Interview with Kevin Sullivan

by Mario Fraioli

Canadian Olympian Kevin Sullivan, 32, recently returned from a brief racing stint in Europe, where he ran 3:32.65 to place ninth in a stacked 1500 meters at the Golden Gala meet in Rome on July 14. Previously, Sullivan also placed ninth in 3:33.30 at the Golden League Meet in Paris on July 8, and ran 3:33.30 in the same event at the DN Gala meet in Stockholm on July 25 to round out the first half of his European racing season.

A 1998 graduate of the University of Michigan, Sullivan finished fifth in the 1500 meters final at the Sydney Olympics in 2000 after a brilliant collegiate career in Ann Arbor that included 14 All-American honors, four NCAA titles, and 12 Big Ten titles, including four straight in cross country. His 1500 meters personal best of 3:31.71 is the Canadian record.

Sullivan recently ended his long-time relationship with his former Wolverine mentor, Ron Warhurst, and began being coached by George Mason’s Juli Henner.

The Champaign, Illinois, resident has battled a slew of injuries throughout his running career, but has been healthy for two years now. Mensracing.com recently caught up with Sullivan as he finished his preparations for the Canadian National Championships, August 4-6, in Ottawa, Ontario, before heading back to Europe to finish his outdoor track season.

MensRacing.com: I’m told that you recently returned from your first racing stint of the season over in Europe, so welcome back. This heat wave probably wasn’t a very welcome return.
Kevin Sullivan: Oh man, it’s been brutal. I just got back from Europe last week, and it’s been brutal ever since.

MR: You ran a few very good races over there, which surprised quite a few people. Which ones stood out most to you, and why?
KS: I think probably both Paris and Rome. It’s the fastest I’ve run since 2000, so both of them stand out for those reasons, but Paris more so because it’s the first high-quality 1500 I’ve run in a while, and going into it I didn’t know what to expect. Rome was my third-fastest 1500 ever, so that shows me I’m rounding into good form.

MR: It’s been a couple years since you’ve posted the kind of performances that you have recently. What do you attribute that to?
KS: Definitely being healthy. I’ve had probably close to two years now of injury-free training, and when you can put together consistent blocks of training like that, you’re going to improve.

Also, I made a coaching change back in October, which revitalized me and really put some energy back into my training and what I felt I could achieve.

MR: About that coaching change—after such a lengthy relationship with Ron Warhurst, you started working with Juli Henner a few months back. Why make such a major change at this point of your career?
KS: I was with Ron for 10 years altogether, so you’re right, it was a rather lengthy relationship. There’s a few reasons that I felt it might be time to make a change. In ’05, Ron and I were having some communication issues, and last year I ended up doing the bulk of my training on my own. I was tired of coaching myself, and I didn’t enjoy it. I was feeling stale and lethargic, so at the end of the season, I talked things over with my agent, wife, and some close friends, and explored the possibility of a coaching change. I consulted with a few coaches and in the end decided on Juli, and things have worked out great.

MR: How would you compare the two programs?
KS: Overall, they’re very similar. In both programs, we hit all the systems you need to as a distance runner: a mix of long runs, VO2 max-type stuff, tempo runs, and race-pace work. The biggest differences lie in the weekly program and overall set-up of the season. With Ron, he would design all the hard workouts, and I took care of the rest. With Juli, every day is strictly set up for me. Every day when I wake up, I know what I’m going to be doing that day. We certainly discuss things, but at the end of the day, it’s her say.

MR: And did that take some getting used to?
KS: At first it did. I wasn’t used to having everything scripted out for me, but Juli and I discuss what we’re going to do, but basically it’s her call.

MR: With you living in Illinois and your coach in D.C., how do you keep in contact with Juli, and how often do the two of you correspond with one another?
KS: I’d say it’s 50/50 between e-mail and phone, and we probably talk to each other four or five times a week at minimum. In addition to our regular communication, I went to D.C. for a week in the fall, and this past May I spent the entire month there training with Chris Lukezic and Sam Burley, which was great.

MR: Kind of like your days back in Michigan?
KS: It’s been a few years, but when I was there I was running with [Tim] Broe and those guys almost every day. I’ve been in Illinois four years now, but I’d go back to Michigan every spring for four or five days, maybe a week.

MR: How much of your training would you say you do on your own then?
KS: I would say about 95 percent of it is on my own. Every so often, I’ll run with the Illinois men’s team, but this year that was very rare. It’s something I’ve just gotten used to, but it was great going to D.C. and having those guys to share the work with, where I could just settle in and follow instead of having to do all the work myself. It was nice to have training partners again.

MR: What’s a basic week look for you as far as training is concerned?
KS: A basic week for me would start with an easier run on Monday morning followed by a short afternoon run with some speed work afterward at 800-meter pace, maybe down to 400 pace. Tuesday is a longer interval day or a tempo run and, depending on the time of the season, maybe getting in some race pace work. Wednesday and Thursday are usually recovery days, and Friday is typically a race-pace type session. I’ll go longer on either Saturday or Sunday, and use the other day for recovery.

MR: Over the course of your career, you’ve dealt with some pretty serious injuries, such as problems with your Achilles and a stress fracture in your sacrum. As you mentioned before, the last two years have been your longest stretch of injury-free running in quite a while. What’s the biggest thing you attribute that to?
KS: I think the biggest thing is I’m a little more in tune with my body now than I was even just a few years ago. When I was younger, I’d push through everything—I don’t recover the same now at 32 as I did when I was 22. I’m a little more cautious now to make sure I’m recovered and keep little things from getting big. I do a lot more core work now, and a little less mileage than three or four years ago.

MR: How high would you typically get up to on a weekly basis?
KS: At the highest I’d get up to 110 [miles per week], but usually I would average 70-85 when just focusing on training, and bring it down to 50-60 during track season.

MR: And how about now?
KS: I’d say 10-15 percent less than that. I don’t get up over 100 anymore.

MR: Some people say that, since you’re getting older, your best days in the 1500 are likely behind you, and it might be in your best interest to move up in distance. With your recent successes in the 1500 over in Europe, how long do you plan on sticking with the shorter events?
KS: I’m going to stick with it as long as I’m competitive and having fun with it. Last year I was at the point where I was ready to either move up or quit altogether. I’ve had good success over 4K in cross country, and I had a successful try at the 5K last year at Mt. SAC, where I ran 13:27, so it’s definitely there in the back of my mind.

I’m a miler at heart, and I’ve always said it’s the event I want to retire at. My results so far this year show me that I can be as successful as I was six years ago. I’m not ruling out the possibility of moving up, and I might dabble in the [5K] here and there, but my plan is to focus on the 1500 through 2008.

MR: What’s left on the agenda as far as this summer goes?
KS: I’ve got the Canadian Championships this weekend, and then I head back to Europe for three or four more races. We’ll see what happens, but I’d like to earn a World Cup spot.

MR: What event will you be running at the Canadian Championships?
KS: I’m going to run the 800 this year. It’s a good field with Gary Reed, who has run 1:44, Ashrat Tadilla, and Sam Burley is running as well. He just found out he’s got dual citizenship, so that puts three guys in the race at 1:45 or better. I think I’m ranked seventh or eighth coming in, so I’m going to have to work hard to make the final. But based on how training is going, we’re excited to see what I can do in the shorter race.

MR: Not to look too far ahead, but have you made any early plans beyond 2008?
KS: It’s hard to say. So much depends on how well I’m running. I’ve made the commitment through 2008 at the very least. If things go well, I can see another two or three years after that maybe. It depends on my health and if I’m having fun going to the track. I don’t want to look too far ahead, though.

MR: Looking to the more immediate future, then, based on your races earlier this summer, do you think you’re ready to make a run at your 1500 PR when you return to Europe?
KS: Yeah, I think so. The way the first half of the racing season has gone, I don’t see why I can’t challenge my PRs. We’d like to take a shot at 3:31 or faster the rest of the season and see what happens.

Interview conducted August 1, 2006, and posted August 4, 2006.