By Daniel Wallis

Simon Rogers, son of 1984 Olympic 1500m finalist Tony Rogers, has justfinished his first year at Purdue University in Indiana. Before leaving New Zealand Rogers finished 2^nd in the New Zealand Under-19 1500m, running 3:51.10, while that same year was 3^rd over 3000m in a time of 8:29.00. While struggling with injury over the cross-country and indoor track season, Rogers ran an impressive 3:46 1500m this outdoor season to earn a spot to the NCAA East-Preliminary round as a freshman. 

The Runnerstribe caught up with Simon to ask him about the season, adjustment to life in the US, and his plans for the summer. 

As the son of a 1500m Olympic-finalist, how did you perceive athletics growing up? Did you always want to run? 

I was always interested to learn about Dad’s running career and what athletics was all about. Growing up I took part in kids athletics but wasn’t really a stand out by any means. I was probably more concerned with my cricket or rugby games in the years before high school. But entering high school things changed a bit and I started to do some structured training for track and cross country, and by about 14 found that I wasn’t going to be an All Black so cross country became my winter sport. Then around 16 cricket was getting in the way of track, so that’s when I made the full-time commitment to athletics as my sport and to having Dad coach me.

How was it being coached by your father in NZ? Did running seem to fit in everywhere or was athletics left from the dinner table?

Running has always been a big part of my life, even before I even took part in it. A lot of family holiday’s were to running events around the country where dad was either in a coaching or organizing role, and I would love being immersed in the sport in any way possible. So when dad started coaching me, the only thing that changed was that I was now running as one of his athletes. It does become interesting when you leave the track after a workout and continue to talk about training or racing over cooking dinner on the BBQ, but it’s what I’ve always enjoyed about our relationship. It only been this past year that I have really come to appreciate how much knowledge Dad possesses as a high-performance coach and how much he has taught me over the years.

What prompted the move to Purdue?

The move to the States was always a goal of mine, and I feel I am very fortunate to be where I am. It was obvious that with so many of the young middle-distance guys my age leaving to the states over the past few years, that there is a huge advantage both in training and racing at a very competitive level. In my search for colleges I wanted to also take into account the academic side life, and chose a school that would allow me to continue with my degree in Sport Science and Psychology. Athletically being part of the Big-10 conference is a huge advantage as the level of distance running in our conference is very deep, with 25 guys running under 3.48 for the 1500 this season in our conference alone.

How was the initial adjustment? Does anything stand out as being difficult regarding the transition from NZ to the states?

Initially I guess I didn’t really know what to expect when I arrived last August, and this year has been huge in terms of learning a variety of lessons. The style of XC racing is very different from NZ in terms the aggressive nature of going out in around 2.40 for the first km in some races.

The big thing was just adjusting to a new program and the training over here, it takes some getting used to when suddenly you change aspects on your approach to training.

How is the training compared to what you were doing in NZ? What is a typical training week for Cross, Indoors, and Outdoors. 

During XC it took me a while to adjust to the heat and humidity of late summer and early fall in Indiana and as a result the workouts were pretty intense. One workout that stands out in mind was on a blistering hot day on our cross course where we did a 2mile tempo in 10mins then ran a mile to recover (7min pace) then into 5x1km at a fast pace with short recovery. We had lots of good workouts like this on our course which has some good hills in it, as well as intense fartlek sessions where the effort time is just faster than race pace, and the recovery portion is at steady run pace.

As for indoors, my training was just trying to get me fit as quick as possible after having around 6weeks out with an unfortunate ankle injury just 2 days prior to the conference cross country. So nothing really to spectacular indoors, just ladder workouts or 400s and 200s at goal race pace.

Outdoors I was finally feeling like I knew what I was doing, and felt somewhat normal again in terms of my fitness and consistency.  I had left off the year before in NZ at 3.51 for 1500 and just wanted to pick up from there. Typical training week this spring was around 40-45miles with 1 hard longer interval workout either Monday Tuesday, 1000s or ladders. A 7mile somewhere in the mid week, then some light 200s or 150s later in the week leading into the race for that week, with easy runs on the other days.

How have you found racing in the states different from NZ? How do you feel about racing three consecutive seasons? 

The volume of racing I did this year was defiantly greater than back home, and probably just so that I would be able to get as much experience in the first year here. With all those lessons in mind, I hope to race a little less next year so I can take my season all the way to Nationals in June. That will just take patience and consistency through cross-country and indoors.

Do you feel as if the deep level of athletes in the states has pushed you too a new level in performance?

Yea the depth here has pushed me to work harder and has defiantly led to me improving physical and mental toughness from where I was a year ago. Walking away from our conference meet last month after just missing advancing to the 1500 final by 0.02seconds, I realised that I will have to come back next year not only stronger, but with an even bigger aggressive and confident approach.

What do you like to do outside of training/racing? 

Right now I’ve been taking a summer class, which is a class normally over a whole semester squeezed into 4 weeks so that’s been keeping me busy. But generally when I’m not doing schoolwork I’m hanging out with the team - a great bunch of people. It’s really cool how we have such a range of people on our team, and both the men’s and women’s distance runners are coached by the same 2 coaches.

What are your training and non-training plans for the summer?

Once this class finishes up on the 11^th of June I’ll be hanging out in West Lafayette for a another week then will be heading home to NZ for 6 weeks of good solid training, where I hope to get some of my first ever weeks of 60+miles. I’m still a low mileage kind of guy, but hoping to set a much stronger base for next year.

Is your coach individualistic or is it very much a blanket training system for all the runners? Has your Dad played any role in your training since you have been at Purdue?

Our Coach takes great time and effort to individualize our training, and my mileage was slightly lower than my training partner for the mile/1500 so my coach realized that my background had yet to go beyond 50mile weeks. In cross the workouts are broken in to 3 or 4 groups according to fitness/ability level but the workout is still based on the same idea. But as we went through indoors and outdoors we became very individualized and by the 3.46 I was definitely seeing the benefits.

As for Dad’s influence, he has continued to provide great advice, especially in the way of helping me initially to adjust to changes and new approaches to training, as well as being there to bounce ideas off for training and racing. 

Lisa Weightman Berlin World Champs Interview

© 2009 The Runner's Tribe, all rights reserved. Published Tuesday August 18, 2009

Brought to you by Edward Ovadia who is in Berlin with official IAAF accreditation covering the championships for Runnerstribe.com

One of my favourite press conference stories concerns the great Ethiopian runner Miruts Yifter after he won the 1980 Moscow Olympic 10,000 metres.

I wasn't there, but the story goes that a Finnish journalist asked a convoluted tactical question which boiled down to what would have happened if Lasse Viren had made a move with five laps to go instead of with 300 metres to go.

The question was translated into Amharic (for Yifter), English, French (the IOC languages) and Russian. Yifter gave a brief reply which travelled back the same torturous route.

"I would have run faster," said the man known as "Yifter the Shifter".

Well tonight in the Olympic stadium, Tyson Gay found out what happens when you run faster than you ever have in your life and venture into territory which had hitherto belonged exclusively to Usain Bolt.

Simply put, Bolt just runs faster.

Consider this, Tyson Gay ran 9.71 seconds, a time bettered before last night only by Bolt's 9.69 world record set at the Beijing Olympics. Instead of the gap to the Olympic champion closing, in fact it widened. Gay ran within 0.02 of where Bolt had been, but Bolt ran a world record 9.58 and the American is now further behind than he's ever been!

Take that. To his credit, Gay was not dismayed at this turn of events. After the race, he still professed his confidence that he could also run that fast.

Asafa Powell, third in 9.84, was almost a spectator. The former world record holder has talked a good race all season, and indeed he ran about where the world record was before first he and now Bolt took it over. But injuries had not allowed him to get into shape to run down in the 9.5s.

Powell would, he said, be going home to train to run 9.58. It will take some doing.

Bolt was asked in the press conference whether he had taken the sport into a new dimension. Most would say he has, but he seemed to suggest he hasn't. Perhaps he is happy for everyone else to be in awe of him, but he does not want to be in awe of himself.

Bolt did allow that 9.58 was something special (presumably royalties are on their way to Bruce as you read this) and that he was proud of himself for being the first man there (he is, of course, the first and only man to the 9.6s, too).

Bolt also explained his pre-race joking around. He works hard all year to prepare to race the 100, he said, so he can fool around on the starting line. As soon as the starter says, 'on your marks', however, he is back in focus. You'd better believe that.

As in Beijing, Bolt nailed his start when it mattered, and led when he came out of his drive phase. "When I got to 50 in the lead I knew it was going to be hard to pass me because that's the best part of my race."

As Steve Cram wrote in a BBC column recently, Bolt is now enjoying that window in his career during which great performances seem to come almost at will and without effort. The latter is, of course, an illusion: Bolt works damn hard, but the impression he gives is otherwise.

In the meantime, his rivals, chiefly Gay and Powell right now, but others will aspire to the standards Bolt is setting, watch on in wonder.

"I knew it was humanly possible to run that fast," said Gay. "I'm just sorry that it wasn't me," he added ruefully.

"I knew I needed to run the perfect race to win," Powell observed, "but I'm not 100 percent healthy to really challenge 9.58."

The perfect race: Powell needed to run it to have a chance; so, too, did Gay. Trouble was, it was Usain Bolt who most closely approached perfection this day.




 

Len Johnson was The Melbourne Age athletics writer for over 20 years, covering five Olympics, 10 world championships and five Commonwealth Games. He is the author of The Landy Era, From Nowhere to the Top of the World, and a former national class distance runner (2.19.32 marathon) who trained with Chris Wardlaw and Robert de Castella.

Like yourselves, the team at Runner's Tribe can't get enough news on running - past, present and future.

We are also passionate about improving the profile of athletics to help aspiring elite athletes realise their dreams.

The Runner's Tribe team is very excited to announce a partnership that will help us achieve these goals. New Balance Athletic Company have agreed to provide sponsorship that will enable us to increase our news coverage, our special features and to maintain our passionate on-line community.

Runner's Tribe is confident that this partnership will help us greatly in our quest to become the world's leading internet provider of extensive and entertaining athletics media.

New Balance is one of the true running heritage brands. Back in the 1970's New Balance was the only brand to support a struggling 2.22 marathoner, Dick Beardsley. It was years later in 1982 that Beardsley was immortalised in the classic "duel in the sun" Boston Marathon, where both runners clocked sub 2.09.

In Australia New Balance has supported runners through Athletics Australia & Triathlon Australia sponsorships. However, New Balance's proudest achievement is the 7-year long support of local runners through the NB Development Squad, with athletes such as Collis Birmingham, Marty Dent & Lisa Weightman, to name just a few.

So we would like to welcome New Balance as supporters of The Runner's Tribe and the development of running in Australia.
 

'The mile has all the elements of drama'
Sir Roger Bannister

A New Zealand athlete travelling to the United States is nothing new. However the topic is one that is frequently debated, with several arguments, often using hypothetical examples about the pros and cons of leaving. I read the discussions; spent the better part of a year searching for what I thought was the right school, and fundraised to make it possible. I was also lucky enough to be an athlete under Rees Buck who, as an 18 year old, had left to the United States straight out of high school to run at the NCAA power-house, Western State College of Colorado. However, no matter how much I thought I knew, and no matter how often I spoke to those who had made the same journey before, it could only go so far. You cannot be taught how things will be before leaving. Granted, you can listen to the experiences of others, but those experience are purely individual and affect each in a unique way. This article is not meant to be persuasive of leaving or staying in New Zealand, rather, an account of what is recognised as the hardest period; leaving and settling in. Although there may be similarities between my experience, and that of, say, my good friend Carl McKenzie at Villanova in Philadelphia, there are very different variables that have affected both of our transitions. The uniqueness of each situation is not to be underestimated. As I write, I am surrounded by a sea of white in a State declared with an Influenza epidemic and am spending my days running under layer after layer or working out on a treadmill. The Kiwi Contingent at Drake University in Iowa may be cold, but I doubt they have experienced -39celsius. Conversely, few of us would be as warm all year around as Danny Shaw and his legion of foreigners at Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas.

 

It renders the treadmill a necessity

I am unashamedly a student of the sport and its history. As a 16 year old I was well aware of Nick Willis, Adrian Blincoe and Mike Aish. I was also well aware they did not live in New Zealand. They were based in the US and were running times faster than anyone on our home soil. Seeing this at such a young age made a lasting impression. I had already seen and raced all over New Zealand and the prospect of doing the same within the United States was a dream that followed me for the next three years. The possibility of representing New Zealand seemed distant, but for the time being I would be more than content with running in the US. It would serve as the goal always in the back of my mind. I always had reason to get up in the morning.

I am not the most talented of athletes, nor the most accomplished, I did however leave New Zealand in the middle of 2007 having run an 8.21 3k and 4.13 mile, seemingly respectable for someone who had just turned 19. I was not short of competition, training partners, facilities, money or gear. I was however, short of experience. I did not leave because I was not running fast enough, or because those around me were not pushing me to succeed. I left because I wanted the experience I had read and dreamed about. The over-dramatic writings of Chris Lear played probably the most significant role in my decision to come to Colorado. The mountains, the altitude, and the camaraderie of one of the most successful cross-country teams in the United States were things I was eager to be a part of. Upon hearing from Colorado University's Mark Wetmore that his squad would be made up of American athletes only, I was not too disappointed. Mentioned in Lear's book "Running with the Buffaloes" were the results of "DII power-house Western State College". They had more mountains, higher elevation, and had won the Division II National Cross-Country crown six times in seven years. Conveniently, my new coach happened to have spent five years running there. Although I was in contact with other schools, my good friend and training partner throughout my time in Wellington, Scott Ferguson, knew as well as I did that the decision to go to Western was essentially made as soon as I was first offered a scholarship in January of 2007.

The months prior to leaving were difficult to describe, I found it strange that I never did become excited about leaving, even to the point when I was on the plane. I had an amazing environment in Wellington, and leaving had become a lot harder than I had imagined as a 5th former at Napier Boy's High School.

 

In Gunnison

I arrived in Gunnison late on June 1st, which happened to be the longest June 1st of my life. As the sole surviving Kiwi on the Western State team, I was lodging with Nelson's own Kim Hogarth for the summer. The night I arrived was the first of many occasions I wanted to leave. One of the biggest issues facing a foreign student-athlete is finance. Most New Zealanders are enrolled in a Division 1 school where finance is not an issue. I chose Western because of its location, its history and whom I thought was coaching, not on where I would receive the most gear or money. The point is, a "full-ride" at Western means you work the summer (If you happen to stay) and at least 2 hours a night during the semester. The issues surrounding money caused me the most stress. Without the help of my family there would have been no way I could have stayed. I tried to account for what I would need when I first arrived, but as Kim explained the financial situation that I would be in, I realised it was a very different scenario to what had been described to me by the coaching staff on the phone before arriving. I thought I had asked the right questions regarding finance for rent, books etc. Each time my questions were answered with "That'll all be taken care of", or "That will be a very minimal cost". I felt secure, but I soon realised that this is how a school is supposed to make you feel. I was understandably frustrated. In the coming months the costs that were supposed to be "very minimal" were US$300 a semester for books and a US$800 house deposit. My refund cheque to cover this, as well as all living and running expenses was just over US$1200 a semester. As expected, two days after I arrived I was working 8 hours a day. Even so I had arrived and was living out my dream.

Kiwis at Western had traditionally gotten by through the handing down of essentials; furniture, cutlery, towels etc. Things you don't really think about when you're planning to come over. Kim made sure that I had what I needed. It seems like a small issue, but when you have just arrived on the other side of the world and things are very different than you expected, issues can escalate quickly.

The first night I really felt like things would work out was the first night I met Mike and Nicole Aish. As mentioned earlier, I am a student of the sport and to Mike and Nicole's relative surprise; I knew a fair amount about both of them and their careers, particularly Mike's. Discussion about the team was delicate. I had only found out a week or so before my arrival that long-time coach Vandenbusche would not be coaching, and that Mike would not have anything to do with the program. It had been another un-expectancy that made my transition all the more difficult. Nonetheless, Mike and Nicole were more than welcoming and being in Gunnison immediately became easier. Such is the feeling I am sure athletes around the US who attend schools with other Kiwis on the team are assured with. Of course Kim was on the team with me, but I can say that his company differed significantly to that of a regular sophomore, with the exception of the night out following the National Cross-Country Championships in Missouri!

I had long read about training at altitude, it is however, difficult to describe. For three months I was reduced to little more than jogging, while a day off a week became essential for recovery. Mike Aish described it too me as "running with weights on, and when you get to sea level, you take those weights off". Altitude and dealing with its affects have continued to be variables which are often very hard to deal with. In Wellington I trained hard and consistently week after week, feeling tired was usually something short-lived and remedied by an easy day or two. However, after spending over 12 months living and training at almost 8,000ft (2,438m) above sea-level, feeling tired has become something of everyday life. Never before has an afternoon sleep been such a necessity. Moreover, travelling down to sea-level affects everyone differently and is still something very new to me.

I began the cross-country season in good shape, Rees and I had planned my months leading into September carefully, having me fit and strong when I needed to be. My first two races were above most peoples expectations; I finished as 3rd man on a team that would go on to be narrowly defeated at the National meet less than two months later, and did it at 7,500ft. Unfortunately this success was short-lived. Each week I would talk to Rees regarding the sessions I had done. He became increasingly concerned with the splits I was hitting, which were sometimes upwards of 15secs faster than he had run on the same loops in his final year at Western. The coaches had seen me race and were convinced that I needed to be amongst the 'top guys' during workouts, all of whom were either born and raised at altitude, or had been there for at least two years. I was coming into my fourth month. My fatigue was not something gradual, it was sudden. Within a week I had gone from finishing a 5x mile on 90secs recovery with a 4.46 (at 8,000ft, remember), hanging from Kim Hogarth's shorts, to being entirely drained for the rest of the week. The week turned into over two months of struggling to run at any level. I had been pushed over the limit, and living at 8,000ft was making it impossible to recover. I lost all confidence in the coaching staff when I was never slowly transitioned back into training; everything was all out or not at all. Everyday I was over the line but was given no other choice, by the middle of October there is generally only the top 8 guys left training together, so the luxury of sitting in a slower pack during a workout is quickly lost. I was getting deeper and deeper into a hole that I had never experienced. This would take more than one or two easy days and is something only those who have spent a considerable amount of time at significant altitude would understand. One day you are in the best shape of your life, the next your season is over. It came so quick that there was nothing I could do to stop it. It was another experience that was unique and, although I struggled immensely, I would not change what happened. I spent over a year in Wellington with no interruptions, making huge gains in both my fitness and knowledge in a comfortable environment. However, there is only so much you can learn in that kind of situation, as I mentioned earlier; it was experience and an investment in my future development that I was seeking. Already I feel it has paid off.

Former New Zealand representative and Western State athlete Carl Jackson commented to me that "no one runs well there first year at altitude". There are some exceptions, Aish in particular. However, while Carl McKenzie and Hayden McLaren are joining the 4min mile club out East, I am working out on treadmills and racing at upwards of 6,000ft. It is part of the decision process when choosing a school. My goal in coming to Western State was to get strong, I realise that my situation could be very different if I was elsewhere, but each athlete must weigh his priorities and decide what will best serve him in the future. For me, Gunnison is an investment. I have arguably sacrificed any chance of an indoor season in coming here due to the weather and with it being my first year at altitude. However, I do not believe that when I am finished with my career that I will be judged on what I did or did not accomplish in my first season in America.

Other uncontrollable elements have played a large role in my experience thus far in the US. The cold is something I thought I knew in Wellington but took on a whole new meaning in Gunnison. There is no track here over winter, we run on roads under thick ice and snow-pack, and there is only so long that you can healthily withstand being out on a Sunday run. Alternating between running on ice and treadmills has a dramatic affect on your body. While I am lucky enough to say that I have never been truly injured, many runners at Western have been and currently are as a result of the adverse conditions we are forced to deal with. It does however, become part of daily life and something that is not worth becoming frustrated with. It is something that has made me stronger and better prepared for future training.

 

Road Running

Illness is also something to be aware of. Most foreigners will find the first few weeks of the semester those when they get sick. New bugs and strands of colds and influenza are not to be underestimated, while living in small Valley in a state with an influenza epidemic is no exception. These are the elements that are more often that not, uncontrollable and all shape the initial experience and feelings of arriving in the US to run. More importantly, they are issues rarely on your mind before leaving, which makes their affects all the more frustrating. This is accentuated by the fact that whilst here on a scholarship, your purpose feels far narrower than in New Zealand. When you are unable to run, suddenly pressures add up. The sport in New Zealand is predominantly individualised and is a far cry from the collegiate system used here in the US. Thus, there is far more pressure from coaches and administrators to always be ready to perform and allow them to 'get there moneys worth'. What few coaches seem to understand is that the scholarship system is not a one-way deal, it is very much a business relationship, while they are accountable to expectations as well, not just the athlete. This is something I have been forced on occasion to address to those who expect there "moneys-worth" from me, with no consideration for their end of the deal.

As with all situations however, there is life away from running. Like many others living out scholarship-life in the states I have made lasting friendships, seen a lot of the country and learnt more about myself in a year than I ever thought possible. It is this side of life in America, the side away from the track, which has given me most enjoyment.

I began this article with the assertion that this topic is nothing new, and I will end with that. However, I feel that a small account of my experience could prove valuable for future athletes making the move to the US. There has been discussion about the topic, but too many athletes come over unprepared for the transition they are about to make and it's unnecessary. You can never know too much, you can never be too prepared. I hope this will be the start of a trend for other athletes in my situation; to provide accounts of their times in the US, the pressures they felt, and the lessons they would pass on. Too many athletes venture over to the US and are seemingly forgotten. If I am anything of an example, there are many high school runners out there who think of nothing else but emulating those of us who have gone before them. Information, resources, and accounts from other athletes should be something readily available in order to allow for more informed decisions about leaving, rather than just taking the first scholarship available, which has been the case for many. It is a life changing experience, and it need not be a bad one.

By Daniel Wallis.

 

© 2008 The Runner's Tribe, all rights reserved.

A New Zealand athlete travelling to the United States is nothing new. However the topic is one that is frequently debated, with several arguments, often using hypothetical examples about the pros and cons of leaving. I read the discussions; spent the better part of a year searching for what I thought was the right school, and fundraised to make it possible. I was also lucky enough to be an athlete under Rees Buck who, as an 18 year old, had left to the United States straight out of high school to run at the NCAA power-house, Western State College of Colorado. However, no matter how much I thought I knew, and no matter how often I spoke to those who had made the same journey before, it could only go so far. You cannot be taught how things will be before leaving. Granted, you can listen to the experiences of others, but those experience are purely individual and affect each in a unique way. This article is not meant to be persuasive of leaving or staying in New Zealand, rather, an account of what is recognised as the hardest period; leaving and settling in. Although there may be similarities between my experience, and that of, say, my good friend Carl McKenzie at Villanova in Philadelphia, there are very different variables that have affected both of our transitions. The uniqueness of each situation is not to be underestimated. As I write, I am surrounded by a sea of white in a State declared with an Influenza epidemic and am spending my days running under layer after layer or working out on a treadmill. The Kiwi Contingent at Drake University in Iowa may be cold, but I doubt they have experienced -39celsius. Conversely, few of us would be as warm all year around as Danny Shaw and his legion of foreigners at Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas.

 It renders the treadmill a necessity

I am unashamedly a student of the sport and its history. As a 16 year old I was well aware of Nick Willis, Adrian Blincoe and Mike Aish. I was also well aware they did not live in New Zealand. They were based in the US and were running times faster than anyone on our home soil. Seeing this at such a young age made a lasting impression. I had already seen and raced all over New Zealand and the prospect of doing the same within the United States was a dream that followed me for the next three years. The possibility of representing New Zealand seemed distant, but for the time being I would be more than content with running in the US. It would serve as the goal always in the back of my mind. I always had reason to get up in the morning.

I am not the most talented of athletes, nor the most accomplished, I did however leave New Zealand in the middle of 2007 having run an 8.21 3k and 4.13 mile, seemingly respectable for someone who had just turned 19. I was not short of competition, training partners, facilities, money or gear. I was however, short of experience. I did not leave because I was not running fast enough, or because those around me were not pushing me to succeed. I left because I wanted the experience I had read and dreamed about. The over-dramatic writings of Chris Lear played probably the most significant role in my decision to come to Colorado. The mountains, the altitude, and the camaraderie of one of the most successful cross-country teams in the United States were things I was eager to be a part of. Upon hearing from Colorado University's Mark Wetmore that his squad would be made up of American athletes only, I was not too disappointed. Mentioned in Lear's book "Running with the Buffaloes" were the results of "DII power-house Western State College". They had more mountains, higher elevation, and had won the Division II National Cross-Country crown six times in seven years. Conveniently, my new coach happened to have spent five years running there. Although I was in contact with other schools, my good friend and training partner throughout my time in Wellington, Scott Ferguson, knew as well as I did that the decision to go to Western was essentially made as soon as I was first offered a scholarship in January of 2007.

The months prior to leaving were difficult to describe, I found it strange that I never did become excited about leaving, even to the point when I was on the plane. I had an amazing environment in Wellington, and leaving had become a lot harder than I had imagined as a 5th former at Napier Boy's High School.

 In Gunnison

I arrived in Gunnison late on June 1st, which happened to be the longest June 1st of my life. As the sole surviving Kiwi on the Western State team, I was lodging with Nelson's own Kim Hogarth for the summer. The night I arrived was the first of many occasions I wanted to leave. One of the biggest issues facing a foreign student-athlete is finance. Most New Zealanders are enrolled in a Division 1 school where finance is not an issue. I chose Western because of its location, its history and whom I thought was coaching, not on where I would receive the most gear or money. The point is, a "full-ride" at Western means you work the summer (If you happen to stay) and at least 2 hours a night during the semester. The issues surrounding money caused me the most stress. Without the help of my family there would have been no way I could have stayed. I tried to account for what I would need when I first arrived, but as Kim explained the financial situation that I would be in, I realised it was a very different scenario to what had been described to me by the coaching staff on the phone before arriving. I thought I had asked the right questions regarding finance for rent, books etc. Each time my questions were answered with "That'll all be taken care of", or "That will be a very minimal cost". I felt secure, but I soon realised that this is how a school is supposed to make you feel. I was understandably frustrated. In the coming months the costs that were supposed to be "very minimal" were US$300 a semester for books and a US$800 house deposit. My refund cheque to cover this, as well as all living and running expenses was just over US$1200 a semester. As expected, two days after I arrived I was working 8 hours a day. Even so I had arrived and was living out my dream.

Kiwis at Western had traditionally gotten by through the handing down of essentials; furniture, cutlery, towels etc. Things you don't really think about when you're planning to come over. Kim made sure that I had what I needed. It seems like a small issue, but when you have just arrived on the other side of the world and things are very different than you expected, issues can escalate quickly.

The first night I really felt like things would work out was the first night I met Mike and Nicole Aish. As mentioned earlier, I am a student of the sport and to Mike and Nicole's relative surprise; I knew a fair amount about both of them and their careers, particularly Mike's. Discussion about the team was delicate. I had only found out a week or so before my arrival that long-time coach Vandenbusche would not be coaching, and that Mike would not have anything to do with the program. It had been another un-expectancy that made my transition all the more difficult. Nonetheless, Mike and Nicole were more than welcoming and being in Gunnison immediately became easier. Such is the feeling I am sure athletes around the US who attend schools with other Kiwis on the team are assured with. Of course Kim was on the team with me, but I can say that his company differed significantly to that of a regular sophomore, with the exception of the night out following the National Cross-Country Championships in Missouri!

I had long read about training at altitude, it is however, difficult to describe. For three months I was reduced to little more than jogging, while a day off a week became essential for recovery. Mike Aish described it too me as "running with weights on, and when you get to sea level, you take those weights off". Altitude and dealing with its affects have continued to be variables which are often very hard to deal with. In Wellington I trained hard and consistently week after week, feeling tired was usually something short-lived and remedied by an easy day or two. However, after spending over 12 months living and training at almost 8,000ft (2,438m) above sea-level, feeling tired has become something of everyday life. Never before has an afternoon sleep been such a necessity. Moreover, travelling down to sea-level affects everyone differently and is still something very new to me.

I began the cross-country season in good shape, Rees and I had planned my months leading into September carefully, having me fit and strong when I needed to be. My first two races were above most peoples expectations; I finished as 3rd man on a team that would go on to be narrowly defeated at the National meet less than two months later, and did it at 7,500ft. Unfortunately this success was short-lived. Each week I would talk to Rees regarding the sessions I had done. He became increasingly concerned with the splits I was hitting, which were sometimes upwards of 15secs faster than he had run on the same loops in his final year at Western. The coaches had seen me race and were convinced that I needed to be amongst the 'top guys' during workouts, all of whom were either born and raised at altitude, or had been there for at least two years. I was coming into my fourth month. My fatigue was not something gradual, it was sudden. Within a week I had gone from finishing a 5x mile on 90secs recovery with a 4.46 (at 8,000ft, remember), hanging from Kim Hogarth's shorts, to being entirely drained for the rest of the week. The week turned into over two months of struggling to run at any level. I had been pushed over the limit, and living at 8,000ft was making it impossible to recover. I lost all confidence in the coaching staff when I was never slowly transitioned back into training; everything was all out or not at all. Everyday I was over the line but was given no other choice, by the middle of October there is generally only the top 8 guys left training together, so the luxury of sitting in a slower pack during a workout is quickly lost. I was getting deeper and deeper into a hole that I had never experienced. This would take more than one or two easy days and is something only those who have spent a considerable amount of time at significant altitude would understand. One day you are in the best shape of your life, the next your season is over. It came so quick that there was nothing I could do to stop it. It was another experience that was unique and, although I struggled immensely, I would not change what happened. I spent over a year in Wellington with no interruptions, making huge gains in both my fitness and knowledge in a comfortable environment. However, there is only so much you can learn in that kind of situation, as I mentioned earlier; it was experience and an investment in my future development that I was seeking. Already I feel it has paid off.

Former New Zealand representative and Western State athlete Carl Jackson commented to me that "no one runs well there first year at altitude". There are some exceptions, Aish in particular. However, while Carl McKenzie and Hayden McLaren are joining the 4min mile club out East, I am working out on treadmills and racing at upwards of 6,000ft. It is part of the decision process when choosing a school. My goal in coming to Western State was to get strong, I realise that my situation could be very different if I was elsewhere, but each athlete must weigh his priorities and decide what will best serve him in the future. For me, Gunnison is an investment. I have arguably sacrificed any chance of an indoor season in coming here due to the weather and with it being my first year at altitude. However, I do not believe that when I am finished with my career that I will be judged on what I did or did not accomplish in my first season in America.

Other uncontrollable elements have played a large role in my experience thus far in the US. The cold is something I thought I knew in Wellington but took on a whole new meaning in Gunnison. There is no track here over winter, we run on roads under thick ice and snow-pack, and there is only so long that you can healthily withstand being out on a Sunday run. Alternating between running on ice and treadmills has a dramatic affect on your body. While I am lucky enough to say that I have never been truly injured, many runners at Western have been and currently are as a result of the adverse conditions we are forced to deal with. It does however, become part of daily life and something that is not worth becoming frustrated with. It is something that has made me stronger and better prepared for future training.

 Road Running

Illness is also something to be aware of. Most foreigners will find the first few weeks of the semester those when they get sick. New bugs and strands of colds and influenza are not to be underestimated, while living in small Valley in a state with an influenza epidemic is no exception. These are the elements that are more often that not, uncontrollable and all shape the initial experience and feelings of arriving in the US to run. More importantly, they are issues rarely on your mind before leaving, which makes their affects all the more frustrating. This is accentuated by the fact that whilst here on a scholarship, your purpose feels far narrower than in New Zealand. When you are unable to run, suddenly pressures add up. The sport in New Zealand is predominantly individualised and is a far cry from the collegiate system used here in the US. Thus, there is far more pressure from coaches and administrators to always be ready to perform and allow them to 'get there moneys worth'. What few coaches seem to understand is that the scholarship system is not a one-way deal, it is very much a business relationship, while they are accountable to expectations as well, not just the athlete. This is something I have been forced on occasion to address to those who expect there "moneys-worth" from me, with no consideration for their end of the deal.

As with all situations however, there is life away from running. Like many others living out scholarship-life in the states I have made lasting friendships, seen a lot of the country and learnt more about myself in a year than I ever thought possible. It is this side of life in America, the side away from the track, which has given me most enjoyment.

I began this article with the assertion that this topic is nothing new, and I will end with that. However, I feel that a small account of my experience could prove valuable for future athletes making the move to the US. There has been discussion about the topic, but too many athletes come over unprepared for the transition they are about to make and it's unnecessary. You can never know too much, you can never be too prepared. I hope this will be the start of a trend for other athletes in my situation; to provide accounts of their times in the US, the pressures they felt, and the lessons they would pass on. Too many athletes venture over to the US and are seemingly forgotten. If I am anything of an example, there are many high school runners out there who think of nothing else but emulating those of us who have gone before them. Information, resources, and accounts from other athletes should be something readily available in order to allow for more informed decisions about leaving, rather than just taking the first scholarship available, which has been the case for many. It is a life changing experience, and it need not be a bad one.

By Daniel Wallis.