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Webb Looking To End Gold-Medal
Drought By U.S. Middle-Distance Runners |
It has been 100 years since the U.S. won Olympic gold in the 1,500 meters and 36 years since its last gold medal in the 800. Perhaps
ALAN WEBB, America's premier middle-distance hope, can capture a place among the world's elite runners this summer in Beijing. The first U.S. high school runner to break the four-minute mile indoors in '01, Webb, 25, already has broken two longstanding U.S. records, including the mile, and says he has learned from his experience in the '04 Games. Webb spoke recently with SportsBusiness Journal N.Y. bureau chief Jerry
Kavanagh.
Favorite song: "Ants Marching," by the Dave Matthews Band.
Favorite vacation spot: My couch, watching TV with my friends.
Favorite city: Washington, DC.
Favorite author: It used to be VINCE FLYNN, but I got over that.
Favorite quote: "A journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step." That's how I look at my training.
Favorite movie: "Forrest Gump."
Best movie on track: "Prefontaine."
Last book read: I just started the Harry Potter series, so we'll see how that goes.
Best professional advice you received: All or nothing.
Best decision: Leaving Michigan to come back home [Reston, Virginia].
Track role models: I was a [STEVE] PREFONTAINE follower. You know, just go hard every time or else don't do it at all. When I started doing well in the mile, JIM RYUN was more of a benchmark than a role model.
Pet peeve: People who ask, "So, are you going to the Olympics?" I hope so. It's not that simple. It's not like you wake up and say, "Hey, I'm going to go to the Olympics today."
Q: What's the biggest misperception about middle-distance runners?
Webb: That if you're any good, people assume that you're doing something wrong, that you're doping.
Q: Tell me about doping.
Webb: I think it stinks. I wish there was a better way to make sure people aren't doing it. Obviously I don't do it myself. I'm trying to be the best I can. That's all I'm thinking about. And if I can succeed and show that you don't need to do that to be successful, then that will be one more positive thing, one more good example.
Q: What's your training consist of? How many miles a week?
Webb: It varies -- 70 to 80 miles.
Q: Any unconventional methods? Did I read that you eat ice cream before a race?
Webb: (laughing) Not right before a race. Maybe the night before.
Q: Any pre-race rituals or superstitions?
Webb: Not anymore. I used to but I learned that it doesn't help. You've just got to do it.
Q: SEBASTIAN COE said, "All pressure is self-inflicted. It's what you make of it or how you let it rub off on you." Do you agree with that?
Webb: Very much so. I know it from personal experience.
Q: You told USA Today, "The pain can be pretty bad. But when I'm on pace, the excitement gets me through each lap. Adrenaline can get you beyond the pain." What motivates you to get through the pain?
Webb: When you're in a race, you can see yourself accomplishing your goals. Take the four-minute mile. It's very symmetrical, which is why there's such an allure to it. Four laps. Four minutes. Let's say you're a 4:05 miler and you want to run under four minutes. You [finish] the first lap in less than a minute. Then you come through the first 800 at 1:59. You come through three quarters at 2:59 and you say, "Hey, there it is." You see yourself doing it. So, any discomfort that you're in, it's a lot easier to ignore when that's a real goal of yours. That's what carries you through.
Q: You broke Jim Ryun's 36-year-old national high school record for the mile in '01 and STEVE SCOTT's 25-year old U.S. record in '07. Why did those records last for so long?
Webb: I really can't give you a good answer. A lot of things. Culture ... there are a lot of other sports that athletes can do. The relative decline in the popularity of track compared to all other sports. There isn't as much money in track and field and, therefore, it's not attracting as many top athletes.
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Webb Feels Rise In Youth Soccer Participation
Could Have Impacted Middle-Distance Running |
Q: Scott said, "It's no coincidence that the rise of youth soccer corresponds with the fall of American middle-distance running."
Webb: It's possible. It's a good theory because [soccer] steers athletes more toward team sports vs. individual sports. But I don't know if I totally buy into that because I played soccer. It was one of the ways I got into sports. One of the reasons why I did as well as I did, especially initially, was because I was good at soccer and knew how to run pretty well. I also swam, so I had a very good aerobic base.
Q: About the mile, ROGER BANNISTER said it "has all the elements of drama." There has always been a glamour to the race. Has some of that prestige been lost?
Webb: Maybe it's not quite as popular, but people still pay attention to it because it's kind of a timeless event. It's such a familiar distance. Not only does it have all the elements of great drama, but it has all the elements of being a great athlete. It's almost like a decathlon all in one. You have to be able to do everything well. You have to be a great sprinter, a great long-distance runner and a great middle-distance runner.
Q: Every kid and every weekend jogger knows that it's four laps around the track.
Webb: Exactly, and so it's very easy to relate to.
Q: How were you able to break those records?
Webb: I've always been very motivated and I work really hard. I'm decently talented and I'm decently athletic. I had good coaching and guidance. And I took advantage of all my opportunities. By the time I was 18- and 25-years-old, I reaped the benefits of those opportunities.
Q: What did breaking Scott's record mean to you?
Webb: That one probably was the most rewarding, for a couple of reasons. One, my coach and my agent and I organized that race for me to do that. It wasn't like I just happened to do it at the right place and the right time. I went out and made it happen myself. It had been a specific goal of mine for a while. Jim Ryun's record was obviously a goal. The world record is always everybody's goal. But that kind of just happened. I'd improved a lot more than I thought I had and, so, that was an all-of-a-sudden kind of thing. Whereas this was many years in the making and in my mind for a long time, which is why it was so special.
Q: The U.S. has won one Olympic gold medal in the 1,500 (the metric mile), and that was in 1908.
Webb: Right, 100 years ago.
Q: And in '72, DAVE WOTTLE won the gold medal in the 800 meters. In the 36 years since then, no U.S. male middle-distance runner has won Olympic gold. Why?
Webb: I don't know. For one, it's an international sport; it's not just the U.S. It's so competitive. Everybody in every country wants to do well.
Q: Can you break that streak this summer?
Webb: (laughing) I hope so, man. That's what I've been trying to do. That's been my goal since I started: to be the Olympic champion. It's not easy, though. DAN MARINO never won a Super Bowl. Imagine if they had a Super Bowl only every four years.
Q: You competed in the '04 Olympics. What did you learn then that will be most useful to you in the '08 Olympics?
Webb: Man, I learned a lot in that. No. 1, nothing is given to you, especially at the Olympic level. I had a great season, won the Olympic Trials. At one point in that year I had the fastest time in the world in the 1,500. But I didn't even make it out of the first round. And No. 2, you have to make sure you take care of the little things. I think I didn't really pay attention to how much rest I was getting and how much I was doing. You can get caught up in the excitement of the Olympic Games. It's a huge event, with the Opening Ceremony and a lot of other stuff. You really have to keep that at bay as much as you can.
Q: How much faster can you go? Can you break the world record [3:43.13]?
Webb: Yeah, I think so. Honestly, I think I can get decently close to it. I'm 25-years-old. I've run 3:46.91 in the mile. If I take four seconds off, I do a 3:42.9, and that would be just a hair under the world record. You do the math. It's about a second a year, roughly. It's right there. But we all know it's not that simple. It gets harder and harder to take those seconds off.
Q: It's almost an all-out sprint, isn't it?
Webb: Well, for you it would be (laughing). For the average person. The idea in training is that you're strong enough so that it's not a sprint. So when I'm running 55-second 400s, hopefully it would be not as much of a sprint as it was, say, 10 years ago or five or one year ago. To the layman or the everyday jogger, they'd barely be able to run 100 or 150 meters at that pace. That's why I'm training, because you can't sprint all out the whole way.
Q: Will you compete in the 800 and 1,500 at the Olympic Trials?
Webb: That's a good question. I'm not sure. The 1,500 is after both the 5,000 and the 800. It's a hard thing because I don't want to take away from my race in the 1,500. So, any decision I would make in terms of doing both would be based on how things have gone leading up to that. That decision won't be made until pretty darn close to the event.
Q: How would you assess the state of the business of track?
Webb: I'd like it to be a little bit better. I'd love to see the popularity of it be a little bigger. I'd like to see a little more TV time given to it. I don't pay a whole lot of attention to it because I try to keep the financial and competitive aspects of it as separate as I can. If I ever win any drive money, I sort of figure I've won the lottery. It's found money. The motivation behind winning a race isn't necessarily financial.
Q: How would you promote and market the sport?
Webb: We have to find somehow a way to get in with one of the networks. For example, ESPN owns the X Games. Obviously they're going to advertise the event. Those advertising spots become that much more valuable, and more money is then brought into the sport. Over time, the event attracts better athletes and the competitiveness of it increases. It's a snowball effect in a positive way. If we could somehow get a relationship, or a partnership, with a certain network on a consistent basis.
Q: Why should corporate sponsors spend their dollars with track and field and not elsewhere? What would you tell them?
Webb: First of all, I wouldn't tell them anything. I'd bring them to the Prefontaine Classic and have them see for themselves. The thing is, if you can just get people there, to the event itself, it's extremely exciting. In fact, it's more exciting than all other sports. There's so much going on and so much cool stuff that's happening. If you could just get people there, they're going to love it. Getting people in the door is the problem. I would take people to meets and show them how exciting it is, and show them the potential of what there is to offer.
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Webb Says Only Top Runners Can Make
Comfortable Living On Races, Endorsement Deals |
Q: Can a professional runner make a comfortable living off his races and endorsements?
Webb: Some can, at the highest levels, but it drops off pretty quick. That's one of the problems. There's no middle class per se. The top U.S. guys make a decent living, but the second tier is average income. After that, it's tough to stay afloat. That's the one thing I would love to change.
Q: You turned pro in '02, and your six-year contract with Nike expires after the '08 Olympics. What would a gold medal mean to you personally and financially?
Webb: It would mean a lot to me financially, but it would mean more to me, just, you know -- I'd give the money away. I'm already taken care of financially. I don't really need anything more. But it would mean so much more to me in my life and to know that I dedicated my life to something and it worked out for the good.
