DistancePreps: Can you recap your high school and college running?

WP: I wasn't much of a runner in high school. I swam for Bolles and raced for the junior national triathlon team, but I really was not a very talented runner. By the end of high school, however, I was pretty burned out on 7 hours a day, 100k/week in the pool, and I was looking for a change. I raced against a friend of mine in an open track meet on a dare, and I ended up running 4:25 for the mile (OK, but certainly not GREAT). I decided maybe I'd try to run in college instead of swim.

DistancePreps: What is your favorite running memory from High School?  College?

WP: The best memories are always the people. There is nothing like a collegiate running team. Your teammates and coaches become closer than your own family, and by the end of four years, you've seen almost the entire country together. I think my best personal day was at our indoor conference championship my senior year. I was able to win a very competitive 3k (picture attached), and then anchor our DMR to victory only 30 minutes later. I had been accepted into my first medical school only two days earlier, so I was really on a super high.

DistancePreps: As you entered College at UNF, did you feel prepared both physically and mentally for your first season as an Osprey?

WP: Mentally: Yes. Physically: No. And this, I think, is the trick. Collegiate running is next-level. It is nothing like high school. It is the time when you find that you either weren't cut out for this sort of thing, or you really blossom. Mentally, you have to be ready to get your butt handed to you every morning and every afternoon. The ones who push themselves to be their best every day are the ones who succeed. There's a funny and entirely predictable thing about running: The people who you run with every day are going to run about the same times as you. If you want to run faster, you better run with people faster than you.

WP:  Not really. I believe that the legendary Mark VanAlstyne said it best: "Put yourself in position to succeed, and the rest will take care of itself." This is so true in so many ways. If you want to be a great runner, you just run with great runners; with hard work, you will rise to their level. If you want to win a race, you just make sure you're tucked in the second or third position with a lap to go; your competitive drive will finish the job. If you want to be a great lawyer, doctor, or executive of a Fortune 50 company, you just make sure you make an A on every test you take. The rest will, literally, take care of itself.

DistancePreps: Now that you are in Medical School, do you long for the days when life wasn't so hectic?

WP:  You tell me what sounds more hectic: 5am - wake up. Training room. Morning run. Training room. Shower and dress for the day in the locker room. Breakfast...but FAST because class starts in 27 minutes. Class. Class. Falling asleep...class. Training room. Afternoon workout...OUCH. Training room. Dinner... but FAST because I have an organic chemistry test in the morning and I'm really tired. TRY to get in 6 hours of sleep, which is in no way acceptable for a 90mi/week college lifestyle. Repeat.

OR

Wake up... pretty well rested compared to what was happening up there^. Study what I have to study....but even that isn't so bad, because I was used to cramming four weeks of organic chemistry into four hours the night before the test when I was EXHAUSTED from running all day. In the hospital a few days a week. Sleep.
Point is... nothing is harder than trying to be a collegiate runner and getting into a high end graduate school. It is the best life-prep out there. Period...

DistancePreps:  Your impending internship with the American Medical Association (AMA) must have been pretty competitive?  What are you hoping to accomplish.

WP:  It was very competitive, and I am very blessed to have been chosen. I honestly believe that my collegiate running experience was hugely important in my selection. My primary goal in DC is to represent medical students and physicians to the best of my ability. I will be working with our US Senators and Representatives to try and find some common sense solutions to our healthcare conundrum. A primary goal for me is to inspire physicians and students to become more active in the future of medicine. We, after all, know what is best for OUR patients. It is silly to let lawyers and politicians write the rules of our profession while we stand by idly.

DistancePreps:  Where do you see yourself in the next several years?

WP:  I still intend to finish medical school and complete a residency. I am most interested in surgery, but I'm trying not to limit my options. It is important to me that I remain active and in a leadership position in medical policy.

The American Medical Association's Government Relations Advocacy Fellow:

The Fellow is responsible for working with the AMA's federal advocacy team to advance the Association's legislative agenda and policies on behalf of physicians, patients, and medical students. The Fellow reports to the AMA's Director of the Division of Legislative Counsel. Some examples of duties and assignments for a Fellow include:

Researching and analyzing current issues in health and medical education policy.
Meeting and working with leaders in health care policy and advocacy to help implement the AMA's action plan on our key issues.
Developing talking points, letters, and other advocacy documents.
Attending national AMA meetings, including the AMA-MSS and AMA Annual and Interim Meetings, AMA Council on Legislation meetings, and the AMA National Advocacy Conference.
A key goal for the fellowship is to educate medical student, resident, and young physician AMA members about issues in public health and health policy in order to encourage activism and leadership in local communities. Potential projects that a Fellow may carry out to increase activism include the following:

Developing educational presentations, fact sheets and other communication tools.
Speaking to medical students and resident physicians to inform them about public health and policy issues.
Promoting timely grassroots political and legislative activism.
Helping the AMA-MSS to develop and communicate its policy agenda.
Providing regular legislative updates to the AMA-MSS leadership and MSS Assembly.
Providing periodic updates on the issues in Washington, D.C., important to medical students.

Career Bests:

10 K - 32:07.05

8K - 25:23.91

5K - 15:04.72

3K - 8:23.38

1500 - 3:48.65