David McNeill Interview - 'Having a Crack'

David McNeill has had a cracker of a season. He kicked it off by winning the Zatopek 10000m in Melbourne in December. That run got him nominated for the Berlin World Championships over the 10000m distance. Then, after a series of solid runs over 5000m in the US college circuit, David took it to the wire against Olympian Galen Rupp in the NCAA 5000m Championships, and very nearly came out on top. Runner's Tribe chatted with David about his season.

Runners's Tribe: You came over to Aus and had a great run in Zatopek last year, were you expecting to do that well?

David McNeil: Certainly not. I came off a disappointing NCAA cross country, and then really struggled in training over the proceeding 2.5 weeks before the Zatopek. I arrived into Melbourne only 3days before the race, and didn't feel like I had much prospect of being competitive. But without any expectations on myself, I decided to just hold on for as long as I could in the race, which to my pleasant surprise, ended up being 24 laps. I was relaxed, and I think that was the key. Without realising it, I guess I had prepared perfectly for the race...I had come straight off a cross country season, and the crappy two weeks before Zatopek basically served as a mini taper. I was very happy with it.

 

RT: You then got named in the team for the World Champs, did that take some pressure off you for this year? Was making the team one of your goals?

DM: Yeah, it definitively took some pressure off. Making the team was definitely my biggest goal after Zatopek. But when I got back to Flagstaff in the middle of January, my Achilles fell apart basically, and I wasn't able to run for 2 months. The original plan had been to prepare for a 10k at Stanford at the start of May, and go after the A standard. And although I was able to start running again at the end of March, trying to peak by the start of May was going to be too much. So I have been able to take a more measured approach to getting fit since being named in the team. I feel like I am really getting fit now, so I hope instead of running my best race in May, that I can now run it in August!

RT: How do you feel about running the 10000m at Worlds? You've competed mainly over 5000m?

DM: I feel confident that, as long as I can put all that I have done together, and arrive in Berlin healthy, that I can run well. While I haven't run many 10ks, this is just the type of runner that I am. I have the 10k endurance, but as I have learnt, my body is not strong enough yet to cope with lots of them (that will come with time!) That's why I've focused only on the 5ks so far this year. But a lot of the sessions I do are 10k based, so even though I haven't run one since the Zatopek, I am confident I am preparing in the right manner.

RT: How was this year's NCAA season for you?

DM: It was pleasing. It would have been nice to run some faster times this year, but I just didn't have time on my side after being injured. Nationals were a focus in the lead up to Berlin, and I ran the best race I could have, under the circumstances (such a slow race with a bunch of surges). I finished with no regrets, and plenty of lessons of what I need to work on in training to be a better runner.

RT: Talk us through the NCAA Champs - what were you expecting, going into the race?

DM: An important thing for me was that I expected the unexpected. It did not matter to me going in whether it was fast, slow or uneven. I felt prepared for any situation, and I think having that open mind helped me stay relaxed. In the heats, as was the case at regionals, I was a little nervous about avoiding any disasters, so I stayed up the front, out of trouble. And although I probably expended more energy doing this, I got the job done, without too much trouble.

RT: What was the race plan against Rupp?

DM: I figured on the morning of the race, that I would give myself a chance at the win. I was never going for second or third or fourth, as my time ranking may have suggested. My coach told me to just tail Rupp, and give myself the opportunity. If I died in the process and did worse than second, well at least I'd given myself a shot.

RT: How did the race go for you, give us a blow by blow.

DM: It went as well as it could have on the day. I had no regrets when I crossed in second. The pace went out slow, and Rupp was up the back. He stopped to put his shoe on properly after 2laps, and interestingly, a couple of people surged at the same time, to try escape him. But the pace dawdled again after 400m, and we were all together again. There were a few more surges after that, but after the first one, I knew no one had the confidence to make them last, so I always just stayed relaxed up the back, and let them come back. The pace picked up a bit each lap with 4 laps to go, and I just hung around Rupp. He moved with 600m to go, and I followed. I figured if I was still with him with 200, I would be safe, but the legs started to tie up with 250m left, and he moved away, and there wasn't anything more I could do. He is a phenomenal athlete, so I couldn't be too disappointed with 2nd.

RT: You took it to Rupp pretty damn well, were you happy with the outcome?

DM: Yeah, I was happy that I had done everything I could have. I gave myself a chance (which I haven't always done in the past), and I got beaten by an Olympian with an impressive resume. A win would have been great, but I am not that good just yet! But in being beaten, at least I better understand my weaknesses, so I can work on them in the future.

RT: Would you have done anything differently to grab the win, looking back?

DM: No. I don't think I could have done anything different. Even if I had, there are no guarantees it would have worked.

RT: Where to from here? What's the plan for between now and Berlin in August?

DM: Another couple of weeks in Flagstaff. My sister is here visiting, so will enjoy some time with her. Will then head to Europe in early July to train and maybe do a 3k and/or 5k, if I can get into one. Will join the team in Cologne at the start of August.

RT: What are your goals for the World Champs?

DM: I want to prove to myself that I deserve to be there. Ideally, that would involve running under 27:47, but whether that happens or not can't really be predicted. And whether I do that or not will not define whether I will be satisfied or not. It is definitely going to be a learning experience, but not one I will take lightly. It is hard to have concrete goals about such a big race you have not experienced before. So as long as I finish with that feeling of no regret, hopefully that will mean a performance worthy of being on the Australian team.

RT: What are your long term goals?

DM: Definitely Olympics. Along the way, hopefully I can establish myself as a respectable international runner, and win some races (I would love to win an NCAA title) and run some fast times. Most importantly, I want to keep loving what I'm doing. And I love track, so that's where I will be focused for the next few years I think.

RT: What's your training like, can you give us a typical training week for you?

DM: I guess a typical week would include 3 sessions, maybe a total of 10-12 runs, and about 110-130km. Depending on where I am at, and when I am racing, I will often do something like an 8mile threshold run, or some longer tempo reps (1-2 miles), then another session might be on the track, and then something like a long progression run - 22-24k with the first half at a comfy effort (not too slow) and the second half clipping along at a threshold type effort. Some sessions will incorporate a few different things in the one session - some tempo stuff mixed with some fast stuff.

RT: Thanks David! Best of luck for the rest of the season and Berlin!