Hello Australia

I thought I would give everyone an update seeing though it’s been a while since Australia has seen or heard from me. Believe it or not I have turned into a grizzly... an Adams State Grizzly. Adams State College is in Alamosa, Colorado, USA. Most people are probably thinking like where, what, why would you go there?  In this blog I will try and answer a few of the questions that I have been asked.

Australians have probably never heard of Adams State College yet in the American running community it is one of the most talked about running programs. Adams State indisputably is the most successful running collegiate program across all divisions.  It has won over 50 national cross countries, indoor and outdoor national titles in the NAIA and NCAA Division 2.  This is staggering considering it is only a small state liberal arts college in the middle of the San Luis Valley in south east Colorado.  The program was founded by world famous coach,  Dr. Joe Vigil who was later the coach of Deena Kastor (Current American Women’s Marathon Record Holder and Olympic Bronze Medalists) and Meb Keflezighi (Olympic Silver Marathon Medalist). Vigil also coached Pat Porter who attended Adams State College. Porter is arguably America’s best cross country runner winning 8 consecutive US cross country titles in the 80’s and five top 10 finishes in the World Cross Country with a best placing of 4^th.  Probably the most well known feat of ASC is the 1992 Men's cross country team that became the first and only team in collegiate cross country history to record a perfect score at the NCAA D2 National Championships.

The current head coach of Adams State is Coach Damon Martin who took over the reins in the 90’s after serving as Vigil’s assistant for many years.  Coach has even taken the program to another level in his time. We have won the last 3 national cross country D2 titles (which I was lucky enough to be a part of this year’s championships). Last year the team also won the indoor championship and had a team of 5 athletes who ran under 14min for 5k with Brian Medigovic and Aaron Braun running PR’s of 13.29 and 13.35.

Why did you go to college? Couldn’t you have got a contract or just continued to train in Australia?    

 If you really want to be a full time athlete from Australia you need to be down around the low 3.30’s.   As an Australian athlete there isn’t a lot of support out there. As much as I wanted to stay in Australia I knew it wasn’t a viable option financially as well as not having a system in which I could achieve my full potential. My brother has been over in America for the last two years and I felt like he was living the runners dream, while I was training away, alone in Newry with my parents support and trying to complete a Commerce degree at university. I came to Alamosa earlier in the year so my brother Dean (who is my coach) could keep a closer eye on my training as I made my comeback from injury. Over that time I was able to get a good look into the college athlete’s lifestyle. Over that time I saw that I was missing out on a lot… Dean had training partners, great facilities, an amazing training environment and a support team around him day in day out. 

Why wouldn’t you go to a big D1 school?                                                                                                           
 Adam State doesn’t have the million dollar athletic budgets like the D1 schools but I feel I have everything I need.  Here at Adams we are kind of like the blue-collar workers. Of course going to a D1 college would have been a great experience and plenty of fun, but I knew at Adams State that this was the place that I could stay focused and receive the support and guidance that allows me to best achieve my potential. Adams is known for developing athletes not recruiting athletes. It doesn’t get footlocker finalist they get athletes like Aaron Braun. Braun only ran 4:24 for the mile and 9:34 for the 2mile in high school yet ended up closing his collegiate career running 13.36 for 5k, one of the fastest 5k times across all divisions.  

However, probably the biggest reason why I did come to Adams was because I didn’t have to change much. I am still coached by my brother Dean, who works closely with Coach Martin bouncing ideas endlessly trying to work out what’s best for me. I also knew that training at altitude (Alamosa is at 2300m altitude) worked for me. I was able to run over a 3sec pb with only a couple months training and after having 5 months of no running because of injuries.  My running goals have always been centralized around Olympics and World Champs. Coach Martin understands my goals and is in full support of me achieving them.

My first semester at Adams has been a great experience. I am grateful of being given this opportunity and I really feel as if I am a part of something very special here at Adams State. I have the opportunity to train with people, be surrounded by great facilities and have a fully supporting team that really believes in my ability.

It was an amazing experience being a part of a winning team when we won the National Cross Champs in the snow at Louisville, Kentucky. I kind of missed out on playing team sports like cricket and footy as a kid as I choose to be a runner at a very young age. Therefore, it was an amazing experience to share a championship with the team. I ended up finishing 14^th overall and was 4^th man on our team. The D2 cross country champs are an event to be seen… the crowd is amazing it was as if you’re in the tour de France. Adams holds a fierce rivalry with Western State. The rivalry is something I had heard about but I didn’t expect it to be like it was. The hostility between fans is probably similar to that of the River Plate and Boca Juniors fans.  One of the great things about Adams State is that we do have a big following and that there are a lot of diehard fans who travel a long way to watch us race.

I know personally from my semester here that I wouldn’t have been ready for the training load and structure of the American college system straight out of high school. I was close to coming over here from high school but I think I made the right decision in waiting those two years. I think the Aussies with the most success over here have been those who have waited. But I guess it depends on the athlete.

At the moment I am busy putting in my base prep for the indoor and Australian season. I hope to see everyone when I get back home for the Sydney Track Classic and Australian Champs in a couple of months.

Merry Xmas & B Good

Craig Huffer

Youngster Craig Huffer, surprized all but a few, when he recently ran a 3 second 1500m PB overseas (3:36), after a long injury layoff. We caught up with Craig to find out the inside happenings of this talented miler.

RT: Craig thanks for your time. You disappeared for a while, and then out of the blue you popped up in America and broke the 4min mile for the first time. What’s the story? Were you injured for a while?

CH:  It has been a rollercoaster ride the last 12 months. I had a good winter base where I had taken my training to another level. However around November just before the NSW 3k champs everything started to spiral downwards. Leading into NSW 3k I had been struggling with plantar fasciitis. A few days before the race my plantar started really take a turn for the worst. I didn’t realise at the time but I had actually torn it and continued training through the pain just thinking it was a bad case of plantar fasciitis. In the race I could hardly put my right foot on the ground after the 3^rd lap… I battled on for a bit but I ended up having to DNF.

After a week of rest and no relief I had some scans done which showed the tear and with that it meant 10 weeks of no running. In the pool and on the bike I went, training desperately to be fit again for the Commonwealth Games trials. Finally… … … … I was back running. After two weeks of gradually getting back into it… Tragedy struck again when I rolled my ankle. And with that went my season. It took two weeks to heal even though the problem was only some bone bruising and bad inflammation. Now it was March and we felt it wasn’t worth rushing back at this stage of my development for Nationals. We decided to have the next couple of weeks off and to fly over to Alamosa, Colorado to train under the eye of my coach Dean who attends college at Adams State. The rest did do me good and I grew another 2cm. 

Above: Nashville Sub 4 Mile – 3.59

RT: Since coming back from injury, have you changed anything up? Who is coaching you?

CH: Yeah, there have been a few changes made. Being out for so long gave me plenty of time to reflect and I definitely have a different outlook on my whole running biz now. Since my return I have been a lot more relaxed about it all and I am really enjoying being back running and most of all racing. I kind of got to the stage last year where I was desperately reaching out for something more all the time instead of just enjoying the moment.



Training wise, the big change was moving to Colorado. Training at 2300m in Alamosa Colorado has meant I have had to make certain changes to my training as you just wouldn’t survive if you tried to train the same as you do at sea-level. Being able to train with other runners, having facilities and working closer with my coach Dean has been a big bonus. It definitely has made the comeback so much easier.

I am coached by my brother Dean (3:45 1500m runner). It can’t get much better than having your brother as your coach. Dean is doing his Masters in Human Performance/Exercise Science and is a very in-depth kind of guy that never takes any decision lightly. It works well as he knows and understands me so well.

With my running there has been a plan set out since I have been little. The legend Joe Carmody was the man who set out the foundations of my running and it has been Dean’s job to follow through the plan since Joe passed away when I was 14. Dean also works closely with Coach Damon Martin his collegiate coach who is one of the most respected coaches in American distance running.

 
RT: How long have you been overseas for? And where are you based?

CH: I arrived over in Alamosa, Colorado late March and based myself there till early June when I moved down to Oklahoma City while I raced my American circuit. Following my last race in America I flew to London and based myself in Twickenham. Thanks to an English mate I was set up with accommodation about a 5min jog from St. Marys University athletics track.  After a few weeks in London I traveled to Uden, Netherlands for my first race and since then I have been traveling from race to race.

Above: Barcelona International 2010- 3:36

RT: The 3:36 in Barcelona is an awesome PB. Talk us through the race?

CH: All week leading into the race I thought I was in the B race but a few hours before the race I saw the start lists and they had me in the A race (the slowest man in the field). I was absolutely pumped… this was my chance. I was expecting it to be fast from the start and one of those races that I would have to cling on but it turned out to quite the opposite. I kind of stayed back a bit all race and I felt as relaxed as anything. The race just got gradually faster. The splits were approximately for me 58.4 (58.4)  1:56.8 (58.4), 2:54.2 (57.4) , 3:36.35 (42.15) so as you can see we just got faster and faster. About 150m to go I was feeling like I might have chance at a win… but at the moment I don’t quite have enough strength to close like those guys, but that part of my race is definitely on the improve.

RT: Did you feel that a 3:36 was on the cards?

CH:  After running 3:39.98 at the Sydney Track Classic last year Dean and I set a goal of 3:36 for this year.  Unfortunately I was not able to do it this domestic season due to injury so I have had to wait 4 months later to achieve this.

I ran a 3.41 1500m solo in America in mid June and I won a tactical race in 3.41 against some solid competition in Netherlands; both races gave me the confidence that I could do it.

RT: What sort of training have you been putting in to knock yourself into 3:36 shape?

CH: Since the time I started back training late March I basically did easy jogging with a tempo once a week. We gradually built mileage back up and started to implement other areas of training as my body got stronger. At the end of May I started to hit some 90mile weeks. These were some massive weeks for me as I hadn’t done this mileage ever before. (When I ran 3.39 last year the most I ever did was around 40miles a week.  Over last year’s winter I gradually built my mileage to around 70). Being at high altitude you can’t hit as high intensity so you tend to run slower and longer to compensate. It was easier to run that sort of mileage because my house and training mate English runner Luke Cragg is never on the wrong side of a 100mile week.  I spent a good period of time training at Oklahoma and in London training at sea level where I was really able to do some specific work at race pace. When I combined that training with my strength I had gained training at altitude I was ready to fly again.

RT: Are you traveling around by yourself? Do you have some training or traveling partners?

CH:  I did travel around with Dean on my American circuit and I also traveled with some guys from Oklahoma, Sam Dech, Frezer Legesse and Silas Kisorio a 3.57 indoor miler.

I have traveled around Europe by myself.  Traveling around solo has been different. I am normally a very quiet kind of guy so over here I have had to come out of my shell. Traveling alone is always a bit tougher when things go wrong. But in the end it was all a part of the fun. 

Above- Liege 800m

RT: What is the plan for the rest of 2010?

CH: This is it for my season. Short and Sweet. However, I can return home content as I hit new Pb’s - 800m 1:48.09 (1.23 off),  1500m  3:36.35 (3.63 off), Mile 3:59.66 (2.61 off).

I have loved my time in the U.S. and in Europe and I would love to go back.  I am going to have a bit of down time and then work out with Dean a plan on how best to qualify for the World Championships next year.

RT: To leave us. Come London 2012, where do you see yourself being at time wise? What is the goal?

CH: London 2012 is definitely a big goal of mine and I am sure it will be a competitive task to make the team based on the current depth of Australian middle distance running. In the meantime I’ll be working hard to make next year’s World Championships as I see this as a stepping stone to the 2012 Olympic experience.

RT: Thanks Craig, all the best.

CH: Cheers mate.