Sports

Healthy in-out combo

As a multi-event participant competing in the heptathlon, pentathlon and decathlon, Brennan Boettcher can do is hope to stay healthy has taken some bumps and bruises this season.

While talent certainly played a part in the UW men's track and field team's indoor national title, Boettcher also believes staying healthy did, too.

"Everyone basically did what they could do to win," Boettcher said. "I've stayed relatively healthy this year, our team as whole has stayed really healthy this year; we've had a lot of issues in the past with injuries and haven't had it this year, staying healthy has been big part to our success this year."

While Wisconsin now switches gears to the outdoor season, there isn't much time for rest as the outdoor season starts up this upcoming weekend.

However, Boettcher — the younger brother of former track and field letter-winner Brent Boettcher — believes the team doesn't necessarily need any time off.

"Usually we don't try to take a lot of time off to let our bodies heal up, unless it's a bigger meet like the Big Ten [tournament], or a meet where we're trying to get a lot of qualifying marks for Nationals," Boettcher said. "This week we're not taking any time off, we're training right through it."

Nevertheless, the transition from indoor to outdoor competition may be a little more difficult this season than in years past, as much of Wisconsin's focus has been on taking the indoor titles and other events are added for the outdoor season.

"The first couple weeks of training are definitely a little more [difficult]; we start doing a bit more speed and distance," Boettcher said. "It's a little bit difficult, but if you've done it once, it's not so bad."

Staying healthy for a multi-event athlete is a little different than other track athletes in a single competition. Boettcher and other heptathlon, decathlon and pentathlon participants need to make sure they are able to keep up their intensity for not just a few minutes, but hours to maintain a high level of competitiveness over the course of several events.

"You can't compete in a multi-event if you're not feeling healthy," Boettcher said. "You need high intensity for three, four hours straight."

But while Boettcher has found his niche as a multi-event athlete for the Badgers, he says his heart is still with the high jump as that is where most of his skills lie.

Still, he is committed to the multi-events, but there just isn't enough time in a day to get all the training he would like to do.

"The hardest part about training for multiple events is that there are only seven days in a week and there are 10 events to train for, so you're constantly doing two or three events a day, as well as running, and then you have to add in strength training, so it can become pretty difficult," Boettcher said. "You're looking at a lot of time spent on multiple events, so it's tough."

Unlike most track and field athletes, Boettcher says he doesn't have many superstitions. Yet he does have one lucky charm.

"We have a lot of different competition uniforms," Boettcher said. "If I do well in one of them at a certain event, I'll try and wear it the next time and do the same."

While it may not be the most sanitary thing, the Badgers are hoping Boettcher will be wearing the same jersey all year long as Wisconsin attempts to carry its success from the indoor season outdoors.