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Adam Goucher remains
the man to beat as the U.S.'s top distance runner. He has captured
national titles at every level, from high school cross country to
his career at the University of Colorado to the 2000 Olympic Trials.
Goucher won both the long- and short-course National Cross Country
Championships in 2000 (he skipped Worlds to nurse a sore Achilles),
and he is a two-time defending National Champion at 5,000 meters.
Goucher lives and trains in Boulder, Colorado, where he is an assistant
coach at the University of Colorado. (01-14-01)
Chris
Lear:
Growing up, you became more and more involved in the sport as you
progressed through high school. Did you have a favorite professional
runner that you looked up to back then?
Adam
Goucher:
Not particularly, but by my senior year in high school, when I started
to get more into running, I realized who Bob Kennedy and Todd Williams
were. I knew they were good runners and some day if I wanted to
be the best, I had to be running what they were running and even
beat them. But no, there wasn't one guy in particular who I looked
up to.
CL:
Is there a runner
out there now that you really admire? If so, why?
AG:
No.
CL:
You had Achilles
troubles and back troubles that really hampered your training before
the Olympic Trials and the Olympic Games. Are you over your injuries?
What, specifically, have you done to get healthy?
AG:
Yeah,
finally everything is back to normal and going good. I had a slight
relapse of the Achilles, but it is one hundred percent now. For
the Achilles I am doing a lot of exercises. I also ice it several
times a day and as a precautionary measure I still take some anti-inflammatories.
For the back I'm doing some strengthening exercises.
CL:
What part of
training do you now enjoy the most?
AG:
At this
point in time just getting back into it and getting the base miles
in. I'm at the point where I can feel myself getting fitter and
getting stronger. Just putting in the miles is what I like best.
I did my first high-level aerobic work on Friday. I did some paced
800's with the guys while the (CU) team was doing an AT (anaerobic
threshold run), so it was the fastest I've gone since the Olympics.
I'm up to 80 miles a week and I feel myself getting back to where
I was before.
CL:
Dr. Rosa is
the coach of the Fila Discovery Program. I know he has offered you
a chance to go train with the Kenyans at one of his camps in Kenya.
Any chance you'll take him up on it?
AG:
No, I
don't think so. I'm not interested in leaving what works for me.
I'm not the type of person that enjoys travelling halfway around
the world to train with other people. I know that if I can stay
healthy and put in the work with my training method I can compete
with those guys. I think you can do it right here. To be successful
you gotta be content with your environment. Personally, for me,
going over there, I'm not going to be content.
CL:
There are several
post-collegiate clubs out there that are providing a blueprint for
how to put together a training group with stipends, etc. Despite
being the home to many of America's top runners, Boulder has been
left out of the loop. There has been some speculation that Fila
will be sponsoring a club team of some sort here. Any comment on
that?
AG:
I would
say it is all speculation. There has been talk, but in reality,
I don't know if anything like that will happen. I think the only
way (Fila Running Specialist Fred) Treseler would do something in
Boulder would be if Mark (Wetmore) could coach it, but Mark is content
coaching collegiate teams and he doesn't have the time to coach
a team of post-collegians.
CL:
As a senior
at Colorado you won the NCAA title in cross country. Now you are
an assistant coach with the team and this past fall, Jorge Torres
finished third individually and the men finished second. First,
how gratifying is it for you to be working with the guys and who
really impresses you? Secondly, are there any big differences in
how they train now and what you did through college?
AG:
You know,
I wouldn't say it is as gratifying as if I were the head coach.
It is gratifying to know I am a part of it. It is good to see them
running well, and doing as well as they are. As far as athletes
that stand out, I can see that the majority of the guys on the team
realize what it takes to be good. I think that shows in practices
and it is impressive to see that change taking place -- people going
from screw offs to being serious and realizing what they want out
of it.
As far as their
training goes, Mark changes things every year and he feels that's
the way you stay ahead of the curve. When they take their easy days,
they are taking them easier than we did when I was at CU. They run
their workouts at a different intensity, a lower intensity, but
it is paying off. When we were out there doing it, we may have been
doing it too much, day in day out. Now there's a little more downtime,
which allows them to increase the intensity when they need to, doing
milers (repeat miles) and stuff.
CL:
Will you run
the US cross country championships this year?
AG:
Not sure
yet. Still up in the air. At this point in time probably not, but
I always leave my options open. I'll see how it is a couple weeks
before and then decide then. I never rule anything out.
CL:
What are your
goals for this year?
AG:
One,
to stay healthy. Two, to get in the best shape of my life, which
is inevitable if I stay healthy. I want to win U.S. Nationals, run
fast. But really the World Championships is my goal. If I go in
in the best shape of my life, I can go in and potentially medal.
I definitely want to be top five at World Champs, and then I'll
look to run fast -- 13 minutes, maybe even faster. Maybe the American
Record if all is going well.
CL:
While a lot
of the Kenyan runners who race the roads in the U.S. wear Fila,
I don't see their equipment and shoes in many stores. Think we'll
see more of it soon? Any shoe is particular you really like?
AG:
I think
they are still in the process of getting the shoes in specialty
stores. That is their first goal. I think they should be more readily
available soon. I train in the Rejuvenate. I think it is a great
shoe. It is definitely one of the best shoes I have ever run in.
I also like their lightweight trainer, called the Aeroflow…
I could basically train day in and day out in that, but I choose
to use that for my faster workouts. They're both great shoes.
CL:
Favorite movie
you've seen lately?
AG:
I haven't
seen much at all lately. I enjoyed What Women Want. And I am really
looking forward to seeing Finding Forrester.
CL:
Favorite book?
AG:
Running
with the Buffaloes, man!
CL:
The Village
Coffee Shop in Boulder has been the locale for many a post-Sunday
run grubfest. The public wants to know, what is your favorite dish
at the Village?
AG:
Oh man, it is about a 60-40 draw between pancakes and the #5. The
majority of the time I get the pancakes. But if I really can't decide
I'll get one pancake and the #5 and that usually does me pretty
good.
(Editor's
Note: Chris Lear informs us that the #5 consists of "two eggs,
wheat toast, and the best hashbrowns west of the Mississippi --
all for 3 bucks!")
CL:
What do you
think of Boulder's fastest band, "The Found"? (Found members
include Shawn Found on lead vocals, Keith Dowling on lead guitar,
Adam Batliner on rhythm guitar and Alan Culpepper on bass.)
AG:
They're
OK, but I think they would be a lot better if they had a drummer!
Chris
Lear is the author of "Running with the Buffaloes." The
book chronicles Adam Goucher and the University of Colorado men's
cross country team's 1998 season. Currently out of print, Lyons
Press is republishing the book in hardcover in the spring of 2001.
Check http://www.runwiththebuffs.com
for details.
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Adam
Goucher on his way to one of the two Cross Country National Championships
he earned in 2000.
