Week 4

Wednesday, October 10

Pushing the Distance

Coach Dave Murray stands near the finish line of the University of Arizona track looking east to the line of mountains framing the backstretch.  For 35 years, Murray had coached the Wildcats from this vantage point, producing such distance running standouts as Ed Mendoza, Amy Skieresz, Marc Davis, and Martin Keino. But Murray’s number one protégé has been Abdi Abdirahman, the two-time Olympian and three-time USA champion at 10,000 meters.

Tonight, Abdi, as he is universally known, is back on home turf under Murray’s careful eye, preparing for the biggest race of the year, the U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Men’s Marathon in New York City on November 3.

“How many?” asks Abdi as he comes back around the track, shirtless in droopy gray nylon shorts that accentuate his bony frame.

“Six 200s,” says Murray. “Nothing special.”

“What time?”

“No time. We’re not interested in time today. Just run.”

As Abdi jumps back on the track to help pull another Wildcat grad, Moses Mpanga, through his final 1000-meter repeat, Murray readies his watch. To the north beyond the curve of the home stretch sat the Catalina Mountains, peaking at 9,200 feet. Even as sundown approaches, the temperature hovers near 100.

“He always pulls on his jersey when he’s hurting,” says Murray, dropping a hint for fans to look for at the Trials. “I’d yell at him, ‘Stop pulling on your jersey.’ And that would make him relax.”

Tracking Progression
Though Murray retired from the university in 2002, he continued coaching Abdi, a task he began in 1996 when he recruited Abdi out of nearby Pima Community College. 

“The first time I saw him at Pima I could tell he was an African runner,” says Murray. “Even though his times weren’t recruitable times—I think his 10K PR was around 31 minutes. But I knew he was a low mileage person and would get better.”

Abdi quickly delivered on Murray’s belief. He won the 5000- and 10,000-meter titles at the 1998 PAC-10 Championships in his first year with the Wildcats, lowering his 10K PR to 28:36. 

“He has the body type and a great aerobic capacity,” explains Murray. “He has a low stride cadence, but it’s very efficient. I told him, ‘Down the road you’ll be a marathoner.’ He said, ‘no way, coach. That’s way too far.’”

Now, as he prepares for the Trials, Abdi is in a transitional phase of his career—still fast on the track (as seen by his 10,000-meter win at the USATF Nationals, and seventh place finish at the IAAF World Championships in Osaka)—while still learning to race the marathon.

Anxious to try out the marathon distance after seeing his friend, Meb Keflezighi, capture the Olympic silver medal in Athens, Abdi decided to run the ING New York City Marathon 2004. When Meb’s coach, Bob Larsen, arrived home from Athens, the first phone call he got was from Abdi saying that he wanted to train in Mammoth Lakes.

In New York, Abdi was in the hunt until 20 miles, when a partially torn Achilles tendon slowed him to a 14th-place 2:17:09 finish. He returned in 2005 determined to get it right.  His performance that year was more indicative of his capability—closing fast, Abdi placed fifth in 2:11:24, a massive PR and a harbinger of things to come.

“In 2006, I encouraged him to run Chicago,” says Murray. “I knew for him to be recognized in the marathon, to get the invitations and appearance fees, he had to run under 2:09. And Chicago was historically two or three minutes faster than New York.”

“The first time I ran the marathon, I fell in love with it,” says Abdi. “Of course after my first one in 2:17, I said I’d never run it again, but that was because of the pain I was in when I crossed the finish line with a torn Achilles. But the second time I ran 2:11. Man, I felt good. Then in Chicago I got fourth in 2:08:56, and I felt even better.  I learned that the more you train, the better you get, as long as you train smart. That’s why I decided to run only one marathon a year.”

Although he competed in the 10,000 meters at the World Championships in Osaka this past August against his coach’s wishes (Murray did not want anything to hamper Abdi’s preparation for the Trials), Abdi feels he’s calibrated his opportunities well. Besides, Ethiopian legend and new marathon world record-holder Haile Gebrselassie told Abdi at the NYC Half-Marathon Presented by NIKE in August that he had a chance to place in the top five at the World Champs.

“I love competing. Being with other athletes brings out the best in me,” Abdi says. “Plus, I know what works for me, and my marathon preparation [for the Trials] started in July. When I ran Chicago—the way I ran, how strong I was—I only had six weeks of marathon training. So, two months is plenty for me as long as I do my long runs twice a week.”

To some, it may sound like it’s track first, marathon second. But there is no denying the importance Abdi has placed on the Trials. “It’s as important as it gets,” he says. “Seeing Meb cross that line in Athens let me know anything can happen in this sport, as long as you put in the effort and hard work.”