A.J. Ellison Quotations

My junior year was a stepping stone to my senior season. That was my first full season running. I knew I was going to be better my senior year.

I am a little surprised. You have a lot of military kids coming in and out. It would be nice to see someone challenge it and have the same opportunities I had.

He won the two mile that year. That year he was the runner to beat in the state of Kansas. We were the only two that separated from the pack.

Training hard was not just going to the track at 3:30 and running hard. It was going to bed at the right time, eating the right food and going to bed at the right time. Training was all day long. Track became my life. It really became more of a science to me. Track literally became when to get up, what to eat and when to go to bed.

What didn't get done until 10 or 10:30, didn't get done until the next day. It teaches you to manage your time. Class is from this time to this time and I can do homework from this time to that time.

As soon as they announced it, I knew I broke the record. My goal at the time was 'I'm going to win this race,' the record was icing on the cake.

Cross country was something that started off as a punishment from my father for low grades. I guess he didn't realize it would take off so well. It gave me something to do with my free time and it taught me to be accountable.

A lot of these long distance runners start out at junior high. They have just as good times but they're also running 80 miles a week. So you see a lot of potential in someone who is running 20 miles a week. You see a lot of growing potential.

It's just like with any other sport, if you want to get to that next level, you have to sacrifice a lot. You almost have to be selfish.

I had a little bit of anxiety. Being one of the top runners in Kansas and you get to Tulsa and everyone is a state champion somewhere. So not knowing whether or not I'm going to be as successful was a big part of it.

In the fall, I still ran cross country. In the winter you had indoor, in the spring you have track and in the summer I competed in Europe.

I couldn't wait for Friday and Saturday to come around. When you're in good shape, you want to race all the time, because when you peak, it's only for a couple weeks.

The first day of practice I couldn't run four miles on my own. I ran two miles and then I had to walk two miles. I was going to quit. It was just pure running, I wasn't running with a ball. I didn't have anything to throw or shoot, it wasn't fun.