Running with the Buffaloes

by Chris Lear

  words it or puts it in a manner of letting me make my own decisions . . .

  [For example] you could go into his office one hundred percent sure you want to cut your miles. Then you’ll talk about it, and somehow when you’re in there he’ll convince you that you need to run more miles instead of less.

  When you walk out you say what the hell happened! But you feel good about it.

  It is a symbiotic relationship in which each enhances the success of the other. Goucher follows Wetmore’s instructions unequivocally and improves. Meanwhile, every success Goucher has is another validation of Wetmore’s methods. Tessman knows the success Goucher has had with Wetmore, and he derives a tremendous amount of confidence from doing the same workouts as the champ. “To see Goucher, the top dog, working with me, I know I’m going to run well. There’s no reason not to run well.” The logic is hard to beat: if Goucher does it, and he is a three-time national champion on the track, I better do it too.

  O’Mara has also observed CU’s success the past few years, and he came to CU to train under Wetmore. Nevertheless, transferring to CU

  was the most difficult decision he has ever made. “My best friend back home just transferred to PC [Providence College],” he says, “so when I made the decision to transfer here, it was tough for me. But running is important to me, so I had to make that change to realize my potential.”

  A former footballer in high school in Northboro, Massachusetts, he has lost 30 pounds to get down to a still less than svelte 150 pounds. He has trained over 80 miles per week this summer in preparation for the fall season, yet his goals remain long-term oriented. He says, “I want to adapt to the new training load, stay injury free, and by training outdoors there’s an opportunity to race well. I set myself up for disappointment when I went to PC because of the adjustment needed [to succeed as a collegiate runner]. It’s not the same adjustment now, but it’s an adjustment nonetheless. I’ve got time. There’s no rush to contribute now.”

  Despite his lessened sense of urgency, O’Mara is convinced of the ef-ficacy of Wetmore’s system. “Mark is very methodical, and he knows exercise physiology,” he says. “I’m a convert to his Lydiard system.”

  Wetmore’ system is based on the training principles of New Zealand coaching great Arthur Lydiard. It is a high-mileage program that emphasizes the development of his runner’s aerobic capacity or endurance. Much has been alleged about Colorado’s training regimen. The coming weeks will separate the myth from the reality of the Colorado program. Whether focusing on the impending season or one on the horizon, Tessman and O’Mara will join their new teammates and do their talking with their legs.

  At 10:30 p.m. not a soul walks the halls.

  18

  CHRIS LEAR

  Lear 012-059:Lear 012-059 1/5/11 1:22 PM Page 19

  Friday, August 21, 1998

  Buena Vista, Colorado

  7 a.m.

  The Day of Truth

  Every year, the penultimate stage of the Tour de France is a cruel, punishing time trial that the French refer to as the “race of truth.” Here, it is said, champions impose their will on their competitors. Today’s workout is one that Wetmore will later refer to as “the day of truth.”

  As the runners trained through the summer, some, such as Adam

  Batliner, entertained thoughts of grappling with Goucher, and perhaps even defeating him. Others, such as Oscar Ponce, emboldened by their newfound strength, entertained thoughts of closing the gap. Today, Goucher proves that this day is a long time coming.

  The men are doing a fartlek run today; they will do one and a half minutes at “AT pace,” with three and a half minute “steady” between intervals. This means that they will run 1:30 at the pace that they could currently sustain for five miles before running 3:30 at an even pace that allows them to recover for the 1:30 segments. Goucher, Friedberg, Ponce, Batliner, and Severy are assigned 40 minutes (eight AT runs); Tessman, Schafer, O’Mara, Blondeau, O’Mara, Elmuccio, and Berkshire 31:30

  (seven AT runs); and Roybal, Reese, and Slattery 26:30 (six AT runs).

  When drawing up the plan for the upcoming season two months ago, Wetmore determined that today’s effort was going to be a high-level aerobic workout. He did not know the specifics of the workout until he and JD scouted out the roads a month ago. Once he uncovered River Road—

  a dirt road with a very slight grade that winds along the river—the workout took shape. It starts and finishes at aptly named Elephant Rock; when the runners approach the rock on the return it resembles an enormous elephant ambling off into the distance.

  On the warm-up Goucher immediately separates himself from the

  pack. And though his comrades try to gain on him, it is in vain. Once out front and in control, his lead increases. On the AT segments, he runs between eleven and twelve miles per hour. He settles into a six-minute mile pace on the recovery — a taxing pace at this elevation. He runs like a prizefighter, punching the air with his fists. His shoulders roll slightly as he moves, and his right arm rises a touch more than his left. A tad bow-legged, he lands on an even plane on the outside part of his foot, before rolling in. Mouth agape, he grimaces intermittently as he flies along the road, alone. Remarkably, his stride appears no different on the fast segments than on the recovery.

  RUNNING WITH THE BUFFALOES

  19

  Lear 012-059:Lear 012-059 1/5/11 1:22 PM Page 20

  Farther back, the front pack moves on. Batliner has caught the group after having to make a pit stop en route. He appears no more fatigued than the others despite having had to run hard to catch the pack. He runs with an uncanny efficiency, resembling a cat ready to pounce. He bounds from toe to toe, upper body motionless, head completely still, eyes forward. On the pickups he extends his stride, all the while looking smooth and effortless.

  Severy, however, is laboring. He runs with shoulders hunched and a high arm carriage, and his skin turns ever brighter hues of crimson as the exertion rises. As they turn for home and Goucher runs out of sight in the distance, Bat complains about the effort. Friedberg responds, “I’d rather see the glass as half full.” Without missing a beat, Sev turns to Friedberg and says, “Your glass may be half full, but I already drank mine!” The guys are too tired to laugh. It is downhill from here, and the pack maintains its cadence until the 40 minutes are completed. They then jog easily to the rock.

  Wetmore is completing a run of his own, as he is wont to do while his runners are out for a long effort, when Goucher runs past alone.

  While he pulled away with ease, his teammates should not be discouraged. His work rate is phenomenal. An unfazed Wetmore says as he passes, “He’s not even warmed up. Dan Browne [five U.S. titles, 1998], Marc Davis [1996 U.S. Olympic finalist, steeplechase], on a good day they can only manage to annoy him.”

  Later in the afternoon, many of the runners head to the Mt. Princeton Hot Springs. The springs themselves are something of a disappointment. A pool is built next to the springs and water is piped into the pool, so it hardly differs from a regular swimming pool. No matter, the runners whoop it up and everyone mixes freely together. The Colorado runners are joined by a number of other

  lean and tawny folks in the pool.

  The runners are from Malone

  College, and one of their guys

  boasts to Reese that they

  have two awesome Kenyans.

  It is enough to rile Goucher,

  who says as Reese points

  them out, “Let’s race. I’ll race

  ’em tomorrow!”

  In the evening the runners

  hit a small park down the street

  from the hotel for burgers and

  Elmuccio, Johnson, Batliner, and Severy.

  20

  CHRIS LEAR

  Lear 012-059:Lear 012-059 1/5/11 1:22 PM Page 21

  games. The men and women relax, chat, and play volleyball with one another. Goucher and Reese continually end up on losing teams, which prove
s frustrating to both. Needless to say, the volleyball coach will not come knocking on either of their doors anytime soon.

  Showers prematurely end the barbecue. The runners gradually dis-perse from the canopy that sheltered them as the rain lets up, but Elmuccio, Johnson, Severy, and Batliner linger. Johnson recounts to Elmuccio how in the old days when Wetmore was but a volunteer assistant coach, the team used to have mandatory lifting sessions at 6:30 in the morning.

  Wetmore would rant, “no one is working harder than you guys,” and blare The Doors’ “The End” as they worked through a circuit. Now, with all the administrative battles that he has to fight, Johnson feels Wetmore is not as accessible as he was in the past when he would sit around for hours bullshitting with the guys.

  Due to the inclement weather, Wetmore chooses to postpone his

  annual speech detailing the whys and hows of the season’s training. In previous years this speech has proven to be wildly popular among the guys. Reese recalls Wetmore’s speech at camp his freshman year as “the most memorable speech in all my five years here.”

  It recent years, the speech has been more or less exclusive to freshmen, but in 1994, in Wetmore’s first fall as the established distance coach for the men, the whole team was there. The meeting started on a whim, when Wetmore called everyone in their hotel rooms and asked them to meet him outside under a covered picnic area. Alan Culpepper was there, coming off a year where he garnered three All-American certificates under Wetmore’s tutelage. The others were primarily unestablished Junior Varsity runners like walk-ons Jay Cleckler and Jon Cooper. Also among the group that day were the core of this year’s team: Goucher, Batliner, Severy, Johnson, and Reese. Wetmore started by giving the team some information about his training methodology before he rather abruptly started talking about his plans for establishing “a new era” in CU

  distance running. In the process, Reese says, “He gave us a little insight into his character.”

  According to Reese, his speech was something like the following: Look, this is what I am. This [coaching] is my main job [he held other part-time jobs at the time]. I don’t play golf. I don’t have many hobbies. I don’t have a wife. The bottom line is I’m here to make you guys run fast. When I go to sleep at night, my mind’s churning, thinking of ways to make you fast . . .

  I want you guys to be businesslike in your approach; think like Clint Eastwood. We work every day, and when we go to town, we tie up the RUNNING WITH THE BUFFALOES

  21

  Lear 012-059:Lear 012-059 1/5/11 1:22 PM Page 22

  horse, spit on the dog, and we leave without a word. We do our talking with our legs.

  But what Reese remembers more than words is the emotional chord Wetmore touched. “He mesmerized us right away. It pumped us up so much to think that someone cared that much about us. I’m telling you, if you were there you would have felt the aura.” Reese pauses, seemingly brought back to that day before he finishes. “He won everyone over right then.”

  Wetmore re-earns their loyalty every day. He demonstrates his commitment to his athletes. In turn, they seek to match his commitment to them. Says Goucher, “We work hard for ourselves, but we also work hard for him because he works so hard for us. I don’t know any other coaches who would sacrifice like he does. He’s in his office every day, even in the summertime. He’s always at work. He conveys a work ethic that everyone feeds off of. It’s just unspoken.”

  When he does address them, it is usually in a calm, understated manner. Former CU runner Shawn Found remarks, “Part of his quirkiness is that he’s known for how he can speak under a crowd, not over one. In a race you’ll hear him say ‘You’re fine,’ in a conversational tone, and you’ll hear that.”

  The speech ends up being the day’s only casualty. Wetmore will never recite it this season. At 10:15 the halls again are quiet and empty. Practice resumes at 7 a.m.

  22

  CHRIS LEAR

  Lear 012-059:Lear 012-059 1/5/11 1:22 PM Page 23

  Saturday, August 22, 1998

  Shields Gulch Trailhead, Buena Vista, Colorado

  7 a.m.

  Fuck This Shit

  It is another warm morning in Buena Vista. Fortunately, Wetmore has planned an easy run along an old railroad bed in the San Isabel National Forest outside Buena Vista. It is hard to fathom from the desolation of the trail that there was ever anything of consequence here, but the trailhead at run’s end describes this as the site of the infamous “April Fool’s Tragedy” of April 1, 1908. However, the CU runners will be too spent by that time to give a rat’s ass about the details of that tragedy after a journey gone awry of their own.

  The men depart from Shield’s Gulch Trailhead with instructions to climb the short switchback to the deserted railway bed and follow that to the run’s end. The run climbs slowly yet steadily for the first 25 minutes without incident. Drained from yesterday’s practice, they chat and run at a leisurely pace—except for Goucher and young Slattery.

  After trailing at the back of the pack in every run thus far, Slattery looks great as he lopes alongside Goucher 100 feet in front of the pack.

  Perhaps today Slattery will run like the guy who finished fourth at the Foot Locker National High School Cross Country championships a year ago.

  Twenty minutes in, the runners reach a fork in the path, and Goucher and Slattery head off to the left. The trail has never relented its steady ascent, and now they

  start to really climb.

  Ten minutes later, the

  pack catches a flagging

  Slattery. He mutters a

  thought that has most

  certainly occurred to

  all the harriers, “Fuck

  this shit!” and starts

  to walk.

  This is definitely

  not the recovery day

  Wetmore has planned.

  Reese is also strug-

  Goucher and Slattery

  lead the Buffs.

  RUNNING WITH THE BUFFALOES

  23

  Lear 012-059:Lear 012-059 1/5/11 1:22 PM Page 24

  gling. He runs alone in back of the pack. He has been battling to run at least parts of the workouts with his teammates, and today he runs with a noticeable limp. When healthy he runs with a giddy-up in his stride rem-iniscent of Mark Everett, the great American half-miler. His right arm swings smoothly back and forth, but his left arm swings in a clockwise cir-cular motion. He dips his left shoulder as his left knee rises, and his left forearm swings out and down away from his body. It pauses there for the briefest instant before whipping up and around as his right knee thrusts forward. Coupled with the limp from his knee injury, he is a picture of in-stability, rocking back and forth, all elbows and knees as he moves.

  Goucher, alone up front, knows something is amiss. The trail has narrowed considerably, and 45 minutes in, they have yet to level off. Several minutes later, he reaches a short fence that must be climbed to continue on the trail. He turns back.

  One by one the runners turn around after Goucher passes them. In all they have climbed over 2000 feet in 50 minutes. The sun is bearing down, and by the looks on their faces, no one is even remotely enjoying the run, least of all Tommy Reese. He makes it back with the others in 1:17. His knee was aggravating him early in the run and getting lost only exacerbated his troubles. He had no intention of running more than 50

  minutes today.

  Slattery also looks weary. He says afterwards, “That’s the farthest, or the second farthest I’ve ever run in my life.” Batliner chuckles and says,

  “Well, you’ll beat that tomorrow.”

  Tomorrow they will be back in the friendlier 5300-foot elevation of Boulder. But that is of little solace to the men for they will be running at an elevation of 8000 feet on a course that defines the Wetmore era at CU: Magnolia Road.

  THE PLAN

  The fundamental principle of training is to develop enough stamina to enable you to maintain the necessary speed over the full
distance at which you plan to compete. Many runners throughout the world are capable of running the 400 meters in 46 seconds or faster. But remarkably few of them have sufficient stamina to run 800 meters in 1:44, or 52 seconds for each 400. That clearly shows the vital part stamina plays in middle- and long-distance racing. Consider those relative times again. It will help you realize what could be achieved by fast runners if they concentrated on endurance development and shifted their attention to longer distances.

  Peter Snell was basically the slowest runner in the 800-meter final at both the Rome and Tokyo Olympic Games. But he had the stamina to carry him through the heats and then sprint the last 100 meters of the finals 24

  CHRIS LEAR

  Lear 012-059:Lear 012-059 1/5/11 1:22 PM Page 25

  faster than any of his rivals. By then they were too tired to use their superior speed. Snell was trained to be capable of running a fine marathon, but I doubt that his rivals could. This was the advantage that enabled him to succeed; it’s also the advantage you can give yourself.

  Arthur Lydiard

  Running the Lydiard Way

  As much as today’s misadventure was not planned, Wetmore’s training schedule is already complete. The plan has five stages, beginning with Period A, when his athletes ascend to full volume over the summer after taking a break following spring track, and culminating with Period E, anaerobic speed, two weeks prior to the NCAA championships.

  While the phases themselves and the length of time they comprise are relatively static, the specific workouts in Wetmore’s plan may change year to year. The rate of change from one season to the next is directly correlated with the barometer he uses to gauge a successful season: did his team run their best at NCAA’s? If successful, the plan will not vary significantly the following year. But, even if everything goes perfectly, his team can expect a new wrinkle or two in the following year’s plan. This is because Wetmore sees a danger in not changing and becoming, as he sees it, “old and curmudgeonly.” Therefore, he constantly refines the recipe that has brought him success his entire coaching career.