Fleet Feet Davenport - Iowa's newest running store

Runners don’t require a lot of gear, but good clothes, shoes that fit well and a few appropriate accessories can improve the running experience tremendously. So, too, can having a place to hang out before and after a run with other like-minded souls, where a true community can be built around this sport that we love. Specialty running stores can provide both the things and the community that help make running great. Fleet Feet Davenport, Iowa’s newest running store, opens its doors to runners, walkers and others in a grand opening celebration next week and hopes to become an integral part of the Quad Cities running scene.

Thirty year old Phil Young is the man behind Fleet Feet. A native of Davenport, Young attended Davenport Assumption where he ran track and cross country after becoming hooked on the sport running and watching the area’s largest running event – the Bix 7. After four years in college at the University of Iowa where his passion for running grew Young landed a job at Scheels in Coral Ridge Mall as the athletic footwear manager where for four years he familiarized himself with the business side of retail but yearned for the freedom, autonomy and opportunities that just don’t exist at large “big box” retailers.

Enter Joe and Jean Dwyer, owners of the three Running Wild stores in the Iowa City/Cedar Rapids corridor. The Dwyers took a leap and hired Young as the first non-Dwyer salaried manager of any of their stores in the spring of 2012. The shift to working at a running specialty retailer allowed Young to innovate and really get involved in the community in ways he had not been able to previously.

“My time at Running Wild was incredibly valuable,” he says. “Not only did I get to manage a running store and really get to do some community outreach around running, but I got to work alongside John (Joe and Jean’s son) to start a business – Running Wild’s new downtown Iowa City location – and see what it takes to open up a store.”

Two years after that, in early 2015, Young and his wife, Jackie, began talking about their next step and contacted Fleet Feet’s central office and discovered that the company was already looking at opening up a franchise location somewhere between Des Moines (where a Fleet Feet opened up in the East Village a few years ago) and Chicago. In September “meaningful conversations” began between Young and Fleet Feet and by December Young had signed a lease for new space and the race was on to get the store built out and ready to open for the busy spring running season.

Why open a Fleet Feet store instead of his own fully independent “Phil’s Running Store?” Young notes several reasons. “Fleet Feet is an incredible brand,” he states. “I can have my own family-owned store and complete autonomy to run it as I want to as long as I maintain certain standards – so lots of freedom within a good structure.” This structure includes financial support, national brand recognition and a network of owners of the 150+ Fleet Feet stores across the country who can be called upon to help offer advice at any time on such things as build out, merchandising and buying. “The fact that they already had interest in opening a store in the town I grew up in and had connections to made the decision much easier for me and Jackie,” he says.


Not that opening the store has been easy. Young has been sleeping in his childhood room for months away from his wife and two daughters while they remain at their North Liberty home. The long hours and stress of build out, ordering, marketing, networking, hiring and all the other things that come with opening a business have been combined with selling their North Liberty home and closing on their Davenport house just a week after the store’s grand opening. “Running has been an absolute must for me during this time,” he explains. “After 12 hours on my feet I want to just lay down and rest but I need to run for the stress relief that it brings, but also for the credibility in the community. I want to be out in the community, with the runners who I hope will become our customers.”

Young says that community is at the heart of everything he wants the store to be. “The Quad Cities running community is large and established. Every day I hear about another group – the Cornbelt runners, the TURds (Trail and Ultra Runners), the moms who run, the Hashers – and there’s still room to grow.” Young’s focus on the community means that he wants to be able to serve both the competitive post collegiate athlete as well as the walker, the person who’s never run a step to the enthusiastic high schooler. “We will have a broad selection but a staff that can explain not just the features, but the benefits of everything we sell,” he explained. “Everything we will have you can find elsewhere and potentially cheaper, so we need to offer a great experience and advice and be the place that people want to come, not just to buy the products they need but also just to hang out.”



Those who choose to come shop and hang out will find a staff of experienced runners. For Young it is imperative that his staff be relatable to his customers. “I’ve been a high school athlete and competed collegiately,” he says. “I’ve done the marathon thing and raced 5ks. I’ve been injured. I’ve coached and mentored beginners. I’ve directed races. My staff has experienced these things, too, and so we can relate to just about anyone who walks into the store.”

In a recent Next Level Iowa podcast interview with hosts Jim Kirby and Mike Jay Young said “I love helping people reach their goals. My passion for running lines up with my career and my hobby and all my extracurricular stuff. It’s all pretty cohesive and I live it, participate in it and volunteer in it.” That sort of passion that Young brings is exactly what every running store, and every running community needs.

Young and his staff will be offering group runs such as their “Tavern Tuesdays,” a variety of group training programs for various events and a race team available for competitive athletes.

The store held a soft opening on March 10 and, according to Young, Quad Cities runners have been very welcoming of the new store to the community with many stopping in to the Elmore Avenue location to check it out. A grand opening celebration will be held April 1-3.

For more information about Fleet Feet Davenport visit http://www.fleetfeetdavenport.com/

For the kids: Iowa Speed and youth track and field

As a kid growing up in the Iowa City area I played soccer. A lot of soccer. I played in recreational leagues. I played club soccer. I played high school soccer. I coached kids at soccer camps. I refereed soccer. I played on and organized indoor soccer teams, sometimes more than one at once. I loved the team aspect of it and made some great friends. But I also was one of the few who loved the individual training, the fitness, the running, required to be competitive. As I approached what would be twilight of my soccer career it was biking and running that I was drawn to, individual sports with a significant team component to them. While I still watch collegiate soccer games with a certain yearning to be back out on the pitch, my heart has moved on and it is running that has been my passion, a passion I now wish I could have found when I was younger, and probably would have if the Iowa Speed had been around for me then.

Youth track and field is something that just was not on my radar when I was a kid. Sure, I had heard of the Hershey’s track meet but I didn’t know anybody who was into running as an organized endeavor back then. Now, however, there are more and more opportunities for kids to get involved in the sport at a young age with teams like the Iowa Speed in the Cedar Rapids and Iowa City corridor, the Central Iowa Excaliburs and several others in the Des Moines area, and the Mississippi Valley Eagles Track Club in the Quad Cities. New programs are in various stages of development in Dubuque and elsewhere, too.

Now in its fifth year, the Iowa Speed club was founded by Joey and Heather Woody and is offering kids from 5 years old on up through high school the opportunity to get quality coaching, improve their fitness, experience racing and competition, build friendships and develop a love for the sport of track and field (and cross country).

“When our kids started getting older we started looking around and discovered the world of youth track and field,” Heather says. “We did this out of love for the sport and wanted to expose our kids and others to track and running.”

It would be hard to pick two people who are better suited for overseeing a youth running program like Iowa Speed. Joey is the Speed’s head coach in addition to his regular duties as the University of Iowa’s Director of Track and Field. He coaches professional athletes like former Hawkeye and current professional and multi-time national champion Erik Sowinski. Joey is one of the state’s great track athletes, earning multiple All-American honors at the University of Northern Iowa, national championships and silver and gold medals at the World Championships. Heather was an All-Conference athlete at UNI and earned All American honors during a brief stint at Division III Simpson College in Indianola. She earns a living as a corporate and personal success coach and motivational speaker. She refers to herself as “Chief Motivation Officer” for the Iowa Speed.

And motivate she has, along with Joey and the other coaches. In that first year there were 30 kids on

the team and last year there were 179 on the roster with 40-50 members traveling to compete at track meets across the state and the region on any given weekend. The track season starts in February and continues into August. Most kids attend a single practice on the weekend but there is the option to attend more focused, event-specific and intensive training at two weekday practices.

“The focus at all of these practices is on providing a positive environment where we’re growing kids as people and athletes while also teaching them the fundamentals and mechanics of track and field, a great work ethic, discipline and life skills,” Heather says. “We’re there to encourage kids to have big dreams and big goals if that’s what they want and we want to help the kids reach those goals.”

Because team members range in age from kindergarten through high school there is obviously a wide range of abilities but the coaches are able to work with everyone and the older athletes gain valuable experience as mentors and leaders of the youngsters. Some of the junior members are there just to try out the sport while some of the older participants are there to try to get that little bit extra necessary to achieve their dreams of running at the Division I level. Those that aspire to compete at that level have access to not just coaches like the Woodys, but also a stable of Hawkeye and elite post-collegiate athletes like Sowinski, who have been known to stop by practices and help out.

Most Iowa Speed members harbor no such aspirations. Many, if not most, are athletes in other sports who are using the team and practices as a way to supplement their training in other sports. The Woodys encourage this and want athletes to be well rounded and not focused exclusively on a single sport at a young age. Heather suspects that few team members come from “running families” where the parents are runners and the kids grow up seeing mom and dad going out for daily runs. Most hear about the team through the grapevine. For them it’s a chance to try something new, hang out with friends, improve conditioning, compete or a combination of all of the above.

One family that is a running family is the Cantons. Nate and Anna Canton of North Liberty are heavily involved, with 4 kids participating on the team. Nate, a very competitive runner in his own right, took the initiative to offer a separate cross country season into the team in 2014. In 2015 35 kids ran cross country for the Speed, with 25 of them qualifying for the National Championships in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Eleven made the long trek to race.

Canton, who serves as the head coach for the cross country season, has two practices a week for his
runners. One, during the week, is held on local trails and focuses largely on running hills while the second is most often held on the University of Iowa’s Ashton Cross Country Course and focuses on some sort of speed work in addition to a warmup, stretching, and form drills. “These kids are at age where doing all the right things before and after running can become a habit for them,” Canton stated.

They are also at an age where they are trying new things. Canton tells of one athlete who was playing football for his school and not getting any playing time and feeling like a failure. He heard about cross country and wanted to give it a try and immediately latched on. Soon he was asking what he could do to get better and set a goal of qualifying for the national meet, which he did. After running at nationals and dropping his mile time by over two minutes he now sees himself as a runner and not a failure.

While not everyone sets goals of qualifying for nationals, many Speed athletes do and the chance to travel to the national meet can be eye opening. “Until you get into the world of youth running you don’t realize how big a deal it is,” Canton noted. Kids come from all over the country to run at the cross country and track national meets. “It’s an incredible opportunity for kids to share the moment and run their hearts out with 3000 other runners and go through an Olympic style opening ceremonies,” he says of the USATF Junior Olympics.

“We just love the whole experience our family has had with youth running,” Canton adds. “It’s such a great mix of kids just wanting to get better, compete, have fun and with such great camaraderie amongst the kids and their families.”

For more information about Iowa Speed visit: http://iowaspeed.teamsnapsites.com/
A list of other USATF-affiliate youth clubs can be found at: http://www.usatf-iowa.org/

2016 No Coast Trail Series

The rapid proliferation of trail races across the country has been mirrored in Iowa with new races appearing every year.  The No Coast Trail Series combines nine great Iowa trail events into a casual, but competitive, race series where the focus is on having fun on some of the state’s diverse trails.

The brains (and brawn?) behind the NCTS

The series, now entering its third year, is organized by Joshua Sun of Davenport.  “My goals for the getting the series started were basic,” Sun says. “I wanted to create a simple and fun method of tying together area trail races to help promote new and existing races with the lowest possible investment from runners and the races themselves and return the highest possible value.  So far, so good!”

The nine events range from 5ks to 100 milers and the courses range from the tight, twisty singletrack of Davenport’s Sunderbruch Park to the steep hills and stairs of Dubuque’s Mines of Spain State Park to the rolling gravel backroads of Booneville.

“Part of what’s great about the series,” according to Sun, “is that there’s something for everyone.  Long races, short races, hilly races, flat races.  They are all a little different and have their own feel.  They are unique but now they are also unified in a small way, too.”

Race directors contribute a small amount of money to be a part of the series and this money is used for the year end awards, which have been much-coveted Hydroflasks with the series logo.  For the race directors, though, participating is a no-brainer.  Matt Jasper, who helped organize the hilly Swiss Valley Trail Run outside Dubuque notes that “It’s obvious from looking at the registrations that there were definitely people choosing to participate in and travel to the races in part because they were part of the series last year.  I’m sure that will only grow in 2016.”

Foote, her 2015 prize and her new friend, Dusty.

There would not be any races without a lot of hard work by the race directors like Jasper.  Sun emphasizes that the race directors in the series do a nice job putting on high quality events that people want to run.  New to the series in 2016 will be a timed 9 hour event in Davenport (Scheutzen NEIN! Hour Endurance Run) and the Pleasant Creek Trail Run just outside Cedar Rapids.  Sun is happy for the additions. “I’m always looking to add new options and add value to the runners’ experience and I think people will enjoy these two events,” he says.

What do the participants say about the series?  Wendy Foote, of Waterloo, comments that “No Coast is great motivation to keep pushing yourself at races.  It’s so much fun to see the same smiling faces at races across the state.  I might be competing against someone race after race on challenging courses but then I can sit and drink a beer with them afterwards. I like that.”

Tim Bergan of Colfax, Iowa, ran away with the most total points (116.3) of any participant in 2015 while Ross Salinas of Iowa City participated in the most events (6).  Both will be back in 2016.  Bergan, a man who always has plentiful words to go with his plentiful miles (he plans on running four 100 mile races this year) says this:

“I've grown to love trail running, much more than road running, because it gets me out into nature, and trail runners are some of the greatest people in the world.  The best part of No Coast is that it gives those of us that run trails a reason to run them more often.  I tell people that when I go to any of the No Coast races, I'll see a dozen people I know and like and I will have made two more friends before the day is over.  The trail running community is what keeps me coming back.  This probably doesn't get said as often as it should, but I really appreciate the time and effort that all the race directors and volunteers put into making the races happen.  I know it's a lot of work, but it brings us all together and lets us have fun, share experiences, and in some of the races, drink beer afterward!”

Participation in the series has grown over the last two years.  In 2014 there were 901 total participants in the races and 29 who both registered for the series and competed in at least three of the races and were eligible for the overall prizes.  Last year there were 1118 participants and 38 who were eligible for the series awards.  Awards will again be distributed at the Wildcat trail run in Muscatine in November.

Participants accumulate points based on their race time, finishing place and the distance they ran and awards are given out at the end of the year in 8 separate categories.  Because of the inherent scoring advantage to running the longer races there is a category for those who do not race any distance longer than a marathon.  There is no cost to participate but runners do need to sign up online.

Sun, an avid trail runner himself, has invested a great deal of time and energy, as well as some of his own money to getting the No Coast series up and running. “It’s great to see this continue to grow and people having fun,” he says. “I don’t want it to get too big or corporate but I do want it to keep improving and to help grow the sport and the community of trail runners in Iowa.”

A new series website is set to debut soon but for now information can be found on the NCTS Facebook page and Google documents found below. EDIT: The new NCTS website can be found here.

2016 Race Schedule
Red Shamrock Foundation Survivorship Run 5k (Iowa City) - April 2
Hawkeye 50k/25k (Solon) - April 9
Sunderbruch Beer & Bacon Trail Races 5k/10k-ish (Davenport) - May 21
Booneville Backroads Ultra (100M, 100k, 50k, 10k) (Booneville) - May 28
Schuetzen NEIN! Hour Endurance Run (Davenport) - June 18
Mines of Spain Trail Races (half marathon, 7M, 4M) - August 6
Pleasant Creek Trail Run 45k/30k/15k (Palo) - September 17
Swiss Valley Trail Run 25k/10M/5M (Dubuque) - October 1
The Runner's Flat Trail Races 50k/25k (Cedar Falls) - October 8

For more information and updates like the No Coast Trail Series on Facebook and click here for complete scoring rules.  To sign up for the series click here.

Book Review: My Year of Running Dangerously by Tom Foreman

My Year of Running Dangerously: A Dad, a Daughter and a Ridiculous Plan by Tom Foreman

One of my goals of 2016 is to step back from all too much mindless, wasteful time online and to read more books and write more, too.  Tom Foreman’s book offers a perfect chance to combine reading, running and writing a book review, and shines a light on some of the absurdities of running (and runners) as well as how the sport can become a passion that unites families and rekindles joy and inspires us to great things.

Foreman is a journalist for CNN and it shows in his writing; he knows how to tell a story and make it come alive.  There were times where I was laughing out loud at his descriptions of himself, in part because they were descriptions of me and the runners I know, too.  What made this book special for me, though, were the descriptions of his daughters.  As the father of three wonderful girls I hope that they can grow up to be as talented and witty as Foreman’s are portrayed, and I dream that we will be able to bond over a shared passion for the simplest of sports.  At a few moments I had to stop and wipe away a tear (or two) that formed as I imagined how special it would be to have a daughter say some of the things that Foreman’s daughters tell their 50+ year old dad. 

While running brings Foreman closer to both his oldest daughter and his brother it also threatens his relationship with his wife and younger daughter at times.  And the all-consuming running fire that burns hotter and hotter in Foreman threatens to derail his goal of completing a 50 mile trail race.  I won’t say much more than that here, but know that this book has the potential to not only inspire, but also to question whether all the miles and hours, blood, sweat and tears are really worth it.  If you are a father (especially with daughters) and a runner and are looking for a well-written, humorous account of a year in the life of a celebrity-ish runner in which he goes from not running to attempting a 50 mile race I definitely recommend picking up this book at your local library or bookstore.

Note: Shortly after I wrote this I happened across David McNeill's discussion about runners and non-runners and how they relate to each other.  It's a nice piece and fits in well with what Foreman and his wife were dealing with.

Interview with Wartburg's Alana Enabnit

(Originally published September 17, 2012)

As a first year student last year at Wartburg College in Waverly Alana Enabnit started her collegiate career hampered by injuries early in the cross country season.  She came on strong in what was only her second season of cross country ever and finished 10^th at the NCAA Division 3 National Championships held at UW-Oshkosh.  But it was this past track season where Enabnit really made her mark by winning both the 5k and 10k national championships on the track and helping the Knights to a dominating 77 point victory [results].  Her performance in the distance double there opened some eyes and is drawing inevitable comparisons to another former Wartburg star, Missy Buttry, who won 14 NCAA titles and twice represented the U.S. at the World Cross Country Championships.  Following her victorious races at D3 nationals Enabnit went on to place 3^rd in the 5k at USA Junior National Championships. Enabnit, who graduated high school from Clear Lake High School, won the state championship in both the 3k and 1500m on the track her senior year but had spent much of her time prior to that focusing much more on figure skating.  She definitely has a very bright future ahead of her and fans of Iowa runners should keep their eyes on her over the next few years!
PRs
1500m - 4:38
3000m (indoor) - 9:58 (but covered 3000m during a 5k in 9:46)
5000m - 16:25
6000m (Cross Country) - 21:13
10,000m - 35:03

Can you briefly describe your high school running career and how you got into running in HS (or before)?
I ran track in middle school, but I did not do cross country till my senior year. I started track in 7^th grade just because that was the only sport that my rigorous figure skating schedule could fit in. I did it more as an extra hobby till HS.  By the time I was a senior, my passions changed, and my love for running really blossomed.  Much of the transition from skating to running came from the fact that I felt like God really was calling me to use my running career as a testimony and reflection of my faith.
What made you choose Wartburg? Did you have opportunities to run at Division 1 schools?
I did receive offers from Division I programs but nothing extremely serious. I was probably overlooked by many because I didn’t really enter the “serious group of runners” until my senior year. I was introduced to Coach Johnson by my high school coach, and from there I fell in love with the Wartburg program. Wartburg has an amazing reputation on the academic level, but what really drew me in is the passion the school has for improvement, relationships, and lifelong development.
Wartburg has had some incredible runners over the years... To what do you attribute that? Coaching? Recruiting? A culture of success? Something else?
I think the recipe for success at Wartburg is a result of many simple things combined under one program.
-A passion for running
-A passion for family (team) success
-A dedication to hard work
-Individualized training
-Amazing athletic trainers
-Personally invested coaches who care about EVERY runner on the team no matter their position
-Encouragement and faith in each other
Good high school runners don't always find success right away in college, but you did pretty well, placing 10th at Nationals in cross and winning the 5/10k double outdoors. How was the transition from high school to college life and collegiate running for you?
My transition was actually pretty rough. I had a stress fracture and IT band syndrome to start out my cross season last year. I was only able to run the last three races of the year. I learned that I needed to trust my coach with my training. I started my summer training with a “more is better” mentality. That led to overtraining and injuries. After those experiences, I began to understand that training development is a slow process, and I needed to trust the knowledge of my coach.  Once I learned those lessons, my training and racing fell into a much better place.

Your success as a freshman is going to draw inevitable comparisons to Missy Buttry. Do you feel any pressure to achieve the same sorts of success that she did at Wartburg?
Whenever I am compared to Missy, I feel extremely honored.  If I do feel any pressure to achieve the same sorts of success that she did, I have put that pressure on myself. She was an amazing athlete and person, and I want to hold myself to those standards. However, we are completely different athletes with different strengths.  I pray that I can make the impact that she did on Division III athletics but in my own way.
What are your goals for this year? For your final 3 years as a Knight? Beyond that?
For cross, I really want to help our team bring home a National Team trophy . I would love to bring home an individual title as well.  Winnings are not the most important thing on my goal sheet.  I really just want to keep improving on my racing and training from last year, and I want to see how tough I can compete.  However, my number one goal is to make sure that I praise God with every stride I take, because He gave me the gift to run, and I want to let people know what He has done for me.
For track, I would love to run under 16:10 this year in the 5k and under 34:10 in the 10k. I do not like to get to ahead of myself with future goals. I have big dreams, but a lot can happen in three years. You never know what life will throw your way, and that is why I enjoy every moment. I have the tendency to let myself get into the “I want it all, and I want it now!” mentality, but I am taking life, training, and racing a season at a time.
What's your favorite running experience so far?
My favorite moment has to be going 1-2 with my teammate Laura Sigmund in both the 5k and 10k at Outdoor Nationals. Sharing the experience with one of my best friends was incredible.
What's your favorite workout? Favorite race distance?
My favorite workout is our River Road tempo. It is a two lap loop that we do that equals out to be about 5.4 miles. I try to run so that my average pace is about the same as my 6k.  It is the most mentally tough and rewarding workout we do, and doing it with our guys makes me push myself that much harder. In track I have a love hate relationship with 800 repeats. I feel my sharpest when I complete some quality 800 repeats. My favorite race distance is currently the 5k on the track. I haven’t raced the 10k enough to make an honest comparison, but I have a feeling it will soon be my favorite.
Thanks so much for your time, Alana, and best of luck to you and your teammates at Wartburg this year!

Runners high in Leadville, CO

(Originally published June 27, 2012)

Newton, Iowa: elevation 940 feet vs Leadville, Colorado: elevation 10,152 feet.

I have experience running in Leadville, having been there four or five times to vacation, visit family and eat the world’s best pizza at High Mountain Pies.  I know just how hard it can be to go for a run there after arriving from the flatlands of Iowa.  The elevation can inflict pain and make even the easiest running pace seem hard.

Seemingly everyone has heard of Leadville thanks to the publicity generated by the epic 100 mile run and bike races there.  For runners, the book Born to Run also drew worldwide attention to the small town and a movie version is in the works.  While the Leadville 100 races may be the big draw there are plenty of other races leading up to them and one Iowan did them all in 2011, and plans to do them again in 2012.

Last year Newton’s Matt Scotton was one of 25 athletes from around the country who completed the “Leadman” competition.  To earn the label of Leadman he had to run the Leadville Marathon , compete in either the Silver Rush 50 mile mountain bike or run race (Ed. note: why not both?), ride the Leadville Trail 100 mountain bike race, run the 10k the following day and then complete the Leadville 100 run a week later.

Scotton is director of physical medicine and rehabilitation at Skiff Medical Center in Newton.  A baseball and football player in high school, he didn’t really get into cycling until after graduating from Central College in Pella when he tried a few days of RAGBRAI and then was convinced to try a triathlon followed by a mountain bike race.  This progressed on to 12 hour mountain bike races and then the Breckenridge 100 race in 2010.  Running went along with the triathlon and at age 32 Scotton began the way many beginning runners do: run a block, walk a block and repeat.  Within a couple years it was on to central Iowa’s Dam to Dam 20k. A few years later, it was the Des Moines Marathon.  By 2009 he had completed the challenging Sawtooth 50 mile run on the Superior Hiking Trail of northern Minnesota.  Now he has become hooked on the comaraderie and contagious energy and enthusiasm he finds at the ultra distance events.

After crewing for a friend competing in the LT100 bike race and competing in the nearby Breckenridge 100 in 2010 Scotton knew he wanted to compete in the LT100 bike but didn’t think that his odds of getting in through the lottery process would be very good.  So rather than rely on luck he simply decided to enter the Leadman competition, which would guarantee his entry in 2011, provided he could finish the earlier races within the time limits.

So in 2011 Scotton and his wife made four separate trips out to the town to “explore nature and human performance.”  Scotton got plenty familiar with the big beautiful mountains of the area spending 47 hours, 46 minutes and 43 seconds competing in the thin air.  His combined time was the 8^th fastest of the 25 Leadman finishers and he aims to lower that time this year by being faster in each event and place in the top 5 overall.  One hundred people have signed up to compete in 2012, including one other Iowan, Brian Block from Adel, president of Ames Adventure Outfitters.

Scotton balances a full time job and a family with the need to train enough to make it through the grueling races.  He says that on average he manages to put in 30-40 miles of running and 6 to 12 hours of cycling in each week, and his lunch hours are crammed full of running and weight training. Trips to watch his high school daughters’ swim meets, soccer games and tennis matches are often done via bicycle, and when he arrives he finds clean clothing and food waiting for him, packed by his wife or a daughter.  While Scotton is quick to thank his wife, Sandy, and his daughters for being so supportive during his training and racing, one of his colleagues at Skiff just happens to be Olympic Trials marathon qualifier Robyn Friedman of Iowa’s Runablaze racing team and Scotton credits her with providing some of the motivation to get out and train.

While simply putting one foot ahead of another in Leadville can be hard for those of us used to plentiful oxygen, Scotton says that within 72 hours of arrival at 10,000 feet he is usually feeling like he can run and has re-learned how to consume enough oxygen to make forward motion at something faster than walking pace possible.  To that end Scotton is heading west with family and some running friends, including teammates from his recent Relay Iowa trek across the state, this week to compete in the first of this year’s races – the Leadville Marathon.  In it he will face some of the toughest terrain of the whole series, a brutal climb up (and subsequent descent) of 13,185 foot Mosquito Pass at the midpoint of the race.

Certainly many runners I know in Iowa and elsewhere go out of their way to avoid hills.  For some Iowans, though, the lack of challenging terrain and the ease of running with abundant oxygen are enough to send them in search of something harder.  And in the Leadman competition Scotton has indeed found a challenge unlike anything available in Iowa.

We will be following Scotton’s adventures in Leadville through the course of the summer so stay tuned for updates.

Interview with Fr. Kirby (WDM Dowling girls cross country coach)

(Originally published September 27, 2011)

Father Jim Kirby has coached West Des Moines Dowling Catholic to four consecutive Iowa girls high school Class 4A state titles in cross country, and they are favorites to win a 5th this season.  The Maroons have started making their mark nationally with a top-20 ranking having just captured the team title this past weekend at the prestigious Roy Griak meet in Minnesota.  The team has been led by outstanding runners including Betsy and Katie Flood (now at the Universities of Iowa and Washington, respectively) and Ashlie Decker (now at the University of Minnesota).  Some might say that Kirby has been lucky to have such outstanding talent to work with, and that's true.  But it is also true that he puts in the work himself, seeking to learn and improve right along with his team and he has high expectations for his girls, and himself.  Betsy Flood writes:

" Running is important to [Fr. Kirby] but I think whats even more important are things that really matter like faith and love and integrity. He knows when you are a good genuine person then running will go well also. And he is the first one to live this selfless example for all those he coaches."

Minnesota sophomore Decker says of Fr. Kirby:

"[He] is an inspiring, dedicated, and passionate coach.  He continues to encourage me today and is a major support system in my life.  Fr. Kirby helped me grow in my running, but also in life and my faith.  He helped me to balance my life through service trips to an orphanage and always made it clear that while running may be a large part of my life, there are more important things than how I perform on the track.  He has always been there for me even after I graduated.  I ran one my worst races last spring and he was there to remind me that no one race can define a person.  He has always put others before himself, whether it is going out and buying bagels for after early morning practices or driving hours away just to be at a race that will last for twenty minutes. Fr. Kirby will always be a life long coach, mentor and friend!"

And now for the interview...

What's your running background? Are you still running?

I ran track in high school and played football. Looking back at my football career, I wish I had run cross country. In college I took a fitness class and got into running and took a hard look at running marathons. Since then I have run 24 marathons including four Boston’s and the Berlin Marathon and my PR is 2:44. Currently I have not been able to sustain much of a running routine due to back issues and responsibilities.

How long have you been coaching? How did you get into it? Why?

I have been coaching since 1995 beginning with grade school track and then in 1999 I started as an assistant coach at Dowling. In 2007 I took over as head girls coach.

I love being around young people who want to better themselves and have the courage to try the sport of running. Helping young people excel in running has been one of my greatest joys and passions in life

Your teams have obviously had tremendous success and I'm sure many people would give you much of the credit. What do you attribute your success to? What do you and your runners do that make Dowling more successful than other high schools in the state?

I would give the credit for our program to having two great catalysts, Katie and Betsy Flood, who established the level of expectations for all those to follow, including myself.

As Katie was about to become a freshman in high school I know I had to learn more as a coach in order to provide her with a quality experience in high school. It was clear that she would be outstanding and I didn’t want to fail her. At the same time her sister Betsy was a sophomore and was getting more and more excited about running and began to improve. I met people like Dan Fitzsimmons, then head girl’s coach at Yankton (SD) and Will Freeman, head men’s coach at Grinnell College. Learning more and more I soon became acquainted with Tim Ives [now the Dowling boys’ CC coach] who helped me formulate our first program for a season.

Having Katie and Betsy buy into what we were trying to do influenced our team and inspired a generation of younger runners. Because of those two and the likes of athletes like Ashlie Decker, Heather Tobias and Tanelle Berard the expectations and commitment to our program helped create an environment of hard work and accountability on our team. Now, others who have come through the program have embraced and passed on that same “buy in” and cultural expectations.

Can you describe your team's training? What sort of mileage are your runners putting in? Do you have any special workouts that you and/or your kids really love to do? Do you feel like you emphasize quality or quantity training or have a mix of both? Are there little things you do - core work, weight training, stretching, massage, visualization, etc. - that you feel really benefit your runners?

We follow the general principles and philosophy that Scott Simmons and Will Freeman put forth in their book “Taking the Lead.” It is an “athlete centered” philosophy, which emphasizes specificity, and what some would call a higher mileage approach. Our kids don’t necessarily “love” to do any workouts, but they know they are a necessary part of the plan. I found our girls are “addicted” to times and splits. While I use times as guidelines for certain workouts they get a little crazy when they are not hitting pace exactly. They love to know how they stand and they love to quantify their running and so I try to give them as much hard information regarding their running. We try to do things safely especially for the younger kids, but we are constantly challenging the girls to do more, to be good today but better tomorrow. Kelly Parriott is our assistant coach and she has taken over the weight training and strengthening program. We also try to fit yoga in especially after our long runs on Saturday. I think the thing our kids really embrace is the idea that there is no Easter Sunday without Good Friday meaning you can’t expect to be rewarded from anything, including running, without some sacrifice and hard work. Also, they begin to understand that an athlete can learn an awful lot about themselves in 4000 meters -strengths, weaknesses, what is inspiring, what gives them hope, what makes them quit etc.

It seems that distance running in the U.S. is definitely on the rise, with many great young runners coming up through the ranks. We're seeing more success on the world stage as well, with people like Chris Solinsky, Galen Rupp, Morgan Uceny and Jennifer Simpson being competitive against the best in the world. What do you think is behind that success?

For girls I think they have discovered that you can be beautiful and feminine in running. They have found a great deal of accomplishment and what a great impact running, teammates and the positive expectations the running culture can provide. They have been able to find integrity and a great life-long activity that is beneficial in so many ways. Running, they find, has so much symbolic value and they are committed to the life lessons they have learned and are to be learned in the classroom of running. Running cross-country is an outlet for many girls who would never have ever experienced athletics. For example, cross-country is that odd quirky sport which for various reasons attracts girls who are driven and disciplined in other areas. These athletes find running a great complement to their other passions such as academics and service. Recently one of our top runners who is also academically the number one student in her class told her mother, “Mom, what would I have ever done if I had not gone out for cross country? I would never have met all my friends on the team and I would have simply been that nerdy smart kid in school.”

Betsy Flood talks about how instrumental you were in helping her develop a love for the sport. Who were your mentors?

I think I owe much of my love of running and passion for coaching to my running group. When I was struggling to run and complete a first marathon I got connected with a running group of friends. We did our long 20 milers together and did outrageous workouts and weekly mileage totals. We had a raw and no-frills approach to running without a lot of patience for fads or talking too much about it. We just worked hard together. The fun and camaraderie was the thing I loved so much about our group. I loved the pride, the jokes and our own ability to hold each other accountable and never let each other off the hook. I think the thing I wanted most to accomplish for our team was creating that same fun loving, weird culture that didn’t worry too much about what it all looked like but worked hard and had high expectations for each other. I wanted to help our girls enjoy that same closeness, fun and support that I felt during within my running group.

I went to NXN in 2006 just as a fan to see what it was all about. I wanted to watch this Yankton team and to watch runners like Betsy Bies (their number one runner) to see what it looked like to be with a team at that level. I loved every second of it. I got to know the Iowa City High coach, Tom Mittman, and was able to learn from him and his team. I sat in on one of the coaches forums after the race and heard the coach from Yankton talk about how much he loved his kids and how they prayed and expressed their love for each other before the race. His name was Dan Fitzsimmons and he was speaking my language! I decided I needed to meet him. We spoke afterwards and it turned out that he had an Iowa connection. I drove to Yankton later that spring and I simply asked him all sorts of questions about workouts and team culture. Today, he is one of my biggest supporters, best friends and mentor.

I went to a seminar at Grinnell College on a whim and heard a coach talk about a new way of looking at distance running training and coaching. His name was Will Freeman. Again, I ate it up. It all made sense and so I took a chance and went to visit him for lunch one day. Since then I am proud to say that Will Freeman is a friend and also a great supporter and mentor. I call him sometimes for questions and concerns and he always offers advice. My only regret is that I haven’t been able to steer more athletes toward his superb program after all he has done for me. Will has introduced me to other great coaches like USA Olympic coach Joe Vigil and National Champion coach Scott Simmons. I owe so much to all of these people and so many more.

Dowling is currently ranked 1st for the boys and the girls. What do you predict for Fort Dodge in late October?

I predict there will be many coaches who will have their runners and their teams at their best at the state meet. The team that stays healthy and stays the course will prevail. I hope we are that team. I just hope that our kids stay humble and hungry and do the very best they can. When we do our best, good things happen.

Thanks to Father Kirby for taking the time to be interviewed.  Best of luck to the Maroons this fall as they prepare for the state meet in Fort Dodge and what lies beyond!