Towson cross country runner Rachel Pillion talks about her athletic career and her summer mission trip to El Salvador in a Q&A in today's Varsity section. A runner since elementary school, Pillion shares a few more of her thoughts on racing, on this weekend's rescheduled Bull Run and on her future:

When did you get serious about running?

All through high school I think each year I get a little more serious, but after last year I think I got more serious in my junior year track, outdoor season.

Is that why you won a state championship in track (3,200 meters)?

I guess so. I think after I had the success at counties, I kind of was motivated to win regionals and then I saw that I probably had a chance at states.

It sounds like the field at Saturday's Bull Run will be smaller and not quite as strong. Are you disappointed in that?

We were going to be in the medium (schools) race so we probably wouldn’t have run against them.

Now you're running in the elite race with some of the big guns. Do you like that?

Yeah. I’m actually excited now that we might be in with different teams that we weren’t going to be with before.

Do you prepare differently for the Hereford course with all those hills?

Yeah, you have to really mentally prepare for that course. Everyone has the same training but a really a big portion of it is mental. We do a lot of hills for it, not as much speed work.

Do you like that course?

It’s one of my favorite courses, the scenery’s so pretty and I like that it’s one loop and not two loops where you’re repeating. I really don’t like that.

How about the difficulty of it?

I do like the challenge and even though everyone makes such a big deal about The Dip, there’s so many hills on the course and that’s what makes it really difficult, not just The Dip.

What’s the greatest mental challenge in running a cross country course?

I think just knowing that you have another mile and whether you can go faster or negative splits and also just wondering if people are going to catch you. Are you going to get passed?

What do you think about when you’re out there putting in the long mileage in training?

When I go on long runs by myself, I listen to my Ipod. I really like to run to music. I like upbeat songs. It's fun when some songs get faster and some slower.

Do you have a program that you use for your long runs?

I usually just put it on shuffle, because I never know what mood I’m going to be in.

What kind of music do you have on there?

I like a lot of pop and hip-hop songs. Techno’s good.

Which do you like better, cross country or track?

Cross country. A lot of the people who do cross country don’t do track, so I really like how closely knit our team is in cross country. I think track’s more individual, so everyone’s kind of doing their own thing sometimes. I just like the three miles a lot more and I like that it’s fall and cold.

Do you want to run in college?

Yeah, I was kind of in limbo sort of. I didn’t know if I wanted to or not but now I think I do. I can’t imagine myself not running.

What made you think twice?

Just if I go to a bigger school, I don’t know if I’d be able to keep up if it’s like Division I but also because there’s so much school work. I didn’t know if it would be too overwhelming, but it seems like they have a lot of stuff for athletes like study halls and tutors to help you.

-- Katherine Dunn