Senior sprinter Carolyn Birkenfeld came to Washington just looking for an opportunity. Walking on, she never expected to be part of a school record, but as just a freshman she was part of one when the 4x4 relay broke the indoor record. Birkenfeld has since been a reliable part of numerous 4x4 squads that have greatly improved the Husky records. She is part of the four fastest indoor 4x4 relays in school history and her name is on eight of the twenty relays between the outdoor and indoor Top-10 lists. This season Birkenfeld has lowered her PR down to 55.26 seconds set in a victory at the UW-WSU Dual. The Seattle native has given her all in the classroom as well as the track, as she is a two time Pac-12 All-Academic Second Team selection who has loved her work in Community, Environment, and Planning. Heading in to her final Pac-12 Championships, Birkenfeld talked about all the reasons that she's loved her time at Washington.
GoHuskies.com: Have you thought much about your college track career coming to a close and is it hard to believe? Carolyn Birkenfeld: It is really kind of weird and it's just starting to hit me. When I first started track it wasn't something that I was super invested in because I didn't know if I would be good at it, so to be able to come this far and reflect on what I've been through has been really neat and it makes me want to make the most of the last few meets left. It's really exciting especially at this point I'm reminded how much fun it is and how I really want to enjoy these last couple meets and just go out and leave it all on the track.
GH: Looking back have you accomplished more than what you might have predicted going into your first year? CB: When I joined the team, I loved track in high school and being part of different club teams, so coming here was just an opportunity to kind of explore that interest a little bit more. But I was surprised because just being in the environment of UW track, the coaches and the support was amazing and I would say it helped unlock a runner in me that I didn't even know was there. That's what I really love about being a part of the team, PR'ing and doing as well as I have is something I didn't even know I could do. It's thrilling. It pushes you to test your limits, and there aren't as many opportunities after this to test those in that way.
GH: When did you first start running track? CB: Sixth grade, it was pretty casual in middle school, but I always loved it and looked forward to it. Freshman year of high school, I always wanted to run the 200 but my coach threw me in the 400 and was like, 'Nope, this is what we're doing, you're going to train for this.' It was no looking back after that, and I wouldn't have it any other way. I love the 400, it's a neat test of mental and physical ability.
GH: Were there other colleges you considered or was your heart set on Washington? CB: I was actually possibly going to go to Marquette and they would have given me a scholarship, which was neat, but Marquette is like the polar opposite of UW in every way. When I went on my visit there the coach was like, 'Well I'd show you the track but it's under snow right now so we can't.' My heart was in Seattle, I grew up in Ballard. I love it here, it's a fantastic school and has great job opportunities in the region so I'm very happy coming here.
GH: You have had a lot of success on the relay over your career. What do you like most about the 4x4 and do you remember breaking that first school record? CB: In a lot of ways, a lot of people define track as an individual sport, so having the ability to come together as a relay and pump each other up and pass the baton around is so exciting. It's my favorite part of track to be able to work off the energy of the other girls. The first time was indoors, I think it was at the UW Invite, and we broke the indoor 4x4 relay record, and I didn't even know I was going to be on the relay in the first place, but when we did it was just surreal. That was the first time I realized I could be part of something kind of special. We can push each other and when we work hard together we can achieve really neat things, so it definitely motivated us to pursue those records further.
GH: How do you feel about how this season has gone for you with the goals you set for yourself? CB: Over the last couple years I've had minor little injuries here and there that have kind of set me back and gotten in the way of my goals, but this year even though the 4x4 is definitely my favorite, I've realized that this is my last year and this is my opportunity to figure out the best I can be. So I really wanted to focus on the 400 and put a lot of energy into walking onto the track with confidence and knowing I'm prepared to run well. So that's kind of my mentality that has been helping me achieve these PRs recently I think is just having more confidence and knowing that everything that has gotten me here has prepared me to do well. Definitely my goal for Pac's is to break 55 (seconds), I've been really close and it's just a hair away and I'm absolutely going to put everything into doing that. Cause Pac-12s would be my last 400, which is weird to think about. I've already pictured being in the blocks and just wanting to blast out cause I want so badly to break it, and I know that I can. I know that in practice with (Coach Metcalf) and Coach Mac, they've definitely created a workout plan that makes it possible so I'm really excited to give it a shot. From left to right, Hanna Tarleton, Imani Apostol, Raquel Tjernagel, and Carolyn Birkenfeld after setting the 4x400m relay record indoors this season, running 3:37.74. GH: Are you hoping the 4x4 can also get a season-best and make it to Prelims? CB: Yes, it's frustrating, because indoors we did hit the time, we ran 3:37, which was amazing and so much fun, and that time would get in. So it's all right there and we can do it, it's just a matter of everyone having their best day on the same day, and I know it can happen. I think with the excitement of Pac-12s with the competition and pressure I think we're going to perform and I think we can bust out a 3:38 or 3:37. So we're right there, and it would be so amazing to finish off my senior season with the best 4x4 that we can put forward.
GH: You got the win in the Dual Meet in dramatic fashion, falling across the finish line. Was that one of the best moments you've had in track so far? CB: I think it is, yeah. That was so much fun. I remember walking into the race knowing I was going to win. I really wanted and needed to win. I went out and the first 300 I felt really strong, and I felt (WSU's) Stephanie Cho come up next to me and there was a hundred meters left, and every step I took she took the same step. I was trying to lose her but we were neck and neck and the whole time, even when I crossed the finish line I didn't know who won, but I put every last drop into that and it felt so alive to just go that hard and know that you're leaving it out on the track. My legs felt like jello, they really did. When I was at the finish I remember thinking this is it, I have to make this last step count and my step needs to be bigger than her step, so I saw the track getting bigger and bigger and I just fell, and I looked up at the clock and I saw that I won and I was just really proud of myself. It's great to finish a race like that and know that you gave it your all.
GH: How did you find an interest in your major. It's Community, Environment, and … CB: Community, Environment, and Planning. It's a pretty small major on campus. It's essentially urban planning. I've lived in Seattle my whole life and I have been able to watch it grow and it's going through a lot of changes, and it kind of motivated me to want to be part of that growth in the city and help make it the best city it can be. So I'm really interested in urban planning and specifically transportation to kind of help bring elements of sustainability and health and equity into the way that the city works and make it a welcoming place for everyone, because I think that's really important as city's grow. It's been a really great program so I try to tell a lot of people about it. The academic experience here is wonderful.
GH: What do you think you'd like to do next? CB: I have been interning for the last year with the Seattle Department of Transportation, which has been a mess of balancing things but I've made it work. But I definitely want to go to grad school because I love school, I just don't know specifically what I want to study yet, whether it's urban planning, or policy or all sorts of things. So I'm planning to take the next couple years to live in Seattle and work and try different things in the private or public sectors, or maybe non-profit, to figure out where I want to go from there. But I'm looking forward to kind of decompressing a little bit. I don't have any urgency to make a plan yet because it's been going non-stop for the last several years so I'm very much looking forward to relaxing just for a month or two. I can't be not busy for too long, so I'll pick something up I'm sure.
GH: Back when the Husky Stadium light rail station opened, you got to be one of the ribbon cutters. How did that come about? CB: Yeah, oh my gosh, that was the coolest thing! I was just in the right place at the right time. Everyone in my major was so jealous. I just remember they sent an email out asking for some Husky representation in cutting the ribbon and I was all over it. So I got to go down there and meet the mayor and the CEO of Sound Transit, it was a dream come true! I cut the ribbon and I still have a piece of the ribbon on my bulletin board in my room. I got to be the first person to ride the light rail. I mean, that's amazing! I would love to work for Sound Transit someday so that was so cool.
GH: What are some other academic accomplishments that you are most proud of or that you've been challenged by? CB: I'm doing my senior thesis right now, which is this year-long project that I started in September and I've been pouring my heart into it. It's all about increasing active transportation at elementary schools in Seattle through walking school bus programs, and I'm presenting soon and I have so much work to do. But I really like the opportunity to pick a project and just do whatever you want. For our major you can pick anything and do anything as long as you spend the time and write a pretty big report, so that's really a neat component of my major, just being able to explore what interests you. But in general I just like being at UW and having such a big university where you can take advantage of so many strong departments, so I'm kind of sad to be graduating soon because it's a really neat way to learn so many things that you wouldn't have any other opportunity to learn. So I've really enjoyed my time here.
GH: On the track, what were some of the toughest challenges for you and how did you overcome them? CB: In general I think coming to the University of Washington, the way that we train here is just a different level than high school, and I think at first my body kind of took it as a shock as a lot of freshmen do, with the different impact. So I think that just took some adjustment at the beginning and some reminding myself that it takes a little bit of time to get used to a new environment. My freshman year I had a stress fracture at the end of the season which was a bummer but I'm glad that it happened then and not now. But in general, I think my biggest challenge has just kind of been not believing in myself enough. I kind of came in here as a walk-on as just someone trying to find an opportunity to run, and I think I didn't accept the fact that I do belong here and that I can do good things—fast things. So it took a while for me to realize that and have the confidence to step out on the track and run my best race. And I think in the last year or two I've started to unlock that. It's a really neat way to grow in general, outside of the track, just having the practice of believing in yourself, whether it's an academic sense or a running sense, just knowing I can do it.
GH: Was there anyone in particular who helped you realize that or is that something that was up to you to figure out? CB: I think a lot of it was an individual thing and a barrier I had to get over. But my teammates in general, all the 400 girls, we go through the same amount of pain, and we come back together each day and keep each other going. I might say Alexis Ford, who graduated last year, we were really close and she was very motivating and we were very similar runners who complemented each other in terms of our strengths and areas of improvement. I think running with her every day and being able to have her as a friend and someone I could trust was comforting and it helped me. When I saw her do well it made me know that I could do well too.
