Call the feds. Free State High has a monopoly on the boys 4×800-meter relay.

For the last three years, the Firebirds have dominated this eight-lap race. They’ve run under eight minutes each of those years — the only team to do so — won two Class 6A state titles and will be the favorite at this weekend’s state meet in Wichita.

Winning this race has become a point of pride for the Firebirds — making it that much easier to replenish talent each season.

“I think that with the upperclassmen, they’ve taken real pleasure in that race,” FSHS coach Steve Heffernan said. “And that helps the sophomores coming in because they feed off that.”

FSHS has used six different runners for the event and hardly missed a beat. Three runners have been the mainstays — seniors Adrian Ludwig and Hiral Bhakta and sophomore Alex Rock — while sophomore Dan Schneider, junior Kyle Carter and senior Joe Sicilian all have made runs at the fourth slot.

Schneider will probably be the guy when the race rolls around Saturday morning, meaning two seniors and two sophomores will be gunning for a state title and school record.

Then again, these guys view those goals as one and the same.

Last year’s relay of Ludwig, Bhakta and 2002 graduates Nick Ens and Justin White ran 7:55 and won the crown. Running sub-eight isn’t something many teams do, but these guys approach it as their right.

“If we all do what we’re capable of, we’ll be under eight,” said Ludwig, who has the state’s fastest 800 time this season and will run track next year at Kansas.

One of the teams they’ll be wary of Saturday is Blue Valley North, which ran eight-flat a few weeks ago. That’s the first time a team other than FSHS has come close to going sub-eight in Kansas, but the Firebird runners weren’t worried.

“No way,” Ludwig said. “They’re not going to be able to hover around eight and win it. We’re gonna be 7:54.”

Method to the madness

“With the 4×8, you have to have a lot of confidence coming in. It’s much more intense than some people might realize,” Heffernan said. “What we have to do is go and make sure they know they can run they way they should.”

That sounds like mind-over-matter stuff, but it works.

Coaches preach how important mental toughness is during a race. Well, there aren’t much tougher races, which means they have to be ready to go.

“You just have to think you can do it,” Ludwig said. “It just kind of feels like something you can run.”

Bhakta, who also runs the 3,200 and will run track and cross country next year at Kansas State, approaches the race a little differently.

It’s the only time he runs the 800, so he tends to go out a little fast.

“I haven’t really learned how to run it,” Bhakta said. “Usually, I just do the distance workout, so my pacing’s off. Sometimes I go out too fast and fade at the end.”

But that’s where the mental toughness and training come in. Heffernan, who ran track for KU, has developed a workout that breeds 4×800 standouts. Throughout the season, the 4×800 runners will run “the workout.” They run 600 meters, as fast as possible, rest for about three minutes, then run a 400 all out. They rest again, then hit a 200.

“At the end of the season, if we’re feeling nice, we’ll only have them do that once,” Heffernan said.

Make no mistake, it’s a ridiculous workout and more painful than any race they’ll run.

How tough is it? The seniors shrug, but Rock has the perfect answer.

“It’s so painful,” he said, “that coach (Matt) Nelson has to take your shoes off for you because you can’t.”

The results speak for themselves. In fact, they’re so good, other coaches want in on this.

But that’s easier said than done.

“Other coaches call and ask what our secret is,” Heffernan said. “And I’ll tell them the workout. If they can do it, great. But usually, they want to know how to get better in a week. With this, it takes about a month to really have it help.”

Once again, it looks like everyone else will be chasing the Firebirds.

Isn’t everyone used to that by now?