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Ed Moran, 25, who had a six-year collegiate career running cross country and track while battling a series of injuries, is working hard in 2007 to remain healthy and log some consistent training. Even though he experienced a variety of stress fractures over a number of years, he managed to achieve four All-American honors - two each in cross country and the 5000 meters.
Moran spent his first year of college at the University of Richmond before transferring to the College of William & Mary where he earned a double major in finance and government in 2003 and then a master’s degree in public policy in 2005. In 2003, he was named the Colonial Athletic Association Male Athlete of the Year and finished fifth at the NCAA Championships in the 5000 meters. During his final year at William & Mary in 2005, Moran won the Colonial Athletic Association and IC4A championships in the 5000m and finished seventh at the NCAA Championships.
At the 2005 USA Outdoor Championships, he finished seventh in the 5000 meters in a personal best time of 13:25.87. Then at the 2006 USA Outdoor Championships, he took sixth in a time of 13:38.02, finishing just behind his former William & Mary teammate, Sean Graham. Last July, he ran the Crazy 8’s 8K Run in Kingsport, Tenn., in 23:12 to finish fifth, and in August made his debut on the road in the 10K at the Beach to Beacon in Maine, placing seventh in 28:43. He was also a member of the 2006 USA Chiba Ekiden men’s team that placed third.
The native of Dayton, New Jersey, is currently an assistant cross country and track coach for both men and women at his alma mater in Williamsburg. The Nike athlete is coached by William & Mary men’s head coach Alex Gibby.
MensRacing.com: You’ve had a lot of injuries over the years, so the first thing to ask is how is your fitness level for this weekend’s USA 8K Cross Country Championship?
Ed Moran:
I had an injury in December and took a little time off so I am using the 8K to see where I am fitness wise. I definitely do think that I am as fit or fitter than I was at this time last year. I hope to put myself in position to do well at New York. It is going to be one of those things where I will keep a very close eye on my effort level as well as the individuals who are running around my pace. Running under 23 minutes would be a very good first step for me. It would put me in the range of what I want to do in five or six weeks in the 10,000 meters on the track.
MR: How did you get your latest injury?
EM:
I ran one indoor race at Newport News in December. It was a 5000 meters at 13:50 in order to pace Christo Landry, one of our athletes at William & Mary. I ended up tweaking my plantar fascia on the track so I had to take four weeks off after that.
MR:
Can you go through some of the injuries you’ve had during your collegiate career and even into your professional career?
EM:
I have struggled with injuries my entire running career. I had four or five stress fractures over a five-year period. They have been all over the place. I had one in my foot, one in the tibia, one in the femur, and then two sacral stress fractures. In 2003, I had a broken foot at the Southeast Regional Cross Country Championships. Then 2005-06 was a really bad year for me. In the fall of 2005, I got my first stress fracture in my sacrum on the right side. I started running again in January 2006 but by mid-March I got the same fracture but on my left side. I think I only ran for about four weeks during a six-month period.
MR: With all that, you did fairly well at USATF Outdoor Championships finishing sixth in the 5000. What do you do for cross training?
EM:
I do a lot of biking for my cross training. I’ve found that biking works the best for me in maintaining my fitness. I actually started walking/jogging just seven weeks before the 2006 Outdoor Championships. We had an accelerated return to running.
MR: What’s your training been like this winter?
EM:
I run 80 miles a week over six days and bike three or four hours a week. I do a lot of pace runs and longer interval work. It’s not really the exciting things. That’s why I’m doing the 8K to see where I am at this point. The season doesn’t end until August. Everyone at our level has a goal of trying to make the World Outdoor team. There are so many competitive guys out there right now, I don’t know if it is realistic that I am going to make it. It’s all going to depend on what the fields look like and how well I do.
MR: For outdoor track, will you be competing in the 5000 or the 10,000?
EM:
I am planning on battling in the 10,000 this year and giving it a try. I’ll be running at Stanford at the end of April. After the experience at Beach to Beacon, I was thinking that the 10K may be my event. I am extremely excited about this year. This is the first time in two or three years that I am entering the spring season completely healthy with a nice base underneath me. I’m looking forward to getting back on the track.
MR: In addition to coaching cross country and track, are you working in the public policy field?
EM:
Last year I was working for the county in the planning division around the City of Williamsburg. I was working, coaching, and trying to run professionally but it was too much. I wasn’t focusing on one thing. I had spread myself out too thin to be successful in one area. So I decided to leave my job and focus more on the running along with the coaching.
MR: Do you plan to get back into your field at some point?
EM: I am lucky because I already have a job lined up in Washington, D.C. It’s a government consulting job. The organization said they would hold my employment until I’m done running after the Olympic Trials and Olympics in 2008. That’s when I’ll probably retire and become a recreational runner.
MR: To backtrack a little, where did you go to high school and how did you end up at William & Mary?
EM:
I went to Notre Dame High School in Lawrenceville, New Jersey. It’s a small parochial school. I started running my sophomore year. I was really a late bloomer and wasn’t competitive until my senior year. Even at that, I was a 4:19 miler and did 9:26 for the 2 mile. I originally went to the University of Richmond. I ran cross country and track there but it was a small team and not very competitive. I sat down with the athletic director one day and he said there was a chance the men’s track and field program wouldn’t be there all four years for me. As it turned out, it did last because they restructured the program. But I didn’t want to take a chance on not being able to run track so I transferred to William & Mary my sophomore year.
MR: What did you like about William & Mary?
EM:There was a great balance between academics and athletics there. It was a place where both could stimulate me. It was a great cross country program. They went to the NCAA Championships several years in a row. The curriculum was also very rigorous and I found that extremely appealing. My coach has been Alex Gibby from 2003 onward and Andy Gerard before that. I was one of the lucky few to have six years with the NCAA. I petitioned in the middle of my senior year when I came down with a broken foot stress fracture. I knew I was going to be at the college for my graduate work so I hoped to continue my running there as well.
MR: What are some of the highlights of your running career?
EM:
Finishing fifth in 2003 and seventh in 2005 in the 5000 meters at the NCAA Championships. Also, in 2005, I had run 13:39 at Stanford and then I ran 14 seconds better at the USA Outdoor Championships. It was a surprise because it wasn’t an ideal situation. I had taken 10 days off after the NCAA Championships. There have been so many injuries it is hard to keep track of what I had but I was off my feet for 10 days. My coach and I went out to USAs in Sacramento just looking to compete because I hadn’t had the opportunity to compete at that level for a long time. It was very exciting and surprising to run a personal best there because all the hard work we had been doing for the month before was starting to pay off.
MR: After you finished your collegiate career in 2005, did you think about joining one of the training centers that started up?
EM: A lot of people looked to move right after college and they checked out all the new training centers. But for me, I was trying to keep as many of the variables as stable as I could so I could focus on the running. I knew I was successful here in Williamsburg, so I thought why change the variables. I like the coaching, I like the atmosphere and I love the town. I also love working with the student athletes here. It’s a great group of kids. I have learned a lot about myself working with them. I’ve learned what drives other athletes and what you are able to take upon yourself. It is great to work with such talented individuals.
MR: What are some of the things you’ve learned?
EM: That every day doesn’t need to be a race, that there is a difference between working hard and overdoing it, and that there is a fine line if you want to be successful. I’ve also learned that I don’t need to be running hard every single day, that it is more important to be consistent.
MR: Do you do your training runs with the athletes you are coaching and where do you run?
EM: A lot of the time, I run by myself and other times it is with the team. We are not always on the same page just because of the cycles of college running and professional running, but when we are I take advantage of that. There’s a nice collection of terrain here. There are places that are flat and places that are hilly. There is a park 15 miles from where I live – York River State Park – and every once in awhile I run hills or do a long run out there.
MR: With all those injuries in the back of your mind, do you think you’ve become a more cautious runner?
EM: I guess that depends on who you ask –Alex or me. I would say that I am very cautious. If something is creeping up I take a day off. I no longer try to force things. Alex still thinks that I try to crush workouts or force workouts. I feel like I have learned to listen to my body.
Interview conducted March 7, 2007, and posted March 16, 2007.
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