Jimmy Grabow ran his first marathon at the 2012 Olympic Trials in 2:12:29.
That’s the 16th fastest debut marathon in American history.
Grabow finished in 10th place, missing the Olympic roster by just three seconds, and moved from off the radar to center stage in the distance running world overnight.
But with a whirlwind of expectations hanging over his head, Grabow ran a disappointing 2:19:03 at the Chicago Marathon a few months later.
Since then, Grabow decided to make the move from southern California to Track Town U.S.A. to continue his career both as an academic advisor in the School of Journalism and Communications and as a runner with the expanding Team Run Eugene.
The Emerald got a chance to catch up with Grabow to discuss his career, his training regiment and plans for the looming 2016 Olympic Trials.
After leaving college, what were some of the challenges that came with being an up-and-coming independent distance runner?
It’s not like the NBA or the NFL where there’s a professional organization to follow and so forth. As a distance runner, you have to make your own path.
But the big thing a lot of runners struggle with and I don’t is I actually have an income that’s not tied to running.
It’s kind of like being a freelance journalist. You want to make sure you still have an emergency stash of ramen noodles in the pantry, so it’s kind of like that. Not having to worry about that has kind of been a benefit and it’s allowed me to pursue my running goals even more because I could take more risks. I could try a completely new environment like what I did with Eugene.
What drove your decision to move to Eugene? Running, or work?
A little bit of both. My wife also goes to school here, she’s getting her P.H.D. in counseling and psychology. When she was looking at programs, I was like, ‘We should look at UO too.’
So it’s a little bit of both, because I can do what I have two passions for – working with students and running – and I can do it at a great university and a great community that supports both sides of my spectrum. The social, professional side of working with students and also the physical running side, beating myself up every day.
If you could change one thing you did in the Chicago Marathon, what would it be?
My mindset going into that race. I thought too much about it. I was going into that race knowing that I need to run fast and when my gameplay got messed up, I wasn’t able to adjust to it. I got nervous and made stupid errors.
Honestly, you can have a plan, but be able to be flexible. Like Bruce Lee, be like water. Getting to that starting line in a good place physically and mentally prepared, just knowing to have fun out there too, because I also didn’t have fun going into that race.
Do you think you’re going to make the Olympics?
At this rate, I would say if I get to the line healthy and in a good spot, I’ll be competitive. There’s a lot of great runners out there, and my goal is always to compete.
If being competitive gets me that spot, great. If being competitive gets me in the top 10 again, great.
Would I like to be in the Olympics? Sure, but I’ve reached a lot of the goals I’ve set out for myself for running. I would like to represent the U.S. internationally once, whether that’s the Olympics or Worlds, don’t care as long as it’s that once. The Olympics would be nice, but it is not the ultimate goal. The ultimate goal is to still have fun with it and enjoy every step of the way, because there’s a lot of steps. And not crap my pants, that’s always the goal.
Follow Josh Schlichter on Twitter @joshschlichter
