Shawn Forrest Interview - 'a great season'

posted by rtross on September 29, 2009, 9:39pm

shawn_forrest

Shawn Forrest could be Australia's most under-rated distance runner. Currently on a scholarship with Arkansas, we managed to catch up with Shawn shortly after hs brilliant 2nd place to Galen Rupp at the 2009 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

Runners's Tribe: Hey Shawn, congrats on your NCAA Champs run, and a great season! How was this year's NCAA season for you?

Shawn Forrest: Thank you! I have so many people to thank for supporting me. My massage therapist John Brochu helped so much for me to be injury free the past two years and it has made all the difference. Coming to America and running in the big group, everyone would run hard day after day and you just get caught up in it. I learned over time that you have to listen to your body and run your own recovery pace. Since making that change in my training I finally feel like I did when I first started running--confident. I am thrilled to I have run personal bests in every distance this season. I am enjoying it more than ever. Not many guys break 28 minutes in college so that was special, and to hold an Arkansas record is exciting.

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

SF: I wanted to give myself the opportunity to win, I wanted to go for it. I knew my competitors were great athletes and I respect them, but on any given day anyone could win because its all about showing up that day. There was no definitive answer that Rupp or Chelanga were going to win. You cannot go into a race with the mindset that you are already going to lose. I just thought in my head my training had been going well and Coach Mac told me that I could run with them and I believed him.

RT: What was the race plan against Rupp and Chelanga?

shawn_forrest SF: My race plan was to make sure that it was honest.

RT: Everyone was talking up Rupp and Chelanga, did that take a bit of pressure off you?

SF: Coach McDonnell always tells me that if you focus on today, tomorrow will take care of itself. I have trained as hard as anyone, and I was very confident going in with my training.

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

SF: It went out quick, settled down, it never really got too comfortable because of the humidity and heat. By halfway it became more tactical we knew Rupp was not going to get broken and I wanted to make him work for it. The last few laps really did slow because we were all getting ready for our big moves. Mine came 900m to go which was good enough to hang on for second. Hats off to Sam who put himself out there, he is a cool guy and a class act. Rupp will probably go on to be the greatest distance runner to date for America.

RT: The pace was pretty erratic, and you guys were sharing the lead, before you kicked it down, and giving it a damn good go. Were you happy with the outcome??

SF: I was very pleased to run with an Olympian who placed very high in Beijing and also the current NCAA record holder. I am very aware I am running with the best that the NCAA system has ever had. The reason I came to America was to improve and to run with people like Galen Rupp and Sam Chelanga. Sam raced Collis Birmingham when he set our Australian 10k National record a few weeks before NCAAs. That motivates me because Collis and I used to race as school boys. All of the up and comers are people I have known for a long time, and it is interesting to see it happen.

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

SF: I have gotten second two years in a row in the 10k. Last year was a closer finish, but this year I felt I put myself out there so I was more pleased. I tend to like gutsy races. I have a story for you to answer this question: I was lucky enough to be selected as a basket carrier for the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games and I actually got to be on the track for the mens 10k final. I was Haile Gebreselassie basket carrier, and he was up against Paul Tergat. That was the most exciting race I have ever seen, all about heart, and I will never forget that. You have to give it everything you have on the day and walk away knowing that was your best is always going to be enough. As long as you know you gave it your best, look ahead to the next race.

shawn_forrest RT: Where to from here? What's the plan for you now, for the rest of the year?

SF: Continue training, get some races in.

RT: Was the World Champs a goal for you this year? Were you hoping to score a qualifying time, or were the big college races and titles more of the focus?

SF: The goal is always to represent Australia, so of course I want to be on that team, I want to wear that uniform. My goals for the season were to finish high in the NCAAs and score as many points for the Arkansas team as possible in indoors and outdoors. It was important to me to represent my team and the history of the Arkansas program at our first hosting of the NCAA National Outdoor meet in Fayetteville. I felt as a school record holder at Arkansas I represent a great number of people that have come through our program. I had so many alumni from Arkansas come up to me after the race with kind words, and I felt honored I could do justice to that jersey so many have worn.

RT: You don't race often in Australia, do you ever feel the urge to come back here for a couple of races?

SF: It is very expensive to travel home for a college student, and also our domestic season is during NCAA indoors so that made it very difficult for me to compete at home. As a junior I represented Australia in the World Juniors in Jamaica in the 5k and 1500m, and also made the senior team for World Cross but they did not send the team that year unfortunately. This year I was selected for the Chiba Relays in Japan in November and our team did very well. I was very proud to wear that Australian singlet and its an amazing experience to represent your country. It is what drives me, motivates me, and inspires me.

RT: What about into the future, what are your long term goals?

SF: I would like to represent Australia, reach my potential, and I would like to improve my track times (1500 to 10K) in the short term. In the long term, I want to run the half marathon and the marathon. The longer I run the better I go. I enjoy the roads.

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

SF: More workouts on the grass this year for strength. Two workouts a week. Morning runs with my fiance, afternoon runs with James Strang. Workouts with Boit/Strang/Summerside.

Week leading up to Nats:
Sunday- 200s
Monday- 8 miles
Tuesday- 6 miles
Wednesday- 4 miles
Thursday- Race
Friday- recovery run

RT: Thanks Shawn! Great to chat with you! All the best.