Interview with Steve Meinelt

by Scott Dance

At 23, newly minted marathoner Steve Meinelt is one of the youngest to qualify for this year's men's Olympic Trials marathon, according to the most recent USATF lists. The 2006 Georgetown graduate took his first try at the distance at January's Chevron Houston Marathon, finishing in 2:18:14, well under the "A" qualifying standard of 2:20. Since then, he finished as the first American in Washington, DC’s Cherry Blossom 10-Mile, running 48:45. On April 26, he will race on the track in the 10,000 meters at the Penn Relays.

The current Washington DC resident hails from Topsfield, Massachusetts, where he was a self-described "middle-of-the-pack" runner at Masconomet Regional High School. He started his collegiate career at the University of New Hampshire before transferring to Georgetown for his final two years of eligibility. He has run personal bests of 14:05 in the 5K, 30:00 in the 10K and 1:06:54 in the B.A.A Half-Marathon, which he ran in Boston in October. He is currently focused on preparing for the marathon Trials, to be held in New York November 3.

Mensracing caught up with Meinelt on the eve of his run at Penn.

Editor's Update: Unfortunately, Meinelt did not finish the 10,000 meters at the Penn Relays due to severe blisters obtained from his new racing flats. Meinelt pulled out of the race in order to avoid potential time loss in his training.

MensRacing.com: So are you in Philadelphia now?
Steve Meinelt: On the way, actually. Got the race tomorrow and we're driving up tonight.

MR: Have you ever run in Penn Relays before?
SM: One other time back in high school. I ran a relay; that was many years ago now. I vaguely remember it. I think I actually ran a 4x4, and it was one of, you know, 200 teams that were running that relay. It was fun. I almost ran there in college, but it just never worked out.

MR: Are you looking forward to the atmosphere of the Thursday night races?
SM: Yeah, definitely. It's the distance night, so that's all there is. It's fun to be part of the meet when it's distance-exclusive for that one night, and everybody's into it. It'll definitely be fun and exciting to get out there. I haven't been on the track in a while, so it's a good place to get back on it.

MR: I understand you're not necessarily training specifically for the track or for the 10K, but do you have any goals in mind for tomorrow?
SM: I might not be training specifically for it, but, you know, you always want to run well and PR, if the race is conducive to that. It'd be pretty hard not to PR; my PR's a little soft in the 10K. But it'll be good. And obviously you go out there and try and win it. You just go out there and put yourself in a position to win and hopefully everything goes accordingly, and you get a win and a PR. After that 10 miler a few weeks ago it'll be good to get out there and run the 10K and run a little bit faster than the races I've done and turn 'em over a little bit.

MR: Did you say you're living with Chris Lukezic?
SM: I did; I don't anymore. He's got his own place now, but he comes over all the time.

MR: A lot of people might not be familiar with your running career before now. What was your running career like in high school?
SM: Well first, I guess everybody wants to know what your PRs were. I ran 4:26 in the mile, 9:31 in the two-mile, I guess 2:00 flat in the 800, and I ran a lot of relays; 4x8s and stuff. Cross country, nothing special; I got fifth in the state, I think, my senior year. I actually played soccer my freshman and sophomore years, and then I started running cross country my junior and senior years, with track all throughout; I wasn't by any means a superstar; I never won a state championship and I guess I was never really that close. But I was all right. I won a bunch of conference titles and was pretty good in our sectional state meets my senior year. They do classes in Massachusetts and we were Class C. I won that in the two-mile but I was pretty middle of the pack I guess. We had a small team, but a good team, some pretty decent relays and we were pretty competitive in our conference, so it was fun to win the team titles and all that stuff.

MR: How did you end up at New Hampshire?
SM: Well I was from Massachusetts and New Hampshire is Division I, and I wanted to run Division I. It was a good solid Division I regional New England school. I went up there for a visit and wanted to stay fairly close to home, and it just seemed like a good fit at the time. It was a good place to run; there are lots of trails. My teammates were great; I still talk to a bunch of them. It was a good fit in terms of competition -- I could come in and compete right away and make an impact, even though I wasn't a superstar, and it was important to me to feel like I could contribute and grow a little bit. I didn't want to go somewhere I was going to be in over my head. It was good. If I could do it all over again, I'd probably do it the same.

MR: And how did you end up at Georgetown?
SM: I transferred at the end of my junior year; I had my ups and downs my freshman and sophomore years. My junior year I did really well; I was really consistent. I finally had the training squared away and the racing squared away; everything just lined up for me. I ran well and won IC4A’s in cross country, and almost qualified individually for NCAA’s. I was the first one out. I set big PRs on the track for the 3K and 5K, I won the conference meet indoors in the 3K. I was really running well, and then it just got to the point where I kind of wanted to take it to the next level training-wise and racing-wise, so I just started looking around and went on a couple visits. I went to NC State, Georgetown, and Providence, and it was pretty much down to Georgetown and Providence. Georgetown became a real good opportunity and my parents liked the idea of a Georgetown degree and really wanted me to go there. The coach was good and the team was good. They go to all the best races all over the country. It just seemed like a good fit and it was something different too, in Washington, DC, a different part of the country. It was a good decision. Like I said, I wouldn't have done anything differently. Everything happens for a reason, I guess.

MR: What did you study in school?
SM: I was a sociology major. Just a liberal arts student.

MR: Do you have any plans to use that down the road?
SM: I'm not really sure, to be honest. I have no clue, actually. One step at a time, I guess. I'm going to focus on this for now, give it a go and see what happens. I may do something not related at all. Sociology is just studying real life; you study things practical to everyday stuff, so that's why I was drawn to it. As far as a professional career with it, I don't know.

MR: So you're still in DC now -- what did you like about being at Georgetown? What did you like about the team?
SM: The guys are great, and everybody's focused. It's a little bit more of a serious environment where everybody's trying to push themselves and take it to the next level. It was a little bit of a different atmosphere -- everybody's really focused on making it to nationals and running well at nationals. The stakes are raised just a little bit higher, which I liked. It's a good training environment -- DC is a great place to train. There are trails and great places to do tempos, there are tracks. It's a really good place to train in terms of facilities. There are trails that go right through campus that you can run on for miles and miles. And there's the tow path that goes along the river and bike paths to do tempos on. It was a little bit of a higher level than UNH.

MR: Are you still living near campus?
SM:Yeah, I live a little bit off-campus but fairly close. It's within like a mile. Some of the trails I run on go right in my backyard, so it's nice. You can just walk out and run to the end of the street and pop right on the trail and go for as far as you want. And I'm still close to the tracks too.

MR: Do you still run with some of the guys from college?
SM: I pretty much do all my training on my own. I work full time at a running store so that takes up a lot of time. My schedule is a little bit off from when they practice. Now that I'm focused on the marathon it's a really different training schedule. Those guys are more focused on faster stuff -- 1500s, 5Ks. Some easy days I'll run with some of them. I live with one guy who's a fifth year this year, and another guy, Rod Koborsi, who graduated last year. So the people I live with are serious athletes. Sometimes I'll run with them if it works out, but 95 percent of the time I'm on my own, which I don't mind. I've grown accustomed to it and I actually do well training on my own, so it's not a bad thing. It's a good thing for me, anyway.

MR: When did it first occur to you that you were better suited to go beyond the typical 5K/10K stuff? Any longer races along the way perhaps that helped you realize it?
SM: Just in training, the things I was good at were long runs. I could always hold up pretty well doing high mileage. I always loved doing long runs and doing them fast. It wasn't necessarily racing, it was just through doing the long runs and high mileage, and longer workouts and tempos. That's always what I excelled at, so it was really a natural progression to go up in distance. I knew I didn't have four-minute speed or sub-four-minute speed, so it would have been tough to run super fast track times in the 5K or 3K. If you can't run four minutes, you're going to have a tough time. My strong suits were the longer tempo runs. I love doing marathon-type training; it suits me well and my body holds up well. It just seems like that's my distance and I'm a real strength runner, so it works out well.

MR: I read that you do 20-28 mile runs. What else is in your training program?
SM: It's pretty simple. One long run anywhere from 20 to 28 miles at a decent clip, so anywhere from two hours to 2:40, 2:45, 2:50, to try and really build my strength. A lot of times when I was getting ready for the marathon I would run 14 or 16 miles and then run the last six miles at marathon pace. Or start at marathon pace and progressively get faster. Once you've been on your feet some time and you're burning your glycogen, it's going to simulate what it's going to be like in a race. One other day I'll do a workout; the last two weeks I did a little bit of track work to sharpen up and get some faster stuff in to feel what the pace was going to be like. 800 repeats, 1000s, 1200s, miles. During marathon training, I did 13 times a mile with like a minute jog, 13-mile tempo runs, 10-mile tempo runs, and starting at race pace and getting progressively faster. So starting at 5:15 pace and trying to get down to under 5-minute pace at the end for the second half of the run. I'd do two mile repeats, or run two miles hard and then three miles at a normal distance run pace, so like 5:45, 6:00 pace, and another two miles at like 5 minute pace. Then go back and do another three miles and another two miles, stuff like that. I'd do something like that Wednesday or Thursday and then my long run Sunday, and the other five days it would just be run twice a day. I run pretty consistently between 120 and 130 miles a week. Nothing really creative those other days, just kind of getting out there and logging the time.

MR: Of course I also want to talk about your marathon experience in Houston. Did you go in expecting to get the Olympic Trials qualifier?
SM: I felt like I was prepared to run the A standard. Of course with the marathon, there's so many variables and things outside your control that can happen. I just wanted to put myself in a position where I knew I was fit enough to run, and I was just trying to make sure I executed the race plan correctly and effectively. I thought if everything went in my favor I should definitely be able to run under 2:20. On a real perfect day, I could be significantly under 2:20. To run 2:18 the first time out, it went really well. I went out conservatively and ran the second half a little bit faster than the first half. It's good because I know there's a lot more time to come off.

The race itself was great. They had an Olympic development group together so it was a whole bunch of guys trying to run the A standard and the B standard, so they had a pacer that was running 2:20 pace and I ran with him the first few miles. At 5 or 6 miles we were right at 5:20 [mile pace], maybe a little bit over, and it felt good, and there was a group that started to pull away so I caught up with them. It was four or five guys and I ran with them until mile 8 or 9, and then I ran with one guy into the 20's, 22 or 23 maybe, and then he started to pull away in the last few miles. We really worked well together, helping each other get through those tough miles. Especially once you get up to 18, 19, 20 and start hurting a little bit, it helps to have guys to run with. The course was flat and fast and we had our bottles out there so we could get our fluids. I got all my bottles and stayed hydrated and ran conservatively and ran within myself early on so later I could make sure that I'd hit the time. Once you get towards the end there and know you can get it, you start pushing a little bit more and seeing how much time you can shave off the last few miles. It was a great first experience. It went as well of one as I would have hoped. I wouldn't have done anything differently. I had never done anything longer than a half, so it was a whole different ballgame once you get to the last few miles. Getting the experience of running one and doing well the first time out was a real confidence-booster. The training I had done worked well and I ran effectively the whole way through.

MR: Do you have any races planned before the Trials?
SM: Yeah, some little races. I try to be pretty particular with the races I choose to run, really trying to focus on getting faster and stronger and shooting toward the Trials obviously. That's what it's all about. I'll do some races along the way just to see where I'm at and to try and work on different things. Obviously this will be a little bit more speed-oriented, trying to work on running a little bit faster, and then I'll probably do another 10K maybe in May. Usually I only race about once a month or so, trying to spread them out, and when I do race, trying to race really well. So a 10K in May, maybe on the roads, and I'm still trying to decide what to do in June. I might do a half-marathon, but we'll see. Then I'll probably do another 10K and then the next real long race I'll build up to will be the 20K champs up in New Haven. So that will be kind of a longer test before the marathon, and I'll run the Trials at the beginning of November. Even while I'm getting ready for these shorter races you're still doing a long run and trying to get more 25, 26, 27, 28 mile runs and trying to get that strength and that base for the marathon.

MR: When you think ahead to the Trials, are you daunted at all by lining up against big names?
SM: It's encouraging to see people running fast. With the marathon I feel like there's a lot of room for improvement and you never know what can happen; the marathon is a totally different race. Like look at this weekend [at the Flora London Marathon]: Ryan Hall ran great, Meb [Keflezighi] and [Khalid] Khannouchi dropped out, [Haile] Gebrselassie dropped out. You never know what can happen. There's a lot of variables that play into it that are out of your control. The best you can do is get as fit as you can and get out there and run a good race and see what happens. Put yourself in a position to run your best, and if your best on that day is good enough to do something special, then so be it. I'm definitely shooting for top 10 and then beyond that, you never know. I definitely want to run well and I think my running has come to a whole new level since running the marathon. Workouts are a lot better and everything is kind of a step up. It's exciting training and getting ready. It's a course that suits me well, with rolling hills, really a strength course. You just throw your hat into the mix and see how it all shakes out.

MR: When did you start thinking seriously about being a marathoner?
SM: I guess last year. I mean, I guess all through college I knew I wanted to do one. I had my ups and downs, like in high school, I was good, but I wasn't great. I never qualified individually for NCAA's. But I always knew that I wanted to do one and thought I could run one well.

MR: Do you feel like there are 10K/5K guys out there in the NCAA system who are suited for longer things like you but maybe don't feel open to marathons because people say they're too young?
SM: I don't think so. Well, to me I think when you graduate, through training and knowing yourself as a runner, if you think you could be successful at the marathon, then I say why wait? Why not just get out there and see what happens? I think there's such a big learning curve with the marathon and such an accumulation of learning over the years, and it's really why you see people who are fast later on, like in their late 20s and early 30s. To gain that experience I think is actually gaining an advantage over someone else who is waiting until later to jump in the game. But everybody's different. A lot of people who are faster can do some things on the track that maybe I couldn't quite match. Maybe it makes sense for them to stick on the track awhile and see how it goes. But for someone who's good and thinks they can run the marathon, I think it's great to just get out there and start. You never know. They sky is the limit and I feel like there's a lot more room for improvement in the marathon for me than there was on the track.

MR: Yeah, like look at Ryan Hall, who's only about a year older than you. He talks about how he pegged himself as a miler for so long before realizing his potential as marathoner. What was your reaction to his run in London? Did you apply his experience to yourself at all?
SM: Yeah, I think there are a lot of similarities. The more I watch some of those interviews and read stuff, I feel like it's kind of the same attitude. He knows what he's good at. The marathon is his event and that's what he's built to do, and that's kind of the same approach that I have. It was cool seeing him run well the first time out like me, relatively, and I don't think it's any surprise that he ran as well as he did. For me, it's great motivation to see him go and run 2:08[:24]. It just goes to show if you put in the work, who knows? I'm sure he's thinking he can run a lot faster, too, which is great. He ran the fastest debut and he's mixing it up with some of the best runners in the world the first time out; it's great to see. For me it's great motivation to keep improving and to aspire to be better.

Interview conducted April 25, 2007 and posted April 27, 2007.