Adrian Blincoe: Kiwis can still fly

By Daniel Wallis

A few weeks before Beijing in the small municipality of Heusden-Zolder in Belgium, Adrian Blincoe took down the NZ 5000m record which had stood for 31-years. It was made all the more prominent because of who the record had formerly belonged too: Dick Quax. Quax’s name is all too familiar throughout New Zealand, carrying images of the golden era of Kiwi distance running, so Blincoe taking two seconds off the record to clock 13.10.19 was considerable news. Although Blincoe failed to advance beyond the heats in Beijing, his record a few weeks earlier cemented his reputation as New Zealand’s finest ever 5000m runner.

It is widely recognised that Blincoe has always been a phenomenal talent - claiming an NCAA championship as well as numerous All-American honours for the University of Villanova, yet before Heusden it seemed he had yet to really demonstrate his true potential.

Before heading to the states in 2001, Blincoe had an impressive junior career in New Zealand, being the prodigious talent of his generation. One of the earliest accounts of Blincoe’s exceptional ability was illustrated when as a 5^th former he lead from the gun to win the NZ Secondary Schools 3000m in a time of 8.27, while that same year capturing the senior boy’s cross-country title. Outside of high school it was quickly apparent that Blincoe was going to have little trouble dominating on the track. After running 3.42.78 and winning a national 1500m title, it was clear that a move to the states was needed for quality competition.

The choice to move to Villanova came after assurances he would not be over raced, while being confident that Marcus O’Sullivan, head coach and former 3-time world champion would have the knowledge and experience to maintain long-term development as a key component within the training plan. The results have been impressive: not only did Blincoe shine over cross and track in the NCAA; he has continued to get faster and stronger outside of college, something many athletes in the NCAA struggle with post-collegiately.

Perhaps the most memorable moment of Blincoe’s time in college was his efforts, along with Nick Willis, to qualify for the Athens Olympics in the 1500m. Blincoe ran close to the A-standard (3.36.20) on two occasions: 3.36.53 & 3.36.57 but was unable to clinch selection. Blincoe himself commented on his disappointment at not reaching Athens:

“I got too hung up with trying to be on pace, rather than just racing”

With a change of tactics, Blincoe was in 2005 able to run 3.35, the time that had eluded him in the crucial Olympic year.

“I was going better in training in 2004 than 2005, but my mentality was different in 2005 – I just tried to race well, finish high up in these races in Europe. The approach was a lot more conducive to performing well, and consequently I ran faster”.

In 2006, Blincoe went into the Melbourne Commonwealth Games as one of New Zealand’s best track hopes. The final result was however, described by Blincoe himself as ‘a disaster’. Blincoe, along with other athletes in the Nic Bideau stable; Andrew Baddely and Craig Mottram, had attempted to alternate laps as race strategy – unfortunately Blincoe faded to 10^th place while Nick Willis took the gold.

Blincoe had joined the Bideau group after graduating from Villanova and signing with New Balance. The move created an interesting combination: Adrian Blincoe – the NCAA champion and stud on the US scene, running in the group which had been built around Craig Mottram – the World Championships Bronze medallist over 5000m and 12.55 5000m runner. It appeared from the outside as if the two were bound to clash in a battle for the alpha-male spot, that Melbourne Track Club wasn’t big enough for the both of them. Blincoe is however quick to calm any talk of confrontation:

“There wasn’t really any friction. I just wanted to run fast. Buster did too but it was also pretty apparent that he wanted to be the best guy in the group. That’s understandable as the guy wanted to be the best in the world as well, I mean he’s one of the few guys around who has beaten (Keninesa) Bekele”… “Things didn’t pan out for Buster in Beijing so he decided to take a different path. He’ll be back running well pretty soon”.

Although officially coached by Marcus O’Sullivan, Nic Bideau oversees Blincoe’s training while in Europe. With the group being based in London for a couple of months each year, Bideau actually writes his workouts.

“I talk to Marcus regularly as well, but Marcus trusts Nic, so for the most part I am doing the same stuff that Collis (Birmingham) is doing”.

Unfortunately Blincoe was unable to compete in the Berlin World Champ’s after an injury blighted 2009. First there was an adductor strain that knocked out him out for May, while the month of June is described by Blincoe as ‘really good training’ with Aussies Collis Birmingham and David McNeill, where he started to approach the fitness level he had before the Olympics. However, after cooling down from a session before what was to be his first race at Crystal Palace, Blincoe was running past a pedestrian, and ran straight into his elbow.

“It knocked me on my arse, hurt pretty bad, but got up and kept running… a week later I had an intense stabbing feeling in my chest every time I took a breath. I had a cracked rib and I guess it was only once the swelling went down that it became a problem. Season over”.

After running 13.10 last year, the questions immediately began regarding what it would take for Blincoe to become only the second man from down under to break the 13min barrier. The small changes appear to be an increase in mileage, where Blincoe states that he is more around the 80-90 mile range per week, as opposed to 70-80 in 2008, as well as more drills, strides, and 1500m paced sessions. However, fitness may not necessarily be the main issue regarding a move into sub-13.00 territory.

“When I ran 13.10 I backed off with 1000m to go, just a lapse in concentration. I then made up for it with a 57sec last lap, so there was a part of me that was disappointed for not just toughing it out and going with the lead group, most of which ran 13.02-13.05… But for now the focus is just getting back under 13.20, and once there I’ll address what is needed to make the jump to 13.00”.

As well as running professionally for New Balance, Blincoe is also the assistant cross-country and track coach at Villanova, where he has been instrumental in establishing an ANZAC running outpost in Philadelphia, there are currently three kiwis and one Aussie.

“We’d like to get another Aussie over here to even things out a bit”.

A push for another Australian is made all the more understandable with Blincoe commenting that he prefers Vegemite to Marmite, perhaps a symptom of his Australian training partners. He is also a newly married man, claiming that he ‘cooks pretty much every night’, a testament to his sturdy, cosmopolitan up-bringing on Auckland’s North Shore.

The future for Adrian Blincoe is undoubtedly bright. At 28 years old he is coming into his prime for a distance runner. With the Commonwealth Games next year, Blincoe has his sights on reversing his performance in Melbourne.

“I’ll be shooting to finish pretty high up in the 5k. I’ll rely a lot on Nic and Marcus to have me ready to go in Delhi, as it’ll be new territory peaking in October”.

Heading into next years games Blincoe will have the experience of Melbourne as well as that of being an Olympian, a very different situation than when he toed the line in the 1500m four years ago. Hopefully New Delhi will be one championship where Adrian Blincoe is fighting for a spot on the podium.

“I’ll be shooting to finish pretty high up in the 5k. I’ll rely a lot on Nic and Marcus to have me ready to go in Delhi, as it’ll be new territory peaking in October”.
Adrian Blincoe