Ray Hughes

By Parker Morse

Ray Hughes, a 1998 graduate of the University of Missouri, set the pace for much of the early going in the steeplechase at this year's USATF Championships. He finished fourth in a PR 8:24.67, two days after running an 8:27.02 qualifier in the rounds. Two weeks later, at the New Balance Maine Distance Festival in Brunswick, Maine, Hughes and Jared Cordes broke away from the field early. Hughes led until the last lap, when Cordes moved past. Hughes regrouped over the final water barrier and charged past Cordes to win by nearly two seconds, in 8:33.49.

Hughes holds Missouri's school record in the steeplechase and also the 3,000m indoors, and his 14:36 was the indoor 5000 record at the time. Despite annual progress in the steeple, he didn't advance to the final in the 2000 Olympic Trials, and that year he started training with Coach Bill Dellinger's group in Eugene, Oregon. His progress continued on all fronts; in 2001 he ran a PR 13:36.79 for the flat 5,000m, and he moved to 8:25 and 6th place in the steeple at the 2001 USATF meet.

We spoke to Hughes on the infield of the Bowdoin College track after his Maine Distance Festival win.

MensRacing.com: How did that race develop as a two-person race?
Ray Hughes: I think the fast [lap] at the beginning was to just get out and get after it. Nationals are over, and that's the big one of the year for us. If we're not going to race GP I races or whatnot, if we don't have the times for that, we've got to come out and prove that we've got the strength to maybe get in there with them. I love coming up here, this is the fifth year I've been up here, and I like to put on a good show when I can.

MR: When Cordes went by in the last lap, did you think to hold him off, or just tuck in and wait?
RH: The funny thing is, now that I'm out of school, when somebody goes by, you see dollar signs going away from you. That might be immature, but when this is how you make a living, you kind of hope that, when he goes by you're going to try to hang on. I'm actually hoping, now, that somebody goes by in the last lap, because I think I'm strong enough to go with most guys, and I can rely on a kick. I think I've got a fairly decent kick and I kind of depend on that.

MR: Coming over the last barrier, you really seemed to take off.
RH: It's something I've been working on all year with Coach Bill Dellinger back in Eugene. To race well on an international level, you've got to be able to race with 1,000 [meters] to go. That [kilometer] is very important. You can come through at a PR pace but if you don't have the last [kilometer] there, going out at 4:25 pace, 4:20, is really pointless.

MR: Why did you choose that spot for your kick?
RH: That's kind of the way it worked out. You can't really pass going over the water, you're kind of stepping on each other, which adds to the atmosphere here. (The water barrier at Bowdoin is outside the track, with cinder run-ups, and the crowd gathers both inside and outside the barrier.) It's like no other place in the country. Nowhere else in the United States do you have all those people on both sides of the water. A lot of them. It's wonderful. When you come up to the last barrier and a guy passes you, coming up to the last 100 with all those people down the back straightaway, it just energizes you enough to get to the finish line.

MR: How long have you been in Eugene?
RH: Two years.

MR: Has this been a breakthrough year for you?
RH: Last year was really the big breakthrough, running 8:25 to be sixth at Nationals. It was definitely a fast year! It's all something to build on for 2004. I think of that as the goal, to make the team then. I have smaller goals along the way, and [in Palo Alto] I definitely approached some of those. I took a chance [by leading] and ran well. I was happy to run well in the prelim., and run 8:27, and come back in the final two days later and run 8:24. That was very exciting, and it's something to build on for next year.

MR: What's the difference running that steeple at Stanford and running in Brunswick?
RH: It's a different kind of atmosphere, in a nutshell. The atmosphere here is probably the best in the United States; this is a better crowd than showed up at Stanford. This is the best crowd, other than Eugene, Oregon, of course. I think this is the Hayward of the East Coast. You get a lot of knowledgable people out here, and a lot of kids, a lot of fun, and you get to meet up with all your friends after a long season of racing and Nationals, the Canadian guys you get to race through the year. It's fun to come here, of course it's fun to run well too, but to be able to see those guys and spend time with them again before we all go off to do whatever we do over the summer.

MR: What are your plans for the rest of the summer?
RH: I'm going to run a 1,500 next Tuesday in Montreal (he ran 3:43.64, equaling his PR), then a 5,000 in Heusden-Zolder, Belgium on the 20th. That's the big one I'm focusing on now. I haven't run a 1,500 since '99 but I got my first sub-4 indoors, so I'm pretty excited to see what I've got over 1,500m, then I have two weeks before Belgium.

MR: What are you ready for the in the 5,000?
RH: I don't know, I ran a fast steeple this year, and last year I ran a fast steeple and my 5,000 dropped pretty far.

MR: How far is pretty far?
RH: I would love to get under 13:30 this year. Last year I had a 20-second PR over the year, I started out at 13:54 when I got to Bill and ended up running 13:36. So eighteen seconds. And again, I've only PRed by a second in the steeple, but I think that carries over a long way, because that [steeple PR] wasn't on fresh legs. Last year I ran 8:25 in the prelim. and that was on fresh legs.

I'm flying over to Europe on Wednesday afternoon (July 10th) so hopefully I'll have plenty of time to get adjusted to the time zone and get re-focused for some nice runs over there.

MR: What comes after that?
RH: Hopefully it's not over. There are plenty of races in late August all over Europe, and I'm hoping to get into some of those as well, maybe three or four more races, a couple steeples and another five at the end of the year.

MR: Have you been one of the steeplers, like Tim Broe and Pascal Dobert, who come out and run cross-country in the winter?
RH: Yes, but I have not run well at cross, ever. I had a couple of good races in college at Missouri, but for me, I've always focused on the track. And that's how my path has been, it's been in the steeple and in the mile, and I've been fortunate enough to have somebody who takes care of me in terms of getting me to races and things, and a coach that really is focused on the track season. It's hard to say I don't focus on cross because I have to, and I do, but it's never really fallen together for me. In some ways I could be disappointed but I think it motivates me for the outdoor season, that hopefully I'll beat some of those guys who beat me in cross.

MR: So 2004 is the big goal, what are the little goals?
RH: Well, this year I'd love to get a mark under 8:20. Then next year I can build on it. I'm willing to take small steps. I'm not looking for huge breakthroughs. I know they're going to come, it's just a matter of time, and obviously, to win next year at U.S. Nationals, if Pascal makes it back, Broe is back, Fam's back, Cosey, Croghan, now Jared [Cordes]; it's going to take under 8:20 to be in the top three. And that's where you need to be to be competitive, and I hope that with my training I can be there.

MR: Dobert told us, "If it took 8:16 in the steeple to make a national team, you'd see a bunch of guys in this country break 8:20."
RH: Once you get a few guys under 8:20 this event is going to blow up. I think the steeplechase is going to be big on the world scene for the US. Krummenacker ran 1:44 last night in Paris, a huge mark for him. The half-milers are coming up, and I think this is the other event where we can really challenge on the world scene. I just want to be one of them.

Parker Morse is a freelance writer and web developer based in Northampton, Massachusetts.