Oct 21, 2008
Josh Eberly- US Marathon Champs - 9th place Views- 621

Josh Eberly ran 2:21:40 to place 9th at the US Marathon Championships that were hosted in the Twin Cities on October 5th. Read on to find out about the ups and downs of the race for Josh and to see what his big surprise at the end of the race was.

RM: How was your training going into the US Marathon Champs? Was the type of training you did to prepare for the marathon the same type of training as past marathons, or did you try something new? Why or Why not?


JE: Training went very well. Probably my best training segment that I have put together. I was real worried about getting a coach, but decided that being my own coach and really listening to my own body is probably the best thing for me; especially because I am back at 8000ft. A lot of coaches don't understand how altitude works when writing workouts, they don't understand that the longer you are running at altitude the more it effects you.

I tried some longer runs and longer workouts. I had a 2hr 30 min run every 12-15 days. I tried longer tempo runs, up to 16 miles and then just ran a lot of easy days, some times I went 4-5 days in between certain workouts because I was pretty drained from them. I was really in tune with my body, listening to it and planning certain workouts around how my legs and body were feeling.


RM: What was your goal going into the championships, with regard to place and time? Was there any other motivation for you outside those two factors and if so, what and why?


JE: Honestly, I thought I was in the best shape of my life. I was training for 2:15 pace and thought that would put me up front with a good chance to butt heads with a few guys. I was training to win, not to get in the top 5 or top 10.



RM: On race morning, what was your thought process like with regard to the bad weather report and how you would attempt to run the race? How did you feel you did with regard to implementing your strategy for the race?


JE: It didn't really change my game plan, I wanted to really feel out the race and see how things were playing out during the first 10k. At the start it was raining a little bit and then around mile 3 it started to come down (cats and dogs-- hard).

I wasn't sure that the weather was going to effect the race, not sure if it did. I just wanted to run my own race and not worry about the weather or what any one else was doing.



RM: Describe the race a bit, with regard to how you felt at different times throughout the race. Were you able to keep your cool throughout the race or did you lose it a few times?


JE: The race started off nice and slow and then around mile 3 and 4 it started to pick up. I felt pretty flat when the pace picked up and backed off. I had some stomach issues and cramping during the the first half of the race. I had to stop at mile 15 to fix my shoe. I had to stop at mile 18 for a bathroom break and then two other times for stretching stops (my calves were very tight).

When I got out of the bathroom around mile 18, I heard a spectator yell at me saying that I was in 38th place. I couldn't stop thinking of all the hard work I put in and got a second wind. I was trying to run as hard as I could to pass as many people as I could in the last 5 miles. My calves felt like they were going to rip off my bone going up summit ave, but I kept on trucking.

With 400 meters to go I heard another spectator yell at me saying that I was in 11th place. That gave me just enough adrenalin to pass those two other guys at the end.


RM: You missed out on the last marathon trials so how does it feel to have a qualifier for the next Olympic marathon trials? How will having that effect your training and racing plans for the upcoming years?


JE: I didn't even know about the new USATF rule. Jim Estes and Glenn Latimer were congratulating me on making it to the trials. I didn't realize it until I got home and read the new rule on the internet.

The O.T.s are a long way off. I don't think it will effect much until that year comes. Hopefully I will take advantage of it somehow.


RM: What is up next in your racing plans and how much time off do you plan on giving yourself?


JE: I will take a week off or so and then back into it. Not sure what is next. Maybe another marathon before it gets too cold here.

Just want to recover well and get back out there.