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Thorp,
Wisconsin native Chad Johnson, 27, outkicked US Olympian Abdi Abdirahman
to place second behind Meb Keflezighi in the US 8k Championships
in New York's Central Park on April 5 in 22:39, a marked improvement
over his 23:15 15th place finish in 2002. A classic overnight success
a decade in the making, Johnson, a 6'5" high jumper at Thorp
High, began running cross country his senior year in high school
-- the first year Thorp high offered the sport. That spring he slashed
his 1,600m best from a shade under 5:00 to 4:29. Encouraged, Johnson
continued his distance-running career at Division III University
of Wisconsin-Stevens Point before transferring three years later
to try his hand on the Division I level at the University of Minnesota.
Johnson
began his post-collegiate running career with the now-defunct Athletics
America team in Ann Arbor, Michigan before joining the Hanson's
Olympic Development Project in 2000. It was while with Hanson's
in 2002 that he got the call from coach and distance running legend
Alberto Salazar to join the fledgling Nike Oregon Project team in
Portland, Oregon.
MensRacing.com:
You started out at the University of Wisonsin-Stevens Point, a DIII
school. Am I right in assuming you weren't highly recruited coming
out of high school?
Chad Johnson:
No, not at all. I came from a really small school. There were about
50 kids in my graduating class. We didn't have a cross country team
in high school until my last year. And track I was just all right
at, but nothing great -- 4:29 and 9:58.
MR:
Is Thorp pretty rural?
CJ:
Yeah, it was. We didn't have a track either. We had track meets
in the parking lot running around cones and stuff.
MR:
At small schools athletes tend to do a bit of everything. Was that
your experience?
CJ:
I did a lot of events. I was pretty good at the high jump. I high
jumped 6'5". That was my best event until my senior year. Actually,
I hardly broke 5:00 (for the 1,600m) until my senior year.
MR:
Your senior year, you dropped your 1,600 significantly, to 4:29.
To what do you attribute that improvement?
CJ:
Cross country. I never trained in high school. I ran track during
the spring season and that was it. Getting out there and running
cross probably got me going a little bit.
MR:
At 6'2" you're pretty tall for a runner. Did you play hoops
in the winter in high school?
CJ:
I played on the basketball team. I started, but I wasn't that good.
MR:
Who were your earliest running influences?
CJ:
My mom got me into road racing. She used to take me to road races
-- I was about ten years old when I started. I did a bunch of them
in the summer. I think that's why I like road racing so much; I
did so many when I was a kid. At first I watched her run some and
then I got into it.
Then
there was a local guy in the Wisconsin area, Dan Held, he was the
first runner I met that competed after college and stuff. He kind
of got me motivated to actually train harder and give it a shot.
MR:
What prompted the transfer to Minnesota? How big of a transition
was it to go from D3 to D1 running?
CJ:
It was a pretty big step but (University of Minnesota) Coach Steve
Plasencia really helped me with that. I also transferred because
I wanted to switch majors (from physical education to kinesiology)
but I did want to see what running Division I was like and if I
could improve.
MR:
What year did you transfer to Minnesota?
CJ:
I transferred in 1998. I'd gone three years at Stevens Point. It
was definitely a big step, though. I remember I finished almost
dead last in DI at the [1999 NCAA Cross Country Nationals] at Furman.
MR:
What were your PRs at Stevens Point?
CJ:
14:40 and 31:04.
MR:
You ran one season of cross country and two years of track at Minnesota.
What were your PRs when you completed your eligibility at Minnesota?
CJ:
14:14 and 29:11.
MR:
At what point at Minnesota did you feel that you started turning
the corner and making a jump?
CJ:
I think that in cross country just training at a new intensity got
me fit, but I didn't really see good results. It just took a while
for all the workouts to catch up, and when track came around it
finally caught up to me. That track season I ran some big PRs.
MR:
While your PRs upon graduation were certainly respectable, they
were far from national-class or world-class. What compelled you
to keep going when you left college?
CJ:
I'd been making big improvements and I was curious how much faster
I could get. It had been going so well, I kept dropping my times,
and the Olympic Trials were coming up. I really wanted to qualify
for the Trials so that was a big motivation for me.
MR:
Did you qualify for the 2000 Olympic Track and Field Trials?
CJ:
I did. I was so excited for that; it was the first national meet
that I made and it was the Trials so it was quite an experience
for me.
MR:
How did you do at the Trials?
CJ:
I just did okay. I finished 15th. I went out hard and just tried
to stay up with the leaders as long as I could. I was just not ready
for that level, but it was a good experience for me -- it motivated
me.
MR:
You left the Hansons team to join the Nike Oregon Project. What
compelled you to make the move to Oregon?
CJ:
I'd been with Hanson's for about a year, I moved out to Oregon in
October 2002, when Alberto called. It just seemed like such a great
opportunity out here. I was running well with the Hansons, but the
opportunity to run for Nike and work with Alberto, it's pretty hard
to turn down, especially with them sponsoring me. In a way I felt
bad leaving Hanson's but I think they understood given the opportunity
Nike was giving me. Once I talked to Alberto, I thought he would
work really well for me as a coach.
MR:
How did you catch Alberto's eye and get on Nike's radar?
CJ:
I hear Nick Rogers put in a good word for me. I didn't know about
this program at the time. Alberto called me and interviewed me,
and offered to fly me to Oregon to check it out. I was basically
just sitting around waiting for him to tell me to move out there
(after the initial interview), so I was really excited when he finally
told me to move out.
MR:
Was it just an interview or did you do any physiological testing
like the Fila Discovery program did to potential candidates?
CJ:
No. I just met with Alberto and (Nike executive) Tom Clark. For
me it's easier to run well but harder to do interviews, so I was
really afraid I was going to screw it up, but they're both really
nice guys.
MR:
Your were the cover boy for Wired magazine's feature on the
Oregon Project's high-tech approach to training. The article mentioned,
for instance, how you guys live in a house equipped altitude rooms.
What are those like?
CJ: We
have four altitude rooms. We can adjust the elevation to whatever
levels we want. Some guys handle it easier and sleep high, but some
of us can't handle it so good so we sleep a little lower.
MR:
What elevation is your room set to?
CJ:
10,000 feet is about the highest I get. My workouts really start
dropping off if I sleep any higher than that.
MR:
Do you monitor blood to see if your hematocrit or red blood count
is improving from sleeping in the tents?
CJ:
Yeah, we go down to the Nike lab and they test us pretty often to
make sure our iron is good and stuff like that. I haven't yet noticed
an increase in hematocrit or red blood cell count but some guys
in the house have. I think it's still helping me though. I think
I can get a benefit from it in a lot of ways. I think now that I'm
getting it figured out, not sleeping too high and gradually getting
up, it's really starting to help.
At
the same time it's hard to tell -- I'm just running so well. I mean
I'm doing harder workouts than ever before in my life. Something's
working so I know it's not taking away from my performance. I know
it has to be helping a little but training harder than ever before
in my life [also helps], so...
MR:
Any other cool gizmos?
CJ:
One thing is these underwater treadmills they're putting into our
backyard. There's a big hole in our backyard right now. You run
like chest deep in water on this treadmill so there's little impact.
Now I'll be able to put an extra 20 or 30 minutes a day on that
thing. And we're getting a cold whirlpool in the house too.
MR:
Do you have that oscillating belt that wraps around your butt and
shakes the cellulite away?
CJ:
No, nothing like that! We did have some vibrating platform that
was supposed to build muscle strength, but it was rattling the whole
house so we put it in basement and nobody uses it now. We're willing
to try anything though and see if it's helping or not.
MR:
Does Nike's influence extend to the amount of rest you take or to
your diet?
CJ:
Alberto has us see a nutritionist, but mainly we're pretty good
about watching what we eat. And sleep-wise we can just do what we
think is best for us. We do have a really good massage therapist
that we get to see twice a week if we want to though.
MR:
It's fun to talk about the gizmos but your success is primarily
dependent on your training. On that note, is Alberto's program much
different than Hanson's?
CJ:
Yeah, there are a lot more real intense workouts that I really have
to get myself psyched up for. Almost like a race-type effort. When
I go to the track, I'm usually all nervous for it. I don't run my
other days as hard as I used to now because I have to be ready when
I hit those track workouts.
MR:
How about your mileage?
CJ:
I was doing a lot in the winter but now I'm trying to back it down
a little bit. In the winter I did a lot of 150-mile weeks and I
was just at 110 miles the week before Mt. SAC. Alberto wants me
to cut it down even more now and I think it will help because I
did a few weeks of just 70 miles before the NYC 8k and I felt great
there so I want to try a couple 70 mile weeks (before he raced a
10,000 at Stanford May 2nd).
MR:
Did you view your performance in New York as a big breakthrough?
CJ:
Yeah, I think it was; the way I felt, I've never felt that good
before in a race. I don't know, but with how good the competition
was, I felt like I placed really well and my time was really good
compared to last year. I was somewhere around 23:20 last year, although
I was coming off an injury then, but this year was still quite a
bit faster.
MR:
Did you do some training with Abdi and Meb before the USA 8k Championships?
CJ:
I did run with Abdi a bit; I was rooming with Abdi in Switzerland
(at the World Cross Country Championships), but mainly I was just
hanging with those guys a lot and talk about training and stuff.
MR:
Did hanging with them somehow make it easier to run wit them on
race day?
CJ:
Yeah. It was funny because usually I would see Meb and Abdi in a
race and just let them go. I just never thought to run with them.
But after being around Abdi I felt more comfortable being with him
in the race. I felt so good, too, in the race, and that definitely
helped a little.
MR:
What are your goals for the remainder of 2003 and for 2004?
CJ:
At Stanford I want to try to get close to 28 minutes; put myself
out there to have a shot of breaking 28. At nationals I'd like to
get top five. If I'm top five or six I'll really be happy this year.
I want to start being competitive in US championship races so that
when the trials come around, hopefully I'm in the race with a couple
laps to go. I just want to be in some of these races, not necessarily
win, but be there with the leaders at least. (Editor's Note: Johnson
finished 14th in the Cardinal Invitational 10,000m in 28:35.23.
MR:
You've made so many jumps in levels in your career -- from small-town
high school, to DIII, to DI, and beyond. What advice do you have
for young runners who want to make a jump in performance?
CJ:
I think for me it was just being real patient and consistent with
my training. It was frustrating sometimes because I would train
so much harder than some teammates or friends who weren't taking
it as seriously and then not run any better than them. But it'd
be six months down road that I made my jump, so just keeping at
it year-round is key. In the long run it seems like it pays off.
MR:
What advice do you have for runners looking to make the jump to
post-collegiate running?
CJ:
I think it can be frustrating at first because you're not making
much money, you're working part-time, you're training so hard and
you're not seeing any rewards out of it, but I think it's important
not to look at other people and compare yourself to them. Look at
yourself and how far you've come along, and stay motivated that
way. When I get beat badly, I just look back at how far along I've
made it.
MR:
You run cross country, on the roads and on the track. Is there one
venue you prefer or that suits you best?
CJ:
I seem to do best at the road races, but I definitely love running
cross and track. I think I'm a better road racer, and track sometimes,
too. In cross I struggle sometimes even though I love it.
MR:
Why is it that you struggle in cross?
CJ:
I don't know if it's the way I run or something. Alberto thinks
maybe because I take such a long, loping stride and really bounce
off the ground. If I run on soft grass or mud I really waste energy
doing that.
MR:
Your teammates include fellow elites like Dan Browne, Mike Donnelly,
and Dave Davis. What are the pros and cons of training with so many
top dogs?
CJ:
First off, the guys here are all good friends, so that helps out.
None of us is ever upset if one does well or beats someone. That's
real important when you get four or five of us on the track and
feeling good, all running some of best workouts of our lives. It's
really nice doing mile repeats and hardly leading at all, just being
tucked in. At the same time, it's nerve-wracking to show up to practice
knowing that some of the best guys in the nation are there. It feels
like a race. If you have an off day and four guys are ahead of you
in practice, I think, how am I gonna do well in a race? I
always have to remember how good these guys are that I'm training
with.
MR:
On the most fundamental level what got you in the sport and what
keeps you in it now?
CJ:
I really like how I can tell how hard I can push myself. With track
times, you can just see the clock. The clock won't lie. You know
you're improving. It's fun for me to see how much faster I can get.
And I love the training part of it too, getting out and running
in the woods or something like that. It's definitely motivating
to see how far I can take myself.
MR:
You've had enough success on the roads to know that it really suits
you. So do you have any plans to move up to the marathon? And given
your success in NYC at the 8k, might we see you debut at the New
York City Marathon this fall?
CJ:
Yeah, I want to run a marathon this fall, and I'm hoping track is
going well and I'm still feeling good then. New York would be a
great one to do.
MR:
You live in the heart of "Pre" country and Alberto is
one of many famed Oregon track grads. Does Steve Prefontaine's name
get mentioned or evoked much in Portland or in the house?
CJ:
Yeah. Seems it seems like everyone in Portland knows who he is.
He gets mentioned when we say we know Alberto. And in the house
all the guys are definitely motivated by him.
I
think about it sometimes when I'm out on the Nike track by myself
and there's Alberto taking splits in an old Oregon jacket. It's
really motivating, and especially having Alberto there. Alberto
has done so much for me. I'm really grateful for how much he has
helped me out and helped all of us out.
Chris
Lear is the author of Sub-Four (Rodale, July 2003) and Running
With The Buffaloes. He lives in Boulder, Colorado.
(Interview
posted May 6, 2003)
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