyon High School – The Cowboys!
JJ: Parents’ names?
LF: Joyce and Frank (Joycee and Frankie).
JJ: Siblings?
LF: One younger sister (3 years younger) named Lindsay. She is a softball and rugby player and kicks butt in every sport she tries. She
runs recreationally.
JJ: What did you major in at Stanford?
LF: BA in Human Biology and a Masters in Education.
JJ: Favorite Food?
LF: My Dad’s Spanish omelettes. I love Mexican food too.
JJ: Favorite Movie?
LF: When Harry Met Sally
JJ: Job title (what you say you do, in your own words)?
LF: I am a professional athlete and consultant.
Lauren Fleshman has been voted team captain on most team she’s been on since she was 8. Many of her high school and college records
still stand. She has competed on 6 USA World Championship teams so far: 1 Junior XC (Top American), 2 Senior XC (led the USA to
bronze medal in 2005), and 3 track World teams for the 5k.
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