Interview with Christian Hesch

By Cecil Harris

Christian Hesch, 28, is anything but conventional. A former star triathlete, Hesch is 6-foot-2 and 175 pounds, bigger and bulkier than the typical distance runner. But that has not kept him from achieving success on the road and the track. On March 15, he’ll be among the professional athlete field at the USA Men’s 8K Championship in New York’s Central Park.

Hesch could have run in Central Park last November for a spot on the 2008 U.S. Olympic Marathon team. He qualified for the Trials in January 2007 by winning the Orange County (CA) Marathon in 2:21:18—while high-fiving spectators near the finish line—but he chose not to run in the Trials. Instead, he has his sights set on representing the United States in Beijing in the 1500 meters, the 5000 meters, or both.

Known for colorful quotes and for unusual race attire such as board shorts, the native of Morro Bay, CA, brings plenty of personality to the sport. And he seems as determined as his friend, the late Ryan Shay, to see that runners get more respect.

New York Road Runners caught up with Hesch via e-mail in Ethiopia, where he trained with another friend, marathon world record-holder Haile Gebrselassie, and met two young people with whom he has a special connection.

New York Road Runners: What are the reasons for your trip to Ethiopia?
Christian Hesch: First and foremost was to visit two girls I’ve sponsored with Compassion International (www.compassion.com), a Christian children’s ministry that primarily provides health care, schooling, and food (similar to World Vision that Ryan and Sara Hall work with).

The first girl, Tigest, I sponsored starting at age 6. She’s now 20 and lives in Addis Ababa, and she just graduated from vocational school and perhaps will start working for Haile. The second girl, Atutu, lives approximately three hours outside Addis and just turned 12. I visited with both of them. With the upcoming USA 8K champs, and the fact that weather was tough for this California boy in Flagstaff, Arizona, I rang Haile and told him I’d be there in a week. Temps are perfect every day. Yesterday, I ran solo up to the Entoto forest in 70-degree weather. Today, Haile picked me up at 6:00 a.m. and it was already 50 degrees by the time we hit the forest, and it was 65 when we finished. I just love it here and can’t wait to come back.

NYRR: With whom are you staying?
CH: Initially, it was probably going to be Haile or another local athlete, but I didn’t want to wake him when I came in at 3:00 a.m. local time, so I [went to] an inexpensive hotel. The place turns out the be this beautiful bed and breakfast, which is right next to one of the most popular restaurants in Addis. And it’s only one mile from Haile’s gym and 1.5 miles from the national stadium! Haile asked me if he should arrange something else for me, but it was so much less hassle to just stay here that I feel really blessed to have lucked out into this place.

NYRR: When will you return to the USA?
CH: I’ll return on March 13.

NYRR: Congratulations on your recent victory in the Armagh Road Race in Ireland. What was the key to that victory?
CH: Health. Plain and simple, I haven’t had more than five months of health in about five years. [I have] finally pulled my head out of my rear and accepted that I have to supplement the heck out of my training. For example, if I run 10 hours in a week, I also need three hours on the bike, three hours in the gym, two hours of massage, and two hours of stretching. So, basically, if I run one hour, I need one ancillary hour to support my body, it’s so darn fragile.

NYRR: Why are you looking forward to the USA Men’s 8K Championship in Central Park?
CH: Because I’ll finally be able to showcase my potential. A friend of mine once said, “Potential can be a real dog,” and he couldn’t be more right. Look at [Tim] Broe, supremely talented but his body just won’t let him go for it. Same with [Adam] Goucher at times, both great guys but their bodies just won’t cooperate. Fortunately, I think I’ve figured out how to stay healthy, so now I just have to stay committed to all the ancillary stuff.

NYRR: Do you like hilly courses like the one in Central Park?
CH: Heck, no! At my weight, you avoid hills like the plague. Not much I can do about it, though, and I do think it’s a fast enough course that the world record will go with proper weather conditions.

NYRR: You qualified for the U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Men’s Marathon with a winning time at the Orange County Marathon, but you chose not to compete at the Trials. Why?
CH: I only “ran” the first 16 miles, then I jogged the last 10.2 in around 61-plus, so it wasn’t really a true marathon. They had leader bonuses starting after 13 miles, so I figured I could blast out to a decent lead, pick up rent and a car payment--I had a 300+ horsepower BMW at the time--and jog it in for a solid long run. After 16 miles at 5:03 (66:05 at the half), I had a three-minute lead, so I started jogging at a six-minute pace. At 20 miles, it was up to five minutes, so I figured why not just hold six minutes instead of the seven minutes I was planning on and make an extra $3,000? I’m not a marathoner by any stretch of the imagination. I’m firmly focused on the 1500 and the 5K for the Olympic Trials, and besides, I was only four months into training when the [marathon] Trials rolled around. It would have been pointless to come out and slog it out for 20th place, from my point of view, not to mention the training disruption.

NYRR: Obviously, the Olympic Trials race was overshadowed by the death of Ryan Shay. How well did you know him?
CH: We weren’t absolute best friends, but he was probably the closest friend I had in the sport, well enough that I had planned on staying at his house in the following weeks after the Trials. I actually helped him and [his wife] Alicia move into that house last year. I ran a half-marathon in San Jose the day after the Trials and made it pretty well, to about five miles before I broke down and started crying. He was one of those guys that you see yourself growing closer to with time, not farther away as so often happens. It wasn’t until I went to his funeral service that it really sunk in that I was never going to make good on that promise to teach him how to surf, and that we’d never take our families to the beach together.

I was running through New York City several days ago, and a Lenox Hill ambulance passed me. Then I made a random turn and right in front of me was Lenox Hill Hospital. I had to walk for a few blocks after that, just thinking of how crazy difficult it must have been for Alicia to go in there to hold her husband’s hand for the last time. She has certainly been an inspiration to me; her strength is just amazing to see, how she has held to her faith so well, and carried herself so positively in this time.

NYRR: You have the kind of personality and personal style that could bring more fans to running. But Ryan Shay faulted the running establishment for not really promoting its personalities. Do you agree?
CH: Sure. Why don’t we have more rivalries like [800-meter runners] KD [Khadevis Robinson] and [Nick] Symmonds? They don’t have to hate each other, just talk it up on TV and create some buzz. It’s not hard to do, and people love to see an athlete (in any sport) pitted directly against another athlete. I’m not advocating WWE [World Wrestling Entertainment], but hey, throw some fuel on the fire and let the audience lap it up.

NYRR: When did you start in running, and why?
CH: I had finished my triathlon career in late ’99, and just ran a bit to keep my weight down. I started training with a local guy who was coached by Joe Rubio and after three or four months of semi-serious training. I tried a 1500 for kicks. I ran 3:47 in my first-ever competitive race. Then, someone told me I should try spikes. I tried spikes for the first time in a [1500 meters] three weeks later and ran 3:45. Joe said, “Maybe you should try to do this seriously.” So I did, sort of.

NYRR: You're listed at 6-2 and 170 pounds, considerably bigger than the average runner. Has that ever been an asset?
CH: Ha, I wish. Right now, I’m around 175. Haile laughed at me yesterday when I stepped on the gym scale, and he said I need to lose four kilos. I agree. It’s just so hard. I love to eat. I’ve tried straight up starving myself and that just made me grouchy to be around, so I’ll have to try something else.

NYRR: Rather than run in the U.S. Olympic Trials marathon, you won a cross country race in San Francisco, which served as a tune-up for a 10K race in Sacramento on Thanksgiving Day, the Run to Feed the Hungry. Why is the Run to Feed the Hungry such an important event to you? And how many years have you competed in the race?
CH: The Run to Feed the Hungry, unfortunately, gave me my first-ever experience with a stitch, after feeling great rolling through 5K around 14:10 with Alene Amere. I ended up having to walk three times. I felt so bad for letting down Rich Hanna, the race director, who has always taken such good care of me. There are other races in California on Turkey Day, but nobody treats the athletes half as good as Rich does. It’s people like that you have to support. I’m always very loyal to the [race directors] who’ve taken care of me even when I was a nobody.

NYRR: If not for injuries, how much better do you believe your times in your particular events would be?
CH: Well, I’m pretty certain I’ve been in 13:30 shape twice in the past, and I’m probably there or better right now. I don’t think my 1500 fitness has been back to 3:40 until right now; I believe it to be around 3:38 or so.

NYRR: Do you have a sponsor right now?
CH: Not at the moment, but I certainly haven’t done anything worthy of a contract yet, so I’m not too worried about it. It’s like fast times. They generally come with winning races, so I need to win a few more races before I think about that [sponsorship] aspect.

NYRR: What do you intend to do after your running career?
CH: Head to paramedics school and probably lean towards fire service.

NYRR: How would you describe your chances at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in the 1500 and the 5000?
CH: Well, let’s put it this way: I see around 10 guys in each event with a fairly legit shot at the team, myself being one of them. In my opinion, each event has basically two locks (Webb [Alan Webb] and Lagat [Bernard Legat] in the 1500, and Lagat and Teg [Matt Tegankamp]in the 5000), which more or less leaves eight of us scrapping for the last spot. Not a perfect world, but I have four months to improve my fitness, which I think will give me the chance I need.

NYRR: What is your career highlight so far as a professional runner?
CH: Boy, I really don’t know. I don’t think I’ve won a big enough race to call anything a “highlight,” but if I was on the spot I suppose the [1500 meters] race at Stanford in ’01, where I drilled everyone on the last lap after being dead last for the first 900 meters and qualified for USATF [Outdoor] Championships. My mum was in the stands, so that is probably why it holds more weight over other races. Hopefully, the USA 8K champs will soon become that highlight, though.

Interview conducted March 5, 2008, 2008, and posted March 11, 2008.