Interview with John Cook

By Kevin Beck

John Cook headed the men's track and field program at George Mason University in Fairfax, VA, for 19 years, retiring in 1997. GMU athletes under his tutelage included Abdi Bile, three-time Somali Olympian and the 1987 1500-meter world champion; Ibrahim Aden, third in the 1500 at the 2002 USA Outdoor Championships; and Julius Achon, who in 1996 set the still-standing collegiate 800-meter record, 1:44.55. In 1997, Cook's men's team won the NCAA indoor track and field championship, ending the University of Arkansas' 12-year reign. A few years later, Cook helped get Nike’s Oregon Project off the ground. After tiring of the Portland area's dreary winters, he planned to move to Sarasota, FL, anticipating a life of swimming, tennis, and relaxing with his wife, Mary.

But a series of fateful encounters in early 2005 with an NCAA-star-turned-Nike intern named Erin Donohue threw a wrench into those plans. Cook spotted Donohue working out in the dark on a track, and he forged a relationship with the former Tarheel. One of Donohue's college teammates, Shalane Flanagan, who won two NCAA cross country titles, also wound up under Cook's guidance after coming back from injury later that year. Finally, Shannon Rowbury, who won an NCAA title in the 3000 as a senior in 2007 but missed the outdoor season with a femoral stress fracture, was aimed Cook's way by a longtime friend, the renowned speed coach Dan Pfaff.

Although all three runners were collegiate standouts, it is doubtful that anyone anticipated the collective force of Cook's runners, all of whom qualified for the U.S. Olympic team that will compete in Beijing beginning on August 15. Flanagan now holds three American records: indoor 3000 meters (8:33.25) and outdoor 5000 meters (14:44.80), and 10,000 meters (30:34.49); Donohue was the fastest U.S. miler (4:27.35) and 1500-meter runner (4:05.55) in 2007; and Rowbury has been the breakout sensation of 2008, winning national titles in the indoor 3000 meters and the outdoor 1500 meters and lowering her time in the latter event to 4:01.61, the fifth-fastest American performance ever [Editor’s Update: Rowbury has since lowered her PR to 4:00.33, the fourth-fastest American performance ever].

New York Road Runners interviewed Cook after he returned to Sarasota following the Olympic Trials. The 66-year-old native of Germany reflected on the good, the bad, and the weird of the Trials and discussed his athletes’ plans and goals in the immediate future.

New York Road Runners: Shalane Flanagen’s decision to run both the 10,000 meters and the 5000 meters at the Olympics comes as a surprise given her stated preference for the shorter race. Was the order of the events a factor?

John Cook: The order of the events was definitely what decided it. If the semifinal and final of the five had been scheduled first, we would not have been as confident about doubling.

NYRR: The gap between the Trials and the Games is unusually short this Olympiad. Given that you could be fairly confident of having all three athletes qualify even in a less-than-perfect scenario, to what extent were you planning to have Shalane and the others peak in Eugene?

JC: We went into the Trials with a very serious attitude. It's a cliché, but a lot of things can happen. A lot of people fall at the Olympic Trials and not just literally. You can plan for afterward, but if you don't make the team, you, well, you just don't make the team.

NYRR: In the 5K, was Shalane told to make a decisive move with three laps to go? It looked that way, but the other two simply didn't give her an inch when she took off and, as things played out, never relented.

JC: If anyone is to blame—and that's not a good word to use because they [winner Kara Goucher, runner-up Jen Rhines, and Flanagan] all ran great races—it's me for figuring we could drop 'em with 1200 meters to go. As it turned out, the three of them ran the last 1500 in about 4:12 or 4:13. If I had to do it over—and again, I don't want to take anything away from the others—I would have had her just sit, because I think she could have outsprinted the other two. Second-guessing is something anyone can do, but that's what I'd try in a “next time” if there was one.

NYRR: Shannon and Erin wound up, by luck of the draw, in the same quarterfinal 1500-meter heat. Did that play into how they executed?

JC: Their instructions were basic. Stay out of trouble. Don't get knocked down. We have a theory: Don't start a fight you can't finish. There was no strategy whatsoever in the quarterfinal. Erin and Shannon “go” at different times, and that's how it played out.

NYRR: Clearly, the concern of Shannon and Erin is staying sharp, while with Shalane it's a matter of having her go to the Games rested but with some snap. How does the European meet schedule feed into these needs?

JC: Shalane won't be racing. We'll make more decisions about Shannon after she runs the 1500 in Paris in a few days. They all have to be in San Jose, California, on July 29 before they head to China. Erin and Shannon are stationed in Cologne right now for their Europe races.

We still have time to do some work. What I worry about is all the traveling. Shalane doesn't really like to travel. She may run a couple races after the Olympics if she's invited.

Shannon and Erin are obviously running 800s for speed and experience and even Shannon running 2:03.7, while not stellar for her, gives her what she needs. I think she can go out in 58-59 and run 1:59 on the right day, but that's not a concern for now. She's getting her feet wet in that event.

We saw slides of the training camp already. Whoever set it up was thoughtful – it looks fantastic. Someone at the seminar that we went to in Colorado for the six Olympic marathoners called it a "Chinese Riviera,” and that fits.

NYRR: Are you going to have any of the athletes do another altitude stint?

JC: Shalane is Colorado Springs right now. The others will stay in Europe until this weekend, then go to where they live until it's time to meet in San Jose in a little over a week later. Erin's running an 800 in Liege, Belgium, today [Editor’s Update: On July 16, Donohue won the race in 2:01.19] and Shannon's running that 1500 in France on Friday [Editor’s Update: At the Golden League meet in Paris on July 18, Rowbury ran 4:00.33 and placed second].

NYRR: When will you go to China?

JC: We're going to go to the training camp in Dalain at the same time. The three of them leave from San Jose on July 29, and I'll meet them at the camp on August 2. Then we'll stay as long as possible at the camp before going to Beijing. Shalane has been to an Olympics, so she is going for forgo marching [in the opening ceremonies] and will head to Beijing three days before the 10,000. [Editor’s Note:: the women's 10,000 meters will be held August 15] The others will fly right into Beijing and do the opening ceremonies, which is an incredible experience if you haven't done it, and then they'll go to the training camp. The rule is, once you're in Beijing, you can only be at the training camp once before your event. So there's no going to camp, flying in for the ceremonies, going back to camp, and finally heading to the city for your event.

NYRR: Thanks to the collective rise of all three of your athletes, you were gaining a lot of notoriety even before the Trials. Is it strange to go from toiling in relative obscurity to being in the spotlight?

JC: I personally like being in the background, but there is always gratification in dong something well. The whole thing revolves around doing hard work. Other people are doing it, too. We don't have secrets. A lot of people are doing what we do. Sometimes it's a matter of knowing how to bake the cake. Everyone has the ingredients, but the recipe matters. And for us, part of that is how well the three of them happen to work together.

A lot of the things we do are time-consuming outside of training itself -- phone calls, e-mails, et cetera. It's not a dilettante affair where you throw crap against the wall to see what sticks. I've been on the phone all morning with someone or another. I'm not complaining, don't get me wrong, but I don't see how people handle 20 or more athletes.

Interview conducted July 16, 2008, and posted on August 13, 2008.