Name: Colleen Quigley
Year: Graduated in spring 2015
Hometown: St. Louis, Missouri
Major: Dietetics
Sports: Indoor and outdoor track and field, cross-country
Her Campus (HC): When did you first start running competitively?
Colleen Quigley (CQ): Actually, not until my freshman year of high school. I ran for the cross-country team to keep in shape for soccer. I was going to try out for the soccer team in the spring. Then springtime came around and I got a little bit nervous to try out for soccer so I stuck with track instead and I’ve been doing it since then.
HC: That was definitely a good decision then!
CQ: Yeah, turns out that was the right call. Everything happens for a reason.
HC: What are you doing now that you have graduated? Are you running for a team?
CQ: Yeah, a lot of people don’t even realize you can do this. I joined a professional running team in Portland, Oregon. Our coach’s name is Jerry Schumacher and he trains a small group of men and women in distance running; anything from the 1500 to the marathon. He had a group of two guys in the steeplechase, me in the steeplechase, two women in the 10K and two guys in the 5K at Worlds. That’s a pretty big group of people to bring to Worlds from one team and there are probably about 25 people on the team. It is a very elite group and we are sponsored by Nike, which is also headquartered in Portland. And like I said, a lot of people don’t know that you can make a career out of this, post-collegiately, but I get a yearly paycheck and bonuses based on performance. One of my teammates has been running professionally for 11 years. It is really great because I don’t have to have another job to support myself; I have time to focus on running, resting and recovery.
HC: Yes, and congratulations on being nominated for NCAA Woman of the Year!
CQ: Thank you so much! I didn’t even think that I would be chosen from FSU. Every school gets to pick one nominee and the conferences pick one nominee and it just keeps getting smaller from there. I am honored to be the choice from FSU and from the ACC as well, and now it’s down to the top nine so I feel very honored.
HC: The winner will be announced on Sunday October 18th. How are you feeling about the trip to Indianapolis and the ceremony?
CQ: I am really excited about it! It will be fun because there will be 30 other women there who are the best of the best in the NCAA. There will be a lot of interesting people there who do so many things; they’re more than just athletes and more than just students. I am really excited to meet all of the other nominees—I don’t know any of them. There are a couple other people from track and field who I’ve never really crossed paths with so it will be fun to see them because I have a feeling we will have a lot in common even though we have never met before.
HC: What is the most important thing you learned from your experience as a student athlete?
CQ: That’s such a tough question! I think something that I was doing in high school, but I had to do even more when I got to college was just time management and figuring out what my priorities were. There are only so many hours in a day so I had to figure out the things that were really important and needed to be done immediately or what things could be finished later, and sometimes I had to say no to things that were less important. Often times I had made the choice between studying or sleeping, or going to an event for one of my organizations or studying for a test after practice. The hours from 3-6 p.m. everyday were blocked off for practice. Sometimes that was really helpful and it was a stress-reliever because I got to see my best friends for a few hours and I got to exercise, which released endorphins that helped relieve stress. But doing that also meant that I had no down-time; there was no time to chill out when I got home, it was time for homework or meetings. Time management was crucial in figuring out what was important to me.
HC: Will we see you competing in Rio at the 2016 Olympics?
CQ: I hope so! The trials are not until next June. But this year in June we had the USAs and it is held every year two weeks after NCAAs. USAs is the national championships for everyone. Anyone who has met a certain time standard, no matter your age, is allowed to go to USAs. It is unlike NCAAs, which is nationals, but only for college students. This year, since there was no Olympics during the summer, they had the World Championships which was in Beijing, China. So instead of qualifying for the Olympics at the USAs, you’d qualify for Worlds. It is still the same standard; you still have to meet a certain time and be in the top three at USAs to go to Worlds. I qualified for Worlds in the steeplechase and placed third. That’s a good sign—I am definitely in the ring of people that will have a shot to go to Rio next year but it’s definitely not a guarantee. I still have to place at least third on that day. The Olympics only comes around every four years and there’s one day that you try out for it so if you get the stomach flu the day before or you roll your ankle the morning of—that was your shot. There is no guarantee, but I do definitely have a shot at going. I already have the qualifying time from over the summer so I will be able to be at the trials. As long as I am healthy I will compete to my best ability and try to finish in the top three.
HC: What is your favorite memory from your time at FSU?
CQ: My favorite athletic memory would have to be the last NCAA championship this past year. I had to sit out of NCAAs last year due to an injury in my foot. I had a stress fracture so I didn’t get to finish the last part of my track season. This year at NCAAs was my last chance to become a national champion. That was one of my major goals during my time at FSU: to win the NCAAs. I was hoping to do it my junior year, but I had to sit out. Senior year was my last shot and it was a lot of pressure especially since I wasn’t on the team the year before. But that race was amazing and everything happened exactly as I hoped it would. I ended up in the lead the last 50 meters, and there was a big jumbotron above the finish line so I was able to watch myself finishing the race. I could tell that I was winning and that was an amazing feeling. I immediately crossed the line and dropped to the ground. Watching the video now is kind of embarrassing because I just dropped down and started crying—I was so emotional. It was just the most amazing feeling because after all that time I finally achieved my biggest goal while I was at FSU.
HC: Do you have a life motto or a piece of advice that has helped you?
CQ: Sort of. I have been thinking a lot about this, especially lately because I read a book by Oprah over the summer and it is called What I Know for Sure and it was very influential to me. One of my favorite things that she talks about is gratitude. She has a gratitude journal and writes down things that she is grateful for during that day: the simple things that you take for granted, instead of the negative things you tend to focus on. That has definitely helped me, especially when I am injured or things aren’t going that well because that is when gratitude can be the most helpful and give you perspective. The concept of gratitude and giving thanks for everything in my life has been the most helpful to me, and it has helped me gain a sense of calm during times that that are not as enjoyable.
HC: Now a final and fun question: we know that you studied dietetics and that you are an amazing runner so you obviously have to eat really healthy. But do you have any food vices or favorite cheat foods?
CQ: I have a lot of favorite cheat foods! I love anything chocolate, but I think my favorite would have to be gourmet mac n’ cheese. The one at Panera is really good, you know the super cheesey kind that makes you feel like “blah” after but during you feel amazing!