Birmingham, AL - RunMichigan was able to talk with Clint Verran the 1992 Class A MHSAA Individual State Champion out of Lake Orion High School. Clint runs for the Hansons-Brooks ODP team and is one of ten Hansons-Brooks team members to qualify for Men's Marathon trials. Clint has a personal best of 2:14:17 for the Marathon and competed in Paris at the 2003 World Championship Marathon. Clint will be heading to Birmingham, AL as one of the favorites to earn a spot on the 2004 U.S. Marathon Olympic team.
RunMichigan: How does it feel to be running in your second Olympic Trials Marathon?
Clint: It feels great. Hard to believe how fast the last 4 years have gone. It's nice to have had a positive experience in 2000 to reflect back upon.
RunMichigan: What are you doing different in 2004 then you did for the 2000 Trials?
Clint: In 2000, I was a full-time PT student and a part-time runner. Now I am a full-time runner and a part time PT. As far as my training goes, there's just a lot more consistency as well as quality. The workouts we run now are far superior to the ones I ran in 2000. Also, my focus is much better, less distractions.
RunMichigan: What have you learned from running at the World Championships Marathon and how will it help Feb 7th?
Clint: I've learned the difference between a time-trial and a race. Chicago is a time trial. The Olympic trials is a race. There's a different mentality. In a Chicago style race, the athletes seem to try to help each other so they all run fast. On Feb 7th nothing matters if your not in the top three. It's basically every man for himself.
RunMichigan: How does your current training environment support what you have accomplished so far?
Clint: The key for me is training partners. I wouldn't be where I am now without the guys I've trained with now and in the past. Jim Jurcevich taught me how to train hard. Chad Johnson taught me how to train fast. Now I've got Brian Sell and Nick Cordes who push me beyond where I could push on my own.
RunMichigan: Since you ran the Olympic Trials course at the 2003 US Championships, what do you think of the course and how will your 3rd place finish help on Feb 7th?
Clint: The course is fairly fast. Not a whole lot to slow you down. Of course, anything can happen with the weather. We could run in a thunderstorm with 30 MPH winds or it could be 60F. However, I'm expecting fair conditions. My third place last year was a time trial. We where trying to break 2:12. This time, I won't risk my race by throwing down a string of 4:55's like last year to catch up for some slow early miles. I learned t hat it's hard to make up for lost time in a marathon. Even pace is tough enough without having to make up time.
RunMichigan: Congratulations on the Disney Half-Marathon. What was the goal for the Disney Half?
Clint: Thanks. The goal for us there was to get a decent effort in at the end of a very tough week. We ran 4X3mi at sub 4:50 pace on Tuesday and 10x800 at sun 2:20 pace on Thurs. Also ran 18 miles the day before the race. All of this on concrete in Walt Disney World. It's a great place to vacation, but a horrible place to run.
RunMichigan: What are you doing over the next two weeks to prepare for the Trials?
Clint: I've been here in Birmingham, AL for the past 2 weeks training hard. I've done workouts with Kevin Collins, Scott Strand, and Todd Reeser. Now my teammates are starting to arrive just in time to start tapering. We've got two decent workouts planned this week, and then the real heavy taper begins.
RunMichigan: What do you do to relax from running?
Clint: When I'm at home, I enjoy spending time with my wife, Christie. She likes to motivate me to do home improvement projects with her. Or sometimes, we just like to go out for coffee and talk. We both work a lot of afternoon shifts (she's a pharmacist at St. Joes--Oakland). After my morning run we hang out until she leaves for work or I go out for my second run.
RunMichigan: What is your favorite workout and why?
Clint: I love anything on the track. Coming from EMU, I feel at home on track. I just ran 4miles---2miles----4Miles on the track at 4:50 pace and loved it. Some people get sick of going round and round, but I don't mind it at all. I also like doing faster stuff, like 10x800 on the track. It feels good to get my legs moving.
RunMichigan: Least favorite workout, but most helpful?
Clint: 2x6 miles at Stoney Creek Metro Park. Not only is each mile :03 long, the place is the coldest, windiest, hilliest place on Earth. I hate it there.
RunMichigan: What is your favorite restaurant in Birmingham, AL? Any suggestions for a must see place in Birmingham?
Clint: I suggest the Imperial Palace III on I-280. It's an all-you-can-eat Chinese place down the street. You need to bug the waitresses to keep the sodas coming, but the sesame chicken can't be beat. There's lots of variety to. Even Carl Rundell found something he could eat there!
RunMichigan: What do you like about running and living in Michigan?
Clint: I love the spring, summer, and fall. I can even tolerate December because of Christmas and New Year and stuff. January and February are just ridiculous for running. Nobody I know can look you in the face and say they really love running when the windchill factor drops below -20F. It might make you sound tough when you go to work and people can't believe you ran OUTSIDE today, but I'd rather run fast on solid footing than brag about how my eyelids froze together.
