Duffy won the Swain Invitational in Duluth on Oct. 1, running the 5K course in 18 minutes, 55.6 seconds.

Q: What helped you to win at Swain? Did the Swain course favor you?

A: The course definitely favored me because I'm a hill climber, and there were a lot of hills.

Q: What did it feel like to win?

A: Instantly, I felt relief because boy, does that course hurt. I was just happy. I was hoping to take first but there were a lot of good girls who compete in that race, so I really didn't know what would happen. The goal is to put out your best effort and do the best you can.

Q: What does a victory in that race do for your confidence the rest of the season?

A: I have found that I am typically not very pleased with myself after any performance. Even after I won the meet, I thought, 'I wish I could've gone faster.' There's always something you could do better. Of course, I'm happy, but I'm always ready to improve more. One of my goals this year was to win Swain so now that I've achieved that, I'm looking for what can I do next.

Q: Was your time at Swain a personal best?

A: I haven't hit my PR yet, but I'm really close. I've been running some tough courses, so I'm still waiting for a fast course to get a good time.

Q: You were 35th in the Class 2A race in the state meet last year. What is your goal this season?

A: I'm staring at my goal sheet right now and it says, 'Top 25 at state.' But I'm hoping I can get top 20.

david la vaque