Teva U.S. Mountain Running Team

Athlete Spotlight on Joe Gray
by James Doak, USMRT.COM Writer
An interview with first time US team member Joe Gray and the success he has had in his early mountain running career.

Editors Note: After this inteview Joe went on to help the US Men's team win it's first ever Bronze Medal at the World Trophy in Switzerland. Joe also won the Northwest Mountain Running Championships upon his return. To read more about his efforts, go to http://usmrt.blogspot.com

When Joe Gray stepped to the line of the Canadian Mountain Championships, he wasn’t sure how the race would play out. In a competition that included a handful of accomplished runners, including the previous champion, Adrian Lambert, Gray made sure not to go out too hard. The Washington native stuck close to the leaders through the first 4k of the race. Lambert soon made a break for the lead and Gray quickly covered his move, turning the field of 22 competitors into a two man race.

The gap continued to grow as Lambert relentlessly pushed the pace up Mount Seymour. Gray knew that Lambert is a really good runner (two-time champion) and that he needed to make his move soon to assure himself the win. Gray tucked behind Lambert until they reached the snowy section of the course where he was prepared to make a move that would win him the race.

Joe Gray in Switzerland at the World Mountain Running Trophy.

Winning would not be as easy as he anticipated due to the fact that his trail shoes did not have great traction in the snow. After slipping multiple times, even falling, Gray was forced to follow in Lambert’s tracks a little longer. Once they reached dry land, Gray found that all important footing and threw down a final surge. With 800 meters left, he “charged to the front and never looked back.” Making it look easy, Gray won by 48 seconds in a time of 1:01:56.

Gray is certainly no newcomer to the sport of running. He started running back in 7th grade when his gym teacher encouraged him to go out for track. He simply started winning races and decided to stick with it. As a former University of Oklahoma runner, he boasts an impressive 14:15 5k and 8:44 steeple chase, which was fast enough for the Olympic “B” standard and 1:07 in the half marathon.

The track has suited him well for the transition into the mountain running scene. Gray knows that “you need a decent amount of speed to be great on the hills and the track is where it all starts.”

This past summer, Gray also competed at Mt. Washington for the first time. It was a learning experience as he finished in a solid 1:01:31 for fourth place. Even though he didn’t run as well as he would have liked, he was still able to make the 2008 US Mountain Running Team.

Gray looks to continue his strong season with a few tune-up races in Europe to get himself ready for the cross country season here in the states. Gray certainly has a great running career ahead of him with the hopes of making many more US mountain teams.

USMRT.com caught up with Gray on his training and his outlook on the mountain running scene:

How/when did you get into running?
I actually started running around 7th grade, I was mostly into basketball and my PE teacher whom is now one of my best friends noticed I had a little running talent so I went out for the track team and it went pretty well. I won a lot of races and decided to stick with it.

How many miles do you typically run in a week?
Usually, I average around 60 to 75 or so.

What motivates you to get out there every day and put in the long miles required to be a competitive mountain runner?

Previous Athlete Spotlights
08/08	Brandy Erholtz
07/08	Kelli Lusk
05/08	Rickey Gates
03/08	Chris Lundy
02/08	Dan Verrington
01/08	Erica Larson Baron
12/07	Eric Blake
11/07	Maria Dalzot
10/07	Laura Haefeli
09/07	Jay Johnson

I have a lot of motivation. Most of it stems from a very supportive group of family and friends. Another fuel for motivation I contribute to what I call haters. These are the people that you have come across in your life who wish bad things upon you and smile when you frown. So, a lot of my motivation is due to the simple fact that I have these people to think about as I attempt to win and compete in races.

What kind of workouts do you do?
Workouts are pretty simple for me, like most runners, I like to have a mix of tempos and interval work. I try to get my easy runs on nice soft trails with uphills and downhill’s to get the body ready for those races.

Do you enjoy trail/mountain running more than the track?
I love the track. I run the steeplechase, which is kind of crazy like mountain running so I feel they both are pretty fun to train and compete in. Mountain running is unlike any other race I have competed in. I have always felt I could grind it out and run in pain longer than most so running mountain races has been a sort an easy transition. So, I guess mountain running would be my preference.

Were you happy with your Mt. Washington race?
I was happy indeed, but I feel like I should have approached the race a little different to run faster. But you live and you learn and next time I run the race I will try to fix that mistake.

What was your race plan or strategy? How did it work out for you?
The mountain running guru I look up to, Simon, told me a lot about the race before running it and gave me a lot of good advice. From that advice I figured I would go out around 31 minutes and come back with a 31 and that should be a good time and get me on the team. My strategy was good but I didn’t stick to it, but that was O.K. because I felt fine, but my whole plan was to make sure I could run even splits on the course and I pretty much did that. So, the strategy worked well in the end because I did end up making the team and ran a good time.

What races can we look forward to seeing you compete in?
I will be overseas racing in Norway, Austria, Italy, and of course, the world trophy race in Switzerland

Name a few of your favorite runners or runners who inspire you?
As I said before Simon Gutierrez is a great mountain runner who inspires me and also encourages me. It’s not often that a runner has someone who inspires him who also encourages him.

A lot of runners say, “Oh, Bekele is my favorite runner,” but in essence, they will probably never meet the guy. So, I feel lucky to have met Simon, he is actually one of the guys who got me interested in trail and mountain running initially. Another individual who is inspiring to me is my father. He himself was a stellar athlete in multiple sports and through his accomplishments in life; I want nothing more than to make him proud of mine as well. Even when races don’t go as planned my father has always been encouraging and said the right things to get me motivated for the next race.

Do you plan on running a marathon in the future?
Marathon, wheeeew, that is a maybe. I don’t know about those races. They’re a bit long and kind of rough on the body. I like the half marathon distance, but marathon is just kind of pointless to me. Who knows, I probably will one day get talked into running one.

Outside of running, what do you do enjoy doing for fun?
Outside of running I enjoy dancing, poetry and basketball. I am a huge movie fanatic, I love going to the movies and seeing what is new. Camping is also another big interest to me. Traveling, even if not for running, I just love to get out and travel and see what there is in the world.

See more pictures of Joe, along with some of his race reports at http://usmrt.blogspot.com

Athlete Spotlight highlights a current or former member of the U.S. Mountain Running Team. A new athlete will be featured at least once a month. Athlete Spotlight writers include: David Hunt, a writer who resides in Virginia and is an avid trail, mountain and roadrunner; James Doak, a track and XC runner at Liberty University, and Kaelyn Christopher, a track and XC runner at West Virginia University. David and James also both work for 100write.com, a writing and website development company.