Interview with Brad Hudson

By Pat Goodwin

Before he became a coach of some of the top distance runners in the country, about six years ago, Brad Hudson, 41, was himself a well-known runner. He started running when he was 12, and as a junior at North Hunterdon High School in New Jersey in 1983, he set a cross country course record of 12:15 (for 2.5 miles) at New York’s Van Cortlandt Park (the record stood until 2006). Then, as a senior at South High School in Eugene, OR, Hudson set a national high school indoor track record of 14:29 for 5000 meters.

During his collegiate years at the University of Oregon, Hudson was an All-American at 10,000 meters and as a 19 year old in 1985 ran a 2:17 marathon. His personal best in the marathon of 2:13:23 was set at Cal International in 1990 and he won the Columbus Marathon in 1992 and 1993.

Hudson launched his coaching career in Boulder, CO, where he worked with Shayne Culpepper, Steve Slattery, Jorge and Ed Torres, and Dathan Ritzenhein, among others. The group was originally named the Boulder Performance Training Group but it is now called the Marathon Performance Group and is based in Eugene. The group currently includes Ritzenhein, James Carney, Jason Hartmann, Casey Burchill, Stephanie Rothstein, Megan Lewis, Tera Moody, and Lucinda Hull. Hudson also coaches Boaz Cheboiywo of Kenya.

With Ritzenhein already a member of the U.S. Olympic team in the marathon, Hudson is focused on preparing his athletes for the U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Track & Field in Eugene. Successes this year have included Carney’s win at the USA Half-Marathon Championships in Houston in January, Ritzenhein’s win at the USA Cross Country Championships in San Diego in February, Hartmann’s third-place finish at the USA 8K Championship in New York in March, and Cheboiywo’s 13:19 PR in the 5000 meters at the Cardinal Invitational in April.

Hudson has co-authored a book called Run Faster from 5K to the Marathon, which will be coming out in July.

New York Road Runners: You’ve changed the name of your group to the Marathon Performance Group. Does that mean you’re focusing your athletes on the marathon?
Brad Hudson: Yes, the direction we’re going to go will be the marathon. We won’t abandon the track, but I want to move toward more long distance, 10K and above. I like all the events, but the opportunity is in the longer distances. Most of the athletes I coach, and so many more Americans, want to run the marathon and they’re looking toward doing it a little bit sooner now. It’s not for everyone, but a lot of athletes can improve by going to the marathon. There is no harm in that.

NYRR: Does the name change also reflect your change in location?
BH: It does. We didn’t want to have a name that was specific to where we are located. We are based in Eugene but we will train in different places during the year. My dream is to have a warm location like Phoenix and also to be able to go to altitude twice a year. We’re trying to put that in place, which will be a good balance.

NYRR: Has everything been working out okay in Eugene?
BH: I love it here, although I wish the sun were out a little more. Dathan really loves it here in Eugene as well. Altitude is good for some athletes but it is not great for everyone, and Dathan is an example of that. Jason relocated here from Boulder along with Dathan and now James is here too, through the Trials. Overall, Eugene is everything we thought it would be.

NYRR: Have you changed some of the things the athletes do in training now that you are at sea level?
BH: Moving to sea level, we have had to change a few things. For example we’ve done more volume. At altitude we couldn’t do that. And I do think I am still learning a lot. Each year is a little bit different. Things that weren’t possible a few years ago are available, like the anti-gravity treadmill, so an athlete like Dathan can still train even if he’s having some problems. American distance runners today are taking a few more risks and training a little harder.

NYRR: Is there a lot of buzz in Eugene because of the upcoming U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Track & Field there this summer?
BH: The Trials are very big here. Fan support is tremendous. The whole town is energized and it is carrying over to the rest of the country. It is an Olympic year and so people have more interest in running. Even the politics of Beijing and the pollution is creating interest for a lot of people who wouldn’t usually pay any attention. We can always get into the sports and running news, so any time we can get into the other sections, that helps raise the visibility of our sport.

NYRR: Are you concerned about Dathan running the marathon in Beijing given the conditions?
BH: As far as Dathan is concerned, even if it was twice as polluted as they say, he wants to be on the starting line. To prepare, we’ll be at the Marathon Distance Summit in May in Colorado Springs. We are also looking at as much science as we can. We are going to talk to all the people in the world and prepare for it as best as we can. We’re not glad that the Olympics are in Beijing, but with Dr. David Martin [who helped prepare the U.S. marathoners for the Athens Olympics], the athletes will be well prepared for the conditions. We’ll use a climate room to simulate Beijing and we are going to use heat suits to do some training. The main thing is to prepare for the heat and humidity.

NYRR: How are the rest of your athletes doing?
BH: James had good fitness at the marathon trials but he was a little too extra conservative and was never really in the race. His first marathon had not been so great so he was being cautious. His next marathon will be much better but now his focus is on the 10,000. We were disappointed at world cross so he took a break after that. Depending on how the Trials go for James, he will run a fall marathon. Jason will also be doing the 10,000. Athletes are doing track this spring and some are trying to get their qualifier and they are also running some road races. Megan will run the 10,000 and Stephanie will definitely be a marathoner at some point. Casey is focused on the 5000 meters. And Tera is preparing for a fall marathon.

NYRR: Have the various training groups, yours included, started to make a difference in American distance running?
BH: In Boulder, in California [Team Running USA], at ZAP [in North Carolina], the Hansons [in Michigan], and Team USA Minnesota, at all the different running groups, people are seeing how hard people are training. There’s more information being shared on the Internet. Young kids are training harder and they are inspired. They’re excited about running. I’m glad we have coaches for post-collegiate training teams. The U.S. is going to continue to improve in distance running because of these groups. I think there is a lot of depth now and there are many long-distance athletes with a lot of potential. The bar has been raised.

NYRR: How do you think your own coaching has been going?
BH: I keep learning every year, hopefully, how to do it a little bit better. You have to have patience. It takes some time for athletes to get to the top. As a coach, you have to find out what their needs are and how to get them to run better. Coaching is tough because there is no magic formula or environment. You have to find out what works for each individual.

NYRR: Can you tell us a little about your book?
BH: I have wanted to have a book for a long time. Matt Fitzgerald, who co-wrote the book with me, came to me and put it together. This is for the person who really wants to race. There are general concepts in the book like training and racing smart and avoiding injury.

Interview conducted April 5 and May 19, 2008, and posted on May 21, 2008..