The 10,000 Meter Finals
July 15th, 2000.

RunMichigan's Interview with James Jurcevich from
the 2000 U.S. TRACK & FIELD OLYMPIC TRIALS

July 15th, 2000

Sacramento, CA - RunMichigan was able to catch up with James Jurcevich in Sacramento after his race. James competed in the 10,000 meter finals at the US Track and Field Olympic Trials. Here is a RunMichigan chat with James about his great race and his thoughts on the Trials.


RunMichigan: - Since this was your first Olympic Trials were you nervous?

James Jurcevich: Yeah, I was really nervous when I started getting ready to leave for the race. But once I got there and started warming up. Most of the nervs went away. Once the race starts, it all becomes familiar and there isn�t time to be nervous any more.


RunMichigan: - How did your training go leading up to the Trials? Who did you train with to get ready for the Trials?

James Jurcevich: I trained with Clint Verran, who was 11th in the Marathon Olympic Trials. My training went well. I was sick at the beginning of March and then after that we really started to get ready. I had about 10 weeks at 140 miles per week. We knew with the way my training was going I was going to run well.


RunMichigan: - What was your plan going into the race and were you looking to run a specific time for the 10,000?

James Jurcevich: I was looking to run under the 28:10 Olympic standard, wanting to run 28:00. The plan going in was to run 67.5 seconds per lap, which works out to roughly 28:00 minutes. My coaches Kevin and Keith Hanson gave me the encouragement and confidence to take the lead if the pace ever slowed below that.


RunMichigan: How did you feel about your 28:39 time and your 6th place finish?

James Jurcevich: I was definitely pleased. I wanted to run faster but I am happy with where I ended up. It lets me see that with just a little more work, I can be right there with the leaders.


RunMichigan: Can you describe from start to finish how the race unfolded?

James Jurcevich: I started out in last after the first lap, then slowly worked my way to the center of the pack. Then at about a mile and half, I went to the lead when the pace slowed to about 69 seconds a lap. 8 or 9 guy responded and went with me. Abdi then made the next big move at about 2 and a half. At 3.75 miles I had to go back to the lead as the pace slowed once more. Just after 4 miles Mebrahtom Keflezighi went and went hard, that spread the pack out for good. From that point on it became survival. I worked together with Shawn Found to try to catch Brad Hauser and one of us did.


RunMichigan: What made you take the lead twice during the race?

James Jurcevich: Taking the lead was dictated by how much the pace slowed down. When ever it slowed to around 69�s I went to the front. I didn�t have to do as much leading as I thought I would before the race.


RunMichigan: Since you had one of the slower qualifying times, what gave you the confidence to run with the lead pack most of the race?

James Jurcevich: My coaches and my workouts gave me all the confidence I needed.


RunMichigan: What have you enjoyed most about the Trials?

James Jurcevich: Running well. Everything is fun and you feel no pain when you are running well.


RunMichigan: What do you think of Sacramento?

James Jurcevich:Great place to run. Great place for the trials. Cool in the morning and evenings, and hot during the day.


RunMichigan: What are your plans for the rest of 2000?

James Jurcevich: Run some road races over the summer, and then get ready for cross country.


RunMichigan: Where will we see James Jurcevich at next?

James Jurcevich: Other than at Hanson's Running Shop at the intersection of University and 75 in Auburn Hills. My next race will be either the US Half Marathon Championships in Parkersburg, VA., or the Crim 10 Miler.

-- end --

U.S. TRACK & FIELD OLYMPIC TRIALS
July 14th, 2000
10,000 METERS FINAL RESULTS:

        
  RANK COMP# ATHLETE NAME              TEAM                             TIME     
  -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
     1   502 Mebrahtom Keflezighi      Nike                         28:03.32     
     2   209 Alan Culpepper            adidas                       28:03.35     
     3    11 Abdihakim Abdi            Nike                         28:19.08     
     4   304 Shawn Found               U.S. Army                    28:33.73     
     5   384 Brad Hauser               Stanford                     28:36.53     
     6   497 James Jurcevich           Hansons RS                   28:39.20     
     7   257 Matt Downin               Wisconsin                    28:45.58     
     8   233 Rodney Dehaven            New Balance                  28:48.98     
     9    49 Jason Balkman             Stanford                     28:50.90     
    10   831 Ryan Shay                 Notre Dame                   28:51.74     
    11   495 Peter Julian              adidas                       28:57.45     
    12  1070 Gary Stolz                Nike                         29:11.97     
    13   922 Eric Tollefson            Asics                        29:13.72     
    14    47 Kyle Baker                Unattached                   29:21.89     
    15   468 Chad Johnson              Unattached                   29:28.47     
    16    68 Andrew Begley             Unattached                   29:28.79     
    17   479 Weldon Johnson            Unattached                   29:29.40     
    18   815 Steven Schell             Michigan State               29:30.19     
    19   255 Keith Dowling             adidas                       29:31.67     
    20   234 Peter DeLaCerda           Reebok                       29:32.92     
    21   655 Michael Mykytok           Unattached                   29:33.36     
    22   340 Chris Graff               Reebok                       29:36.12     
    23   674 Nathan Nutter             Nike                         29:42.28     
    24   212 Adam Dailey               Arkansas                     30:01.51     
    25   541 Jason Lehmkuhle           Unattached                   30:32.29     
    26   635 Teddy Mitchell            New Balance                  30:52.49     
    27    60 Brad Barquist             Nike                         31:16.25     
     -   726 Eric Polonski             New Balance                       DNF     
     -   785 Nick Rogers               Nike                              DNF     
     -   251 Michael Donnelly          New Balance                       DNF     
     -   618 Dan Middleman             New York AC                       DNF     
     -   385 Brent Hauser              Stanford                          DNF     
     -   877 Stetson Steele            Iowa                              DNF     
     -   896 Nolan Swanson             Nike                              DNF     
     -  1065 Terrance Mahon            adidas                            DNS     
     -   505 Bob Kennedy               Nike                              DNS