Zag Track Star makes Olympic Trials

[kitzbuel]

Congratulations to James Mwaura for qualifying for the Olympic trials this weekend! He ran a qualifying time at the NCAA Nationals meet last week and USA Track and Field have now entered him in the Trials.

This is a phenomenal accomplishment establishing James as one of the best runners in the country. Congratulations to him, Coach Tyson, and the GU Track and Field program.

https://www.spokesman.com/stories/20...run-in-us-oly/

[Bogozags]

Congratulations to James Mwaura for qualifying for the Olympic trials this weekend! He ran a qualifying time at the NCAA Nationals meet last week and USA Track and Field have now entered him in the Trials.

This is a phenomenal accomplishment establishing James as one of the best runners in the country. Congratulations to him, Coach Tyson, and the GU Track and Field program.

https://www.spokesman.com/stories/20...run-in-us-oly/

This is a fantastic accomplishment! He has a very bright future! I ran track in HS and his 4:45 average is faster than my best time (4:50)...it is incredible when you think about his accomplishment...

Best of Luck on Friday!!!

[former1dog]

This is a fantastic accomplishment! He has a very bright future! I ran track in HS and his 4:45 average is faster than my best time (4:50)...it is incredible when you think about his accomplishment...

Best of Luck on Friday!!!

Well, not to burst your bubble, but James pace per mile is much, much faster than your calculation. A 27:50 10,000 meter run is 4:29 per mile (6.2 miles)…

Further perspective, His time is faster than the world record up until 1963 and the American record until 1974. His time would have won the Olympic gold in every Olympics up to 1968 plus 2012! He took a full minute off the school record in two big chunks over 6 weeks.

Furthermore, 27:50 was good for 9th place at the NCAA championships, however, James along with 9 other athletes broke the previous championship record of 28:01. It was an epic race and a tremendously gutsy effort by James!

He’s an all time great at Gonzaga. This puts him, athletically, in the same breath as greats like Calvary and Morrison.

James has 2 years of eligible left and he may break his own record, however, it might not be broken by another athlete for 30 or 40 years, that’s how epic this is.

Even more impressive in my opinion is that James doubled back 2 days later in the 5000 m and matched his personal best of 13:36, a few tenths off his other Gonzaga school record. (4:23 per mile pace!)

James didn’t accomplish this in a vacuum. First, Pat Tyson convinced him to come to Gonzaga… Kind of like Few getting Suggs! James has talented teammates including Peter Hogan and Yacine Guermali who push him in practice and races. There are talented freshman as well on the team. So much talent that Gonzaga Men’s Cross Country made it to the National Championships as a team for the first time ever this past season.

The best is yet to come and I’m super proud of James and Coach Tyson and all of Gonzaga Cross Country and Track!

[JPtheBeasta]

As a non-runner, what makes guys like this so good at what they do? I talked to a runner recently and she thought it was a very high pain tolerance that separates good from great. Any thoughts on that?

[Bogozags]

As a non-runner, what makes guys like this so good at what they do? I talked to a runner recently and she thought it was a very high pain tolerance that separates good from great. Any thoughts on that?

In my case, it was my inability to deal with the discomfort of running distances...cross country was different as we ran in the hills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains...that was distracting but running around an oval where running with the wind was ok but then you turned and had to run into the wind...that was just miserable...I fared much better running 4-6 miles of cross country than two miles around a track...nothing to take your mind off of the pounding on the track...imo

[kitzbuel]

James needs to knock 22 seconds off his last race to hit the Olympic qualifying time of 27:28.

He has already knocked 1:37 off of his previous best time last week and the Olympic Qualifier meet is on that same track in Eugene. So I think anything is possible for him. Tyson has him peaking at the best possible time.


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[former1dog]

As a non-runner, what makes guys like this so good at what they do? I talked to a runner recently and she thought it was a very high pain tolerance that separates good from great. Any thoughts on that?

James, and other athletes like him, first and foremost have an incredible work ethic and discipline. To get to his level you have to do a lot of things right. He's training twice a day most days. His average weekly running mileage is over 100 miles per week, only dipping below that when he's peaking for important races. He has to get adequate rest every day, something very hard to do for a college student. He has to eat right. He has to do all the stretching and training room stuff, every day, that hopefully prevents injury.

His training leads to comfort levels at ever increasing speeds. A 5 minute mile for James is an easy, almost conversational pace and something he could maintain for close to 20 miles, probably further.

Running a track 10k, though, at 4:29 per mile is an embrace of the suck. It is very, very painful and you have to have the mental fortitude to go into that pain cave and know that it comes in waves and if you can just get through this wave without slowing down that pain will subside to bearable until you deal with the next great wave. It is courage in the face of the inevitable.

[JPtheBeasta]

Thanks for the insights. Running competitively is a remarkable talent, in my opinion. Most high-level competitors seem to have the same attributes with good genetics (different genetics for different sports), natural talent, dedication, and attention to detail, but running takes a special type of perseverance that I never had and can’t fathom, really.

[willandi]

Congrats to him. An amazing accomplishment.

I ran a 3:57 in High School, but it was for the 220.

[sittingon50]

Congrats to him. An amazing accomplishment.

I ran a 3:57 in High School, but it was for the 220.

And I tried the 220, but dropped the baton.

[MDABE80]

Congrats to him. It’s an outstanding feat especially from a school without a major track program.

[ZagsGoZags]

Pat Tyson had the magic at the high school level (Mead), and I will not be surprised if he lands a half dozen distance runners that will earn notoriety. His running culture there, with students hanging out together and in the coaches homes reminds me somewhat of Zag Nation and Few.

[sittingon50]

Gutsy race by James. Went for it.

[kitzbuel]

Gutsy race by James. Went for it.

He did what he had to. None of the favorites were going to push the pace since they already had qualifying times. James and the other younger runners had to push the pace since they needed both a qualifying time and to place.

A hot day and having to lead the race took its toll but a remarkable accomplishment. He is one of the best in the nation and will push to be one of the best in the world. He is still young so this is tremendous experience for him. He will be a veteran runner by 2024.


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