Butler junior, Steve Lisgo, a native of Mansfield, U.K., recently took third place in the ultra-competitive NCAA 3,000-meter steeplechase. The Bulldog crossed the line in 8 minutes, 35.49 seconds to set a school record and get the qualifying time for the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, India. Steve answered questions for Flotrack via email. Check them out!

Sum up your NCAA Meet experience? Did you meet your goals?

It was exactly what I was in the market for…the race of my life precisely when it mattered! I had goals going into the meet, however, I was reluctant to discuss them with anyone, in case they thought I was crazy! And those thoughts were only about finishing in the top eight. So, third more than met my goals. As regard the experience, it was a very good week: good hotel, numerous visits to Panera Bread, two strong movies (Hangover and Sunshine Cleaning), and the hilarity that was witnessing our assistant coach creeping up to John McDonnell in a similar to what you would expect in witnessing a guy in middle-school, approaching a girl he really likes for the very first time. Brilliant!

8:35, can you go quicker?

Initially I would have said, “heaven’s no!” However, following a discussion which took place during a 50-minute delay at Chicago Medway, a slight improvement in time is possible. Coach Roe turned to me and said, “what could you have ran if the pace had not have slowed in the middle?” I couldn’t care less at this point as I was so exhausted but I shrugged my shoulder as to say, “I don’t know.” He then continued, “if it was even 67’s the whole way you would be fine.” I have no reason to doubt this logic, so possibly 8:30. I guess we will see in the future. I have yet to race the steeple out West at either Mt. SAC or Stanford, but for the moment I am extremely happy with 8:35!

What are some things that really stand out to you about differences between running in the UK and the US?

Firstly, in the UK, we have a huge love affair with the 1,500/mile, which may be a result of our rich history at this distance. However, at present, you are viewed as somewhat of an idiot if you want to be a steeplechaser or 5k guy and are going directly to hell if you like the idea of the 10k! This is just not the case in America as people lap up these events! Although that being said I kind of hope this continues in the UK and as a result I can become a beneficiary of limited opposition. Secondly, athletes in America appear to appreciate that they only have a finite amount of time to be great. Yes, if you’re extremely talented, work extraordinarily hard, and are lucky enough to stay healthy, you may be in the position to continue running professionally once you graduate from college. But, for the vast majority, this is not the case so you must seize the day. I am unsure about other teams but all the guys at Butler have bought into this. Back home we have a thriving running club network and a system which will keep throwing high quality races your way for as long as you want to compete in the sport. So there is always another race or another year, if you know what I mean. This definitely is not the case for everyone but it sure was for me before I came out here, I binned off whole seasons.

What are some things about the US that you don't like/aren't used to?

I hate trucks! Well I can appreciate that a farmer may need to use a huge truck, but what is the crack with rolling up to Wal-Mart or CVS in an F-150 for instance? Needless. However, that is the only thing I do not like. Other than that I cannot get enough of the place. The people are extremely nice, college basketball is amazing, Dairy Queen is right up my street and I even like my professors!

Can you explain a week of training for you?

I run 80 miles a week in singles. We go hard on Tuesday and Fridays which is either a tempo on the canal or something on the track. Throughout fall semester these track workouts were replaced by hard efforts on the grass. Monday and Saturdays runs are at a moderate pace. Wednesday we go a bit further than the other days peaking at 90 minutes for me. Sundays we go long which is an 105 minutes for me. During XC season we crush this run, hanging on to the likes of Andy Baker and Joe Macdonald is so painful! Guys like me and Kris Gauson are just suffering the entire time! Throw into the melting pot lots of strides and hurdle work and from there on out we just hope for the best.

What's the hardest workout you've ever done?

8 x 1,000m with # 2, 4, 6 and 8 over barriers. Initially, when the workout was prescribed, I interpreted my day's work to be 4 x 1000m over barriers with a generous recovery–I was well-chuffed. However, when I was summoned over to the start line for the first rep, the penny dropped and I knew I was in for one hell of a morning! Running in the group on the flat reps was comfortable but not letting them gain too much on me whilst I was clearly the barriers in lane two was torture.

What's your international running experience? Are you looking to represent the UK in the near future?

I have never competed for Great Britain although this is something which I would love to do. Running in the 2012 Olympics for the host nation sounds kind of appealing doesn’t it? So, head down everyday in training and it may happen, but I have a hell of a long way to go before I can even begin to rationalize that becoming reality. Despite having not run for Great Britain I have represented Scotland on numerous occasions and this is something I am extremely proud to have done. I qualify to represent Scotland through my late mother, so there is far deeper meaning to donning those colors. My 8:35 eclipsed the qualification standard for the Commonwealth Games which are to be held in New Delhi, India in 2010, so fingers crossed I will be selected for that.

If you could have one meal, prepared by anyone, what would you choose to eat and who would make it?

I would have fish and chips from Bryan’s Fish and Chip Shop in Leeds, England. So, I guess it would be prepared by the obese, slightly balding and extremely greasy guy (or girl but this is rare) that is operating the fryer.

What do you do for fun when you're not running?

I watch a lot of soccer on the FOX soccer channel, watch all of the Butler basketball games, get together with people off of the team which usually involves games of pool or ping pong and the ongoing back and forth belittlement of each other.

Your soccer team?

Well, I am a supporter of Sunderland Football Club. All of my teammates are sick of hearing about this insignificant football club from the northeast of England, but football is so ingrained in me I can't help but talk about it.

The motivation for you to compete and excel in athletics?

I read lots of running books from British guys back in the day (Bedford, Foster, Cram etc.) and they seem to have had a blast in striving to achieve their athletic goals. Endless amounts of stories! I would love to have a few of these stories too when I am past it. Wouldn’t it be great to laugh and joke about something that happened this time in say Germany or Spain? I have never really thought about what motivates me it is just something I do just like I watch TV. I also race on a weekend.

Can you give me some kind of crazy, running-related story?

I have loads but here are two which I really enjoy! One from back at my old university in Leeds, England and one from the time I have spent out here. The first goes a little like this…so was that glorious time of the quarter in our house: utilities time. You might be wondering why it is that I looked forward to the time where we have to hand over our hard-earned cash to the gas and water companies. Well, sports fans, that’s because it means that house mates who can't afford their share of these bills either have to sell their possessions or do crazy stunts to get their bills money. And as the only thing that most of us had worth selling were our laptops, which are needed for schoolwork and Flotrack and Letsrun, then it’s usually the latter!

So...

Our non-running house mate, Rob, was a little bit hard up one particular quarter, so the baton fell upon him to carry out some sort of stupid stunt to pay his share.

Let me just give you a little bit of background on Rob…

1.) Regularly drinks 20 vodka Red Bulls on a night out.

2.) Plays semi-pro soccer. No training, just a game on Saturdays. Also plays the high-fitness requiring position of right back.

3.) His staple diet is microwaveable meals—he loves them!

4.) Never ever eats any of that healthy s**t (fruit and vegetables).

5.) At his best, used to join the lads last year for the occasional 30 minute run (once did one in a pair of Mayflies and a full soccer kit).

6.) Has undertaken such challenges as "not leaving the front room for seven full days".

7.) You get the picture.

Anyhow back to the challenge...

For the sum of 100 English pounds put up by other house mates, Rob attempted and succeeded in running the full marathon distance of 26.2 miles at a days notice. And he even had a few beers the night before.

A gang of us followed him in a car measuring the distance. It was hilarious how much pain he was in but with our encouragement and Rory Fraser (Rory Fraser KWIK-E), of New Mexico, pacing him over the last five miles (outside a 10-minute clip by this stage) he finished in 4 hours, 56 minutes—hero! And upon finishing he took a beer in his hand and downed it before passing out on the sofa, where he remained for the next few days! He couldn’t negotiate stairs because his quads were so ruined. He was 100 pounds richer so I guess it was worth it.

The second story documents how we brought the self-proclaimed ‘most efficient All-American in the NCAA today’ (28th in 2007 and 40th in 2008) to his knees! Andrew Baker (Andrew Baker KWIK-E), great guy, who loves a joke.

Traveling back from conference XC last October, we stopped by one of the girls on the team’s family home in Chicago. This girl has younger brothers who would soon become the facilitators in crushing Andy! We sat down to eat in two large groups and her two youngest brothers attached themselves to our group and wouldn’t stop asking questions about Andy who was sat at the other table. They both run in middle school and follow all of Andy’s results very closely on the internet. We told them we would introduce them to him later and they looked to be over the moon with this. Although, being the asshole that I am though, I couldn’t miss this opportunity, I pleaded with one of them to go up to ask Andy lots of questions and further get his autograph in front of the whole group he was amongst, knowing this would make him feel very uncomfortable.

As predicted Andy was horribly uncomfortable in answering the questions and even questioned the kid to figure out, “if he was serious about wanting an autograph?” Anyhow, he reluctantly signed it and the kid had played a blinder, but we were not done there. The kid had then been instructed to take the piece of paper, which Andy had graced with his autograph, and rip it up in his face! And he again delivered like a professional! Everyone went wild for it, and Andy couldn’t believe he had been done by an 11-year old kid.

In turn, I lined the kids pocket with $5 and everyone was a winner...except for Andy.