Athlete
Spotlight on Dan Verrington
by David Hunt, USMRT.COM Writer
An interview with seven-time team member Dan Verrington.
Every runner wants speed. Speed is a quality that helps harriers move from
point A to point B in less amount of time. Every runner wants endurance.
Endurance is the characteristic that self-propels a human being for longer
and longer periods of time. Every runner wants longevity. Health and fitness
for a lifetime are benefits few enjoy, yet those who do relish in the freedom
they provide.
In other words, every runner wants to be Dan Verrington.
At 45-years old Verrington has crossed roughly 800 finish lines. And he’s
loved every minute of it. The fun-loving Verrington has no qualms about
how much enjoyment he has with the sport and his humble attitude is what
prompted him to say, “Well, you guys are really digging at the bottom
of the pile of runners for an interview, huh?!” It’s that same
humbleness that has made Verrington one of the most likable runners on the
New England circuit.
Verrington has all three of the golden qualities of running described above,
along with a fourth- success. His speed has led him to a 14:48 5K personal
best [CHIPS Challenge, 1994]. His endurance has brought him through a 100
kilometer challenge in a remarkable 7 hours, 30 minutes [World Challenge,
2002] and his longevity has brought him success in nearly every statistical
category a person can keep track of- with barely a sprained ankle to show
for it. Verrington has suffered no major injuries in his career and has
been able to log an uncountable amount of miles in his 3 plus decades of
running.
Dan crossing the finish line at the 2007 USA Mountain Championships at
the Cranmore Hill Climb.
Sure, he’s been able to hammer the roads
to the tune of a 2:21:10 [Vermont City Marathon, 1996] and a 1:05:31 half-marathon
[New Bedford, 1993], but it’s been Verrington’s tendency to
knock out the trails that have kept him injury free and training heavy.
Over the summer of 2007 Verrington could be seen competing in various
New England mountain races, hitting up many on the circuit and competing
with some of the younger names of the sport.
At the grinding Mt. Washington Verrington ran an impressive 1:14:31, good
for 23rd overall. A few weeks later he tackled the tough Mt. Cranmore
Hill Climb, finishing in 26th place in the U.S. National qualifying competition.
Then if you throw in a 5th place finish at Northfield Mountain and his
26:34 5-miler in a Thanksgiving ‘Trot’, you can see that Verrington
has kept on rolling.
USMRT.com was able to catch the elusive Verrington at his home in Bradford,
Massachusetts. Here’s what he had to say:
You’ve had a pretty illustrious career so far and you don’t
seem to be slowing down anytime soon- what seems to be your secret?
Luck (laughs); I don’t really get injured that often so
that’s been a huge part of my success, I guess. Outside of one stress
fracture that kept me out for eight weeks I really haven’t had anything
major keep me from training. I’ve also been able to stay enthusiastic
about running, which has kept my spirits up.
What would you consider the highlight of all the
races you have done?
You know, I don’t think I’ve had my highlight yet.
I’m always looking forward and I think it’s still to come.
I have run in a few national championships that were pretty nice and a
lot of mountain/ trail competitions that I have fond memories of. I enjoy
those races because I’m a pretty ancient guy and they keep my legs
from taking a beating.
What is the toughest race you’ve done?
A lot of the European races were tough. They had some hills, mostly
the uphill only courses that just seemed to climb, climb, climb. Those
type of races take a real grind on you but if you push yourself in any
race it can make it tough.
You placed 23rd at Mt. Washington this year in an impressive time (1:14:31),
how did you feel that race went for you?
I was actually expecting to do quite a bit better than that. For some
reason over the past two or three years I just haven’t hit the times
on Mt. Washington that I’ve wanted to hit. 23rd place isn’t
bad by any means but it just isn’t quite where I expected to finish.
I think it’s probably been my lack of specific uphill training prior
to the race.
Dan after running the Grand Canyon Rim to Rim in
100 degree heat
Previous
Athlete Spotlights |
|
| 01/08 | Erica Larson Baron |
| 12/07 | Eric Blake |
| 11/07 | Maria Dalzot |
| 10/07 | Laura Haefeli |
| 09/07 | Jay Johnson |
I’ve got you down for a 14:48 5k time, a 2:21
in the marathon and a 7:30 for the 100k…how are you able to have
such a variety in your race distances and still be so effective?
I like to call it a lack of focus (laughs). Seriously, I run about 45
races a year so I’m always going to and from a race somewhere. My
lack of focus just keeps me doing different distances. I guess it’s
kept me pretty fresh as well.
How is your training going right now?
I just put in a pretty tough month of training but I’m going to
take a short break to prepare for a 50 kilometer race in March. As the
season progresses I usually take things as they go. I don’t really
know where I’m going until it comes up. It depends on my condition
and preference at the time.
What does a typical training week look like for
you?
I run about 90 miles per week and start off with a reasonably long run
of 18-20 on Sunday. I follow that up with one speed workout each week
and I do a lot of doubles- eight and fives- throughout the week as well.
If you could give our readers one piece of advice,
what would that be?
Try to enjoy it so you’ll actually want to go out there and run.
Don’t run just because you feel that you have to. Running should
be something you want to do and it’s only fun when you make it that
way.