Vet-to-Be Taylor Ready to Run

AMES, Iowa -- Iowa State distance runner Dan Taylor of Fort Dodge has his hands full. The senior is finishing his first year of Veterinary Medicine study at Iowa State and will complete his Cyclone athletic career this weekend at the Big 12 Track and Field Championships in Lincoln, Neb. Cyclones.com talked with Taylor about his unique academic challenges while competing in NCAA Division I athletics.

Taylor prepped at Fort Dodge High School, where he was the 2002 Drake Relays prep 1600- and 3200-meter champion. He won the Class 4-A title at the state meet in both events in May of 2002.

Taylor earned a bachelor's degree in biology at Iowa State and was then accepted into ISU's College of Veterinary Medicine. Taylor is also pursuing a master's degree in public health from the University of Iowa. His ISU collegiate athletic highlights include anchoring the sixth-place distance medley relay team at the 2004 Big 12 Indoor Track and Field Championships. Taylor was a key recruit for ISU distance and cross country head coach Corey Ihmels in 2002. He has been one of the Cyclones' top cross country runners since coming to Ames in the fall of that year.

Is it hard to believe that your last collegiate race could be this weekend?

"It goes by really quick, that is what every senior is saying."

Tell us about the path you followed to Veterinary Medicine.

"Actually it's kind of an interesting story. A lot of people decide they want to be veterinarians in middle school or high school, but I didn't decide until the July after my third year [in college]. Applications were due in two months from when I decided I wanted to go to vet school, so it was very last minute. I'm going to be honest with you, I don't know what initiated that thought process to go to graduate school in veterinary medicine. Until that point, I had been really involved in plant genetics. I did a couple of internships with Pioneer, and was going to get my doctorate in plant genetics. But, I just kind of did a 180 and went to study animals instead."

Your undergraduate degree was in biology. Was that a good choice?

"You can get a fine job with a biology degree from Iowa State, but I always planned on graduate school. Having some graduate work really compliments that biology degree with more specialization."

You were accepted into the vet college in February 2006. Is it a bigger challenge to balance vet school with athletics than it was undergraduate biology and running?

"The workload is a lot different. It's a lot more time consuming. I did an hour, maybe two hours a night of studying as an undergrad. In veterinary medicine, you have a lot more credits to earn. I spend my free time studying. My basic day right now is to get up and go to school from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., go to practice until 6 p.m. or 6:30 p.m., and then study for two or three hours, sometimes four hours depending on the time of year. It's demanding."

How do you balance it all?

"That was a concern when I decided to go to veterinary school. I didn't know if I wanted to miss practice one or two times a week, because I wanted to still be a major player on the team. But in the end it worked out very well. I ended up leaving a half an hour early from some classes to go to practice. There were some days when practice wasn't nearly as important and I could go do it on my own later, but I could count the amount of times that happened on both hands."

What area of veterinary medicine are you interested in?

"I'm leaning more and more toward the mixed practice, just because large animal vets here in Iowa are a great need right now. Small animal should be a lot of fun, working with people and their pets. At the same time, I'm getting my master's degree in Public Health through the University of Iowa. It will all be complete in 2010."

What were the biggest thrills you experience as a competitor at Iowa State?

"The Big 12 is obviously one of the most competitive conferences in the nation in any sport and especially in cross country and track. I think since my freshman year its gotten more competitive. For example, we placed fifth as a team my freshman year, and this year we placed fifth as a team and the competition level is so much better this year compared to five years ago. I'm going to miss it a lot. I think a lot of athletes, especially runners, miss that competitive aspect of the Big 12."

Will you keep running?

"I think [running] is an addiction, there's got to be something to stop me. I'm not going to stop on my own. There's a lot of good opportunities for post-collegiate runners. Especially here at Iowa State for another three years, I might have the option of working out with the team once in a while, and competing in indoor meets here. I'll keep running and training until it's no longer fun."

Any last memories?

"Two different sets [of memories]. The first part is the athletic competition, going to the venues to run, running against great athletes. I'll remember the team highlights we had in cross country, and how we have gotten better every year since Cory (Ihmels) got here. It's going to be fun to look back in two or three years when (the Cyclones) are in the top 10 nationally. I'll be able to say that I was there, I helped start that and I helped recruit those runners. It's just great because we're going to have a legacy. Cory's a great coach and he's doing special things, especially with the kids he's bringing in. I think the other set of things I'm going to remember is the teammates that I met, the coaches, the relationships you develop that go way beyond athletics and into your post-athletic life."

You feel strongly about Iowa State.

"Yes. I wouldn't have made a different choice if I could. There were a couple of other Big 12 schools and Big Ten schools recruiting me out of high school. [Iowa State] was definitely the right choice.

I kind of tried to keep school and athletics separate, but at times when athletics conflicted with school, my professors were very accommodating. It was never a problem."

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