Interview: Ryan Bak of Trinity College (Alumni)
At first glance, it may seem strange that
Ryan Bak--a 2003 graduate of Trinity College in Connecticut--would
have left college with unfinished business.
After all, he was a national champion in cross country, owner of a 4:01
mile time indoors, and the fourth-fastest DIII outdoor 5000m runner ever. Yet while some may have seen a solid cap to a
career, Ryan and others only saw potential left to be tapped. Since 2003 he has surrounded himself with a
number of other national-caliber runners and reaped the benefits (including a
13:38 5000m best), but he's also sustained a string of injuries. Now under the tutelage of Frank Gagliano in
the well-established Oregon
Track Club Elite, Ryan hopes that the next year will find him making big
improvements to position himself in preparation for 2008. Ryan recently took some time to talk about
his past injury struggles, present turnaround, as well as to reflect on his
DIII career, including winning Nationals at St. Olaf.
You made some sizable improvements in
your PRs since training under Bob Sevene out in California after graduating in 2003. What's the transition been like since his
retirement from coaching last year? Bring us through the past twelve months of
your running.
The past 18
months have played out as the most trying period of my running career. I have been on a roller coaster ride of highs
and lows due to a series of 4 fairly major injuries. It began in early 2006 with a short but
successful indoor campaign in which I ran a personal best at 3,000 meters of
7:53, demonstrating that my fitness was setting up well for a good showing at
the USA Winter XC Championships. At the
cross country trials I finished 9th
in the 4k short course race and came back the next day with a 13th
place finish in the 12k long course race.
I was
selected for a spot on my first USA squad to compete in the North American,
Central American, and Caribbean (NACAC) XC Championships. Unfortunately, my first low was right around
the corner and a few days before I was scheduled to travel to the NACAC XC
Championships I sustained a slight tear to my left Achilles tendon. Needless to say, I missed a good deal of
training and was just getting back into the swing of things when the Big Sur
Distance Project was coming to a close.
I moved to Gunnison, Colorado
in May of 2006 to be with my girlfriend, Natalie Provost, and to train in the
crisp thin air at a base elevation of 7703 feet. I became a volunteer assistant coach for
Western State College of Colorado,
a perennial powerhouse in DII distance running.
I began training with Michael Aish, a phenomenal distance runner and New Zealand
native, who also began acting as my training advisor. During my first summer in Gunnison
I suffered a major injury to illio-sacral ligament (attaches between the sacrum
and illium). This put me out of running
for another two months. I finally got
back to health and slowly built back into training during the fall. I ran
the Manchester Road Race on Thanksgiving Day, but soon after I was sidetracked
again, this time with serious nerve pain in my right foot. I discovered that I had a severely pinched
nerve that was trapped from releasing and two neuromas in my right foot. After months of shooting nerve pain, which
kept me from any hard running, and exhausting every means of treatment, I
finally had surgery on my foot on February 19, 2007. I traveled to New Jersey to have Dr. John Connors perform
an operation to cut the ligament that holds the metatarsals together in my foot
so that my third and fourth metatarsals could separate further to relieve the
pressure of the main neuroma and release the pinched nerve. After recovering from the surgery, I spent
one week on the spin bike and seven weeks running before I opened my track
season with a 13:49
5,000m at the Payton Jordan Cardinal Invite in Palo Alto. My confidence was coming around and I felt
like I was finally back on track (literally and figuratively).
A planned move
in late May landed Natalie and I in her hometown of Eugene, Oregon. I wanted to get back to a group-training
atmosphere and Coach Gagliano invited me out to train under his tutelage with
the Oregon Track Club Elite. I quickly
got to work. Fresh off of a new personal
best, 3:43.52
1500m at the Pre-Prefontaine Meet, in the midst of a heavy week of training
and still in my strength phase, my sights were set on a great summer of racing
with lofty goals. Unfortunately, another
major injury crept up on me less than a week later. Another injury to the illio-sacral ligament
left me at home all summer wondering if it was time to hang up the spikes as it
seemed like my body just couldn't keep up with the daily pounding any longer.
I was fortunate
to fall into the hands of an old surfing buddy of Natalie's father. Without question, one of the most skilled and
knowledgeable therapists in the world of athletics, Chris Whetstine, soon
became a close friend and the encouragement that I needed to get back on my
feet. The root and driving force behind
my string of injuries was finally discovered to be a fairly significant leg
length discrepancy. With the work of
Whetstine, Dr. Richard Gorman in Eugene, and Dr.
Ted Forcum in Beaverton,
I have been able to get back to full strength and take proper measures to
minimize the potential for future related injuries. I am now fully immersed in base training with
Gags and the OTC contingency and feeling better than ever before.
It's the unavoidable question that lots
of people are undoubtedly asking themselves heading into next year, so we've
got to ask you, too. Next year is an
Olympic year. How are you feeling going
into it, and what are your goals?
I am feeling
really good going into the Olympic year.
I finally have my injuries problems behind me and I am really enjoying
running again. It is a huge asset to
have top-level coaching, a group of talented and hard working training
partners, great facilities, and access to a great support system. I'm very excited at the prospects of
competing in my new hometown for the Olympic Trials. My number one goal for the year is to stay
healthy. If I can do that, good things
will come. One of the biggest keys in
distance running is consistency and that means consistent training over time. It has been a long time since I have been
able to put together a solid period of uninterrupted training, and I have still
been fortunate enough to make some progress.
I have confidence that if I can reach my goal, I will have a breakout
year and make huge strides.
How did your experience running in
Division III prepare and not prepare you for running as a professional
post-collegiately?
Competing in
Division III provided me the opportunity to race in championship races earlier
in my collegiate career than I would have otherwise been capable of in other
divisions. This enabled me to gain valuable
experiences earlier in my career. I was
fortunate to have a very supportive coach (George Suitor) at Trinity that
helped create opportunities for me to race at higher levels during indoor and
outdoor track. Traveling to some meets
like Mt. SAC and Penn Relays really opened my eyes to how fast some athletes
were running in Division I and made me look outside of the stereotypes of what
a Division III runner should be capable of.
The transition to running post-collegiately on the professional level is
a difficult transition to make no matter what division within the college ranks
you are coming from. To an extent
running for a small school in DIII may have provided me with more opportunities
when I first finished school. Not too
many DI runners with personal bests of 4:01 in the mile and 14:00 for 5k have
opportunities knocking on their door to run professionally, but coming from a
small school and a small program their were some people that were willing to
take a chance on me as they saw this as a sign of untapped potential.
How much do you still follow Division III
running? How much do you check up on
your alma mater, Trinity
College (the men's team
is currently ranked 31st)?
I still try to
keep tabs on what going on in Division III running. I don't follow it as thoroughly as I did
while I was still in school competing, however, I do pay attention to the
bigger races of the season. I also try
to stay in regular contact with Coach Suitor at Trinity, and I follow the
team's results weekly. Trinity has a
very talented team that is still fairly young.
I am looking for them to surprise some people over the next couple of
years.
Monday, July 30, 2007 must have been a
momentous day for you. Where does the Letsrun quote of the day
rank on your all-time list of accomplishments?
Hahahahaha... I
really didn't expect my email to Weldon to develop into the quote of the
day. It felt a little odd seeing my
words at the top of the webpage. I
definitely took a good deal of flak for it, which probably negates it off of
any list of top accomplishments.
However, I still strongly stand behind what I said. The recent news with Marion Jones simply
added more credence and legitimacy to my defense of Chris Whetstine. Chris was truly an unfortunate victim.
Do you keep an online running log that
you'd be willing to share?
I do not have an
online running log. I keep my log on an
excel spreadsheet that I put together several years ago. I have provided an abbreviated version of the
last two weeks of my training:
Monday 10/15 /07 AM
11 miles w/ hurdles, drills, pillars, strides
AM Lifting
at Hayward plus
core
PM 5 mile
secondary run at Amazon
Tuesday 10/16 /07 AM
14 miles w/ 7 x mile on wood chips at Amazon w/2:00 jog rest (4:53, 4:54, 4:54,
4:53, 4:54, 4:55, 4:52)
PM 4 mile
shakeout run from my condo
Wednesday
10/17/07 AM 10 miles on
Amazon-Rexius-Ridgeline trail
PM
Chiropractor w/ laser treatment on neuroma
PM 4 mile
secondary run from my condo
Thursday
10/18/07 AM 13.5 miles w/40 minute
hill tempo at Hendrix park
PM 4.5 mile
shakeout run from my condo
Friday 10/19/07 AM 11 miles w/ hurdles, drills,
pillars, strides
AM Lifting
at Hayward plus
core
Saturday
10/20/07 AM 13.5 miles w/ 7 mile
pace run (5:15, 5:05, 5:02, 5:01, 5:04, 4:59, 5:00)
PM 4.5 mile
shakeout run from my condo
Sunday 10/21/07 PM 19 mile long run on mixed terrain
(Pre's trails to logging road to Mt.
Pisgah out and back)
Total: 114 miles
Monday 10/22/07 AM 11 miles w/ hurdles, drills, strides
AM Core and
pillars at Hayward
PM 5 mile
secondary run
Tuesday 10/23/07 AM 15.5 miles w/ Michigan workout (2k on
wood chips, 2k on track, 2k chips, 1600m track, 2k chips, 1200m track, 2k
chips, 800m track w/ all wood chips running at 5:10-15 pace and all track
running at 4:50 pace)
PM 4 mile
shakeout run mostly on grass
Wednesday
10/24/07 AM 12 miles on mixed terrain
(condo to Amazon-Rexius wood chips loop and back)
PM
Chiropractor w/ laser treatment on neuroma
Thursday
10/25/07 AM 13 miles w/ 35 minute
short hard hill loop
PM 5 mile
secondary run from my condo
Friday 10/26/07 AM 11 miles w/ hurdles, drills,
strides
AM Lifting
and pillars at Hayward
plus core
Satruday
10/27/07 AM 14.5 miles w/ 8 mile
pace run in Corvallis after watching Pac-10 XC Championships (5:20, 5:01, 4:59,
4:58, 4:57, 4:58, 4:54, 4:54)
PM 4 mile
shakeout run on wood chips
Sunday 10/28/07 PM 18 mile long run on
Amazon-Rexius-Ridgeline
Total: 113 miles
One of the highlights of your collegiate
career must have been winning the National Cross Country
Championship in 2002. The race that
year was held at St. Olaf, and this year's championship returns to that site. Bring us through the race that day and how it
played out.
It's been a long
time, so some of details might be a little rusty. I remember telling myself all season
(beginning with my training early in that summer) that I was going to win the
NCAA XC Championships at St. Olaf. I
visualized it way too many times. I
trained harder than I ever had up to that point in my running career and I kept
telling myself that I was training harder than everyone else and if I kept it
up I could make a statement at NCAAs and run away with the victory. As the race day neared, I was very
nervous. I put a lot of pressure on
myself to win. Anything less that than
would have been a huge disappointment. I
think that most of the people around me, my teammates, and my friends at
school, all expected me to win. That
added a lot of pressure on top of the pressure I was already putting on
myself. I just couldn't wait to race and
get it over with. I knew that once the
gun went off, I would be calm and my instincts would kick in and take control.
I remember going
out hard off of the starting line to make sure that I didn't get tripped or
stuck in any of the traffic. Once I got
to the front, I looked around and I felt like everyone in the race was looking
at me and waiting for me to take the pace.
I settled in right at the front, but I ran very easy and looked for
someone else to take the lead. I ran
very comfortable for the first two miles and then just after the two mile
marker I made a hard move off of the front and put in a surge. That was exactly where I had planned to make
a move every time I visualized the race in my head. No one responded to my surge at first, so I
just kept it going. I ran a hard mile
and opened up a big gap of about 20 seconds on the field during the one hilly
section of the course. I relaxed and
cruised through the rest of the race. It
was a great feeling hearing the crowd roar and having the race under control
during the last two miles. I really got
to relax and truly enjoy the victory. I
might have enjoyed it a little too much though, as I let the margin slip during
the last 1/2 mile, but I was prepared to surge if need be. I remember crossing the line and seeing my
Mom and Dad at the finish line. It was a
great feeling and a great relief of pressure off of my shoulders. 
What does it take to run well on the St.
Olaf course? Do you have any other
general impressions of it, either as a competitor or spectator?
I remember
seeing lots of pre race talk on different message boards saying that it was a
course suited for strength runners due to the longer hills during the 3rd
and 4th miles. People were
saying that speed runners would struggle such as myself. My impression was that the course was pretty
slow due to the long grass, but it's not as difficult as people make it out to
be. You need to be prepared to change
your rhythm during the 3rd and 4th miles. You can pick up a lot of speed on the down
hills and that momentum can be transferred back up the hills.
Are there any other closing thoughts or
pieces of wisdom you'd like to share?
I would like to
wish everyone the best of luck throughout the last few weeks of the season.
It is important
not to lose sight of why you run. If you
enjoy what you do and it brings you happiness it is only then that you will be
capable of your best.
Thanks to Ryan for a fantastic interview.
post comment
Untitled Comment
9:57 PM, November 12, 2007
.. Posted by Anonymous
Thanks for interviewing Ryan! I have been wondering what he has been up too; haven't seen in much in results lately and now i see why.
Keep interviewing those D3 alumni!
Bak
9:55 AM, November 15, 2007
.. Posted by Manville
Great guy, class act.However, I doubt he was nervous before X-C Nats. I have never seen that guy nervous; Stone Cold Ryan Bak!!!
Pic at the Bottom
12:28 AM, January 29, 2008
.. Posted by Geoffrey Long
Btw. The pic at the bottom was from one of Bak's best collegiate races - 2002 NESCAC XC Championships at the Farm Course - Tufts University. Bak crushed the field and the course record, it was in the low 24 minute range. No one had broken 25 on that course to that point. I am not sure anyone has done it since. Hope you put together a healthy season in '08.
GW Long, Trin '04
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