You recently ran a PR at the Seattle Rock ‘N’ Roll Half Marathon, battling Andrew Letherby to the finish. Can you tell us how that race went down? Had you raced against Andrew before, being that you both live in Boulder?
I've done some workouts with Andrew before, but I hadn't raced against him until Seattle. For the first 9 miles or so, there was a pack with about 5-6 of us rotating to the lead and keeping the pace honest. From about 6.5 to 9 miles I felt real tired, so I hung back and decided that the hill at 9 miles would be where I moved. Andrew moved with me and after running a couple 4:40 and under miles late in the race he finally broke me with about a mile to go.
You were a 7 time All American at North Central College, one of the premier D3 track/cc colleges in the nation. How good of a runner were you coming out of high school, did you have any scholarship offers that you turned down?
I did have some scholarship offers coming out of high school. Nothing major but some smaller D1 programs had made offers. I had a kind of curse in high school though on more than one level. First off, I was in the same conference as the Torres brothers. That meant I never finished in the top of my conference. Still I had run 9:18 (3200) and 4:26 (1600). The other curse was that I had a number of health problems in high school that left me permanently deaf in my left ear and short some hearing in my right. That made it tough to run a lot of times as my equilibrium was messed up and I'd get real sick trying. The blessing of that whole situation though was that I had to stop wrestling (my primary sport for 8 years) and I committed 100% to running.
Recently you signed a contract with Mizuno, can you tell us how the process works? Are you obligated to run certain races? What Mizuno shoes are you training and racing in right now? I’m also assuming that Mizuno is giving you free gear, but are they limiting you to running gear or are you able to pick up vital sports equipment such as an aluminum baseball bat or a set of Mizuno golf clubs?
I signed with Mizuno at the beginning of this year. At the time I was acting as my own agent as well so that mean I was shooting emails and phone calls to any company I was interested in running for. It is a laborious process as right now a lot of guys are getting cut after years with a company and really nobody is running out to sign new athletes. I talked to our local Mizuno rep at work one day and he recommended I shoot Mizuno an email. I talked to another North Central College alumni who works for Mizuno as well and he got me in touch with the right people.
Mizuno has been great as they don't dictate what I can and can't race. I can choose my own races (with my coach and agent) and as long as I continue to represent the company in a positive way they are okay with that. They set me up with my training and racing clothes and shoes, right now the Wave Riders for training and the Ronins for racing. Unfortunately no golf clubs or aluminum bats have been sent yet, though I haven't asked.
How has the change from Brooks to Mizuno been?
It's been great. I already knew the product lines from working in running retail at the Runner's Roost in Denver, but I'd been running in Brooks for 4 years. I still have a great relationship with the guys at Brooks and at Hansons but I think we all knew it was time that we parted ways when I left the Hansons program. The biggest transition is that I knew the people at Brooks after 4 years, but race by race and event by event I am still meeting the Mizuno crew.
The best marathon coaches in the country are past elites like Brad Hudson, Steve Jones, and Terrence Mahon or come from an exercise science background like Greg McMillan or Jack Daniels. What is the Hanson's background and how does that influence their coaching?
The Hansons are guys with a big passion for running. Their formal education on it might not be what the others' is but they know through their own extracurricular research what needs to be done. They have very much their own philosophy on how things should be done and it comes from the many sources they've surrounded themselves with. I don't see their passion dying any time soon so I hope they keep the program open to guys like me who are kind of a gamble, kind of unproven still coming out of college. All it took was a little help and support reaching the next level and now it is time to make room for the next group of young guys, which they have with Drew Polly, Christian Wagner, and Sage Canaday being recent additions to their team.
And now, are you just coaching yourself?
Actually I'm running with the Boulder Harriers group coached by Steve Jones.
Running Times recently ran an article on guys putting off careers to still chase down the dream. You seem to be one of those guys. What sacrifices have you made to keep the dream alive? And how tough is it to make it as a professional runner?
I don't consider this putting a career on hold at all. I consider this pursuing my career. A career is how you make money to support yourself and that's what many of us are finding we can do through sport. I'll admit, we aren't the NFL and we don't have $50 million contracts flying around but we make it just fine, for the most part. It puts a little bit of pressure on being up front in a race but that's not necessarily a bad thing.
One bit of advice my college coach, Al Carius, gave me before I left for Hansons was never to race for money. Let the money be a byproduct of hard work and how the race plays out. I think I've held pretty true to that advice. Reality is that I need to eat, but I work a part time job so I never HAVE to race for money. It keeps the sport enjoyable while I still know that it is my larger source of income too, so one might call it a job. I remember having the whole $40,000 a year salary right after college and working full time and that is never what I want running to be. It IS a career, but yet it also is a career in recreation and entertainment, no suit and tie required.
You were the winner of the Columbus Running Company’s tattoo of the month, back in March of 2006. Any new tattoos to report? The website also took a jab at you for having a copy of “Sleepless in Seattle” on your DVD shelf. What’s the explanation on that one?
Honestly (and I know someone will accuse me of lying) that wasn't mine. Actually I was living with my college girlfriend before I moved to Michigan and that was hers. I actually haven't seen that movie but since it's a Tom Hanks movie, it is probably not too bad. The guy made about 50 awesome movies just in my lifetime so I will defend it on those grounds.
Boulder versus Michigan...come on, training in Boulder has to be way better, right? Do you feel like the Boulder athlete training has embraced you? Do you have anyone you consistently train with?
Boulder wins on its worst and Michigan's best day. I love the scenery, the mountain air (dry, not swampy humid), the athletic friendliness, everything. The sun shines here 300 days of the year. Michigan is a peninsula jutting into the Great Lakes, so we might have seen the sun about 3 days a year. Also when I left the midwest to move here, it was -14 degrees back home (Chicago) and when I got here it was 59 degrees. Needless to say, I fell in love immediately.
I really feel like the people of Boulder are welcoming. Before I joined up with the Harriers, I had trained with Jay Johnson's group (Brent Vaughn, Austin Bailey, etc) and with James Carney. I wanted to make sure that whichever group I decided on was the best group for where I fit. Ultimately I felt that Jonesy's group (Torres, Hartmann, Troop) was the best dynamics for me. Every one of the groups had something great about it though and I would love it if we could create one big supergroup in Boulder. I think we have a chance at world domination, not just in running but complete world domination if that were to happen.
You recently blogged that you were losing weight with no end in sight. Why don't you hit up The Dark Horse with the Slatterys ? Those greasy burgers are worth some serious calories. Seriously though, any update on the weight loss?
I never figured out why I dropped the weight. I haven't lost any more and it's stayed consistent now at about 130 lbs. so I'm not worrying about it. I've been known to throw back some greasy food on a regular basis too, which probably helps now (I'm enjoying some Del Taco as I write). My thoughts are that since I've stopped drinking pop, the empty calories are gone and that must have accounted for the weight I lost.
Do you have a fall marathon lined up for 2010? Also, I’ve noticed that you rarely race in Colorado? Are the races in Colorado not providing the financial incentive to lure you out? Lastly, what others race do you have on the docket for 2010?
I will be returning to Chicago this fall for the marathon. There's something to be said about racing at home. As for racing in Colorado, I would like to race here before year end. The main thing was that I had planned out my racing schedule for 2010 even before I moved here. I promise that next year I'll get at least one or two races in locally. I'll know which soon. I always keep my website updated with my racing schedule so people can follow how things are going and what's coming up.
Thanks a lot for the interview and anyone who has any further questions can feel free to shoot me an email any time. It's up on my website.
Without Limits
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