Senior leads cross country team

Young people are impressionable. So impressionable that when a second grade teacher tells his students to try out for the cross-country team when they reach the sixth grade, they listen. Such is the case with Aaron Gillen, a fifth-year senior.\nGillen heeded the advice and is now one of the prominent members of the cross country team.\nHe grew up in the small town of Yreka, Cali., where he ran from the sixth grade through his senior year in high school. During his high school career, Gillen enjoyed personal success, finishing third in the California State Championships. He was named a high school All-American in '94 and again in '96.\nAwards and honors only seem appropriate for an athlete that runs 65 to 70 miles a week. Some members of IU's team manage to run 75 miles a week, but this proves to be too much for Gillen, who often suffers from shin splints.\n"The thing is that you have to think about the intensity of our runs, at this point five miles is more than it looks like on paper," Gillen said.\nTo some people, five miles a week is unimaginable, much less 70. But for someone like Gillen who has a passion for running, it's all in a week's work.\n"I get to go places that otherwise I'd never go see," Gillen said. "If I hadn't picked up running, I wouldn't be back here in Indiana either. I get a sense of pride running (when) I put on that IU jersey." \nSenior teammate Dan Billish said of Gillen, "I have never seen someone go through so many setbacks and always end up on top."\nLast week, Gillen set a new personal record at the Notre Dame Invitational. He completed the 8K (4.97 miles) course in 24:28. It was a race Gillen said he was able to look his coach in the eye afterwards and say, "No, I could not have gone any faster"