Todd Williams Reflects Back on His Career: Part 3

He burst onto the professional scene by winning the US national cross country title in 1991 and used that to springboard himself to the top of the sport. His professional accolades include 4 US 10,000 meter titles (including 2 Olympic Trial victories);4 US #1 rankings at 10,000m; 10th, 7th and 9th place finishes at the 1992 Olympics, 1993 World Championships, and 1995 World Championships respectively at 10,000m; 2 US XC titles; a 2:11:17 marathon debut; a still standing US record for 15k (42:22) at the Gate River Run; and a 9th place finish at the 1995 World XC Championship when all the studs in the world raced each other in one race.

LetsRun.com caught up with Todd via phone last week in Boston where he was in town helping promote the adidas Boston Indoor Games and the sport of track and field by talking to youth in Boston area schools. He had announced his retirement earlier in the week. Our interview with him is in 3 parts.

In Part I We asked Todd about his career as a whole: he reveals his greatest moment, his lowest moment, and a lot in between. Plus, learn about the life of poverty and the shack (the later rumored "million dollar man") lived in coming out of college

In Part II Todd leaves no stone unturned. He talks about what his training was like during his career and during his best year (1995), his infamous collapse at track nationals in 1997 (was the collapse the beginning of the end of his career?), and a topic dear to our hearts here at LetsRun.com the drug problem in the sport. He also gives us his candid opinion on Alan Webb, Dathan Ritzenhein and Bob Kennedy.

PART III In Part III, Todd talks about running even splits, his high school career, altitude training and the rest of his life. Plus in Part III, Todd gives some great advice to all the "running fools" out there, and tells high schoolers how to get a leg up on their competitors.

LetsRun.com (LRC): My buddy once told me there was an SEC cross country race where they field went out really fast like 4:30 or faster and you went out way back at like 4:50, and you just kept running even splits, caught up to the guys, toyed with them a little and said, All right guys, I'm about to accelerate now. If you want to come with me, now is the time. Is there any truth to this story?

Yeah (there is). I don't know how many guys were in the SEC race 90 or so but I figured everyone would go out hard and I'd just maintain my same exact tempo. I did that so by 3.5 or 4 miles I caught up to them and said, Hello boys. That was the story to it.

It was Terry Thornton, Mark Elliot and Herman Beltran (up front). Those three had broken away and they were all great runners. It was just that day that it was one of those days where it was felt like I wasn't even running. It was just like, Here I am.

I hope it doesn't make me come off sounding like a cocky jerk.
(Editor's note: Todd is referring to a race during his junior year the 1989 SEC cross country championships.)

It's just that that race to me meant that I finally reached the top of the SEC distance running circles and I wanted to let those guys know they weren't going to be beating me by half a lap any longer come track season. The previous Spring those guys had lapped me on the track. Well, I can't remember if they actually lapped me but they were at least 200 meters ahead if they didn't lap me. And I killed myself that summer and told myself, That's not going to happen again.

Then that Fall I beat them in cross country so that was a big highlight of my college career - to be able to run with the best guys in the conference. Sure they did beat me a few more times during my career but they also knew it was going to be a tough race when we did put on the racing shoes.

LRC: Well that's good to know as I actually used your SEC story to help my guys (at Cornell) this year before Pre-NCAAs. I was like, Guys, Run your own freaking own race. You're not going to go out in 4:30 and maintain it. A bunch of them went out in last place at the mile and moved up a lot so it worked out pretty well for us.

Well that's what I say (run even) - in cross country especially. In a five mile race, people think you have to be up in that lead pack and go out in 60 when really 99.9 percent of those guys are going to be coming back to you after 8-10 minutes into the race.

That's the way I looked at that SEC championship (in 1989). I was like, If I run 4:50s, I know there aren't too many people who can run 24:10 on this course. And that's what I did, I ran 24:06 and those guys faded and ran something like 24:40 that day.

I mean those guys were really good runners (and it still worked). Terry was 28:30, 13:38 in college, Elliot was 13:38 and 28:40 and Herman Beltran won districts like 4 years in a row and ran a 13:36 in college. They took off out of there but they beat themselves up and when I got up there I felt like I was walking on air.

LRC: It seems that there were a couple of times during your career where you were able to run your own race even splits. There was the one time at the world championships when you went out in the lead but people don't realize that you actually ran the second-half of the race faster than the first.

That was in 1995. I told myself, Knowing how fast those guys are over the last 800, I didn't want it to get into that (a kick at the end). So I looked at all the past Olympic and world championships and told myself, You know what, I can be in the top five if I run 27:50. I just happened to be thinking this in the year 1995 which was the transition year in distance running (to a whole new level of performances) as (Josphat) Machuka ran 27:20 in the prelims and 27:12 in the final.

So that year I just decided to run an even pace with 27:50 getting me in the top 5 which was the goal so I just started running 67s, 67s, 67s, 67s, and I broke away and had a 100 meter lead which got sucked up pretty quick.

I ran my second 5k faster than the first and ended up 9^th but then I got criticized by a lot of people for doing that. I was like, I had to do it. I would have probably finished 9^th anyway but not if it came down to a kicker's race as I'm not as fast as a lot of those guys.

So that's definitely (an example of) If you have a game plan, stick to it. Stick to your strengths.

LRC: Can you talk a little bit about how you got into running. I read somewhere that you were a football player and they had a Big Lap and you won like 50 days in a row and then your football coach told you to go out for cross country.

It all started the first mile I ever ran was in 7^th grade. I ran 6:03 and won this Turkey Trot mile around some baseball diamonds. In 8^th grade I played football and then went out for track a little bit and ran a couple races and ran 4:54. And that was with well you know how training is in 8^th grade you just run over to the track put on some spikes and go.

And then in 9^th grade is when my football coach told me, You know you are winning this Big Lap (every day). It looks like you have an extreme amount of talent in distance running. I want to see you out on the track and training really seriously this year well whatever serious meant for 9^th grade. And from that point on, I was fortunate enough to have a mentor that saw may talent and to train me. I ran 4:32 as a freshman and from then on, I was addicted to improvement.

And once you get that time in your head, that you've got to run faster and faster and faster, then nothing else matters nobody that you are racing against. That's the whole way I took my career I've got to push myself to run faster and faster. That's what actually led to me retire I know I can't go any faster and it's pissing me off that I can't. I'm too competitive so I've got to throw the shoes in the closest and start helping other people.

LRC: What was your training like in high school?
I had a great high school coach Dave Bork and he pulled me into his office as a sophomore and said, We have the 500 mile club, the 750 mile club and the 1,000 mile club for over the summer running.

That's basically what I did. I got the 500 mile club (before sophomore year), then 750 (before junior year) and then 1,000 as a senior. I probably maxed out going into my senior year during the summer at around 80 miles 75 to 80 miles per week. Once the season started, you were only running once a day maybe 40 or 30-40 miles per week.

That's what I always tell high school kids. The point when you can get ahead of people is in the summer - when a lot of people are doing nothing. It's the summer running for the high school runner that's extremely important. Once school starts, it's so hard as there is so much stuff going on and you have your team practices and some of the states have Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday meets so your core training in high school has to be in the summer. That's when you get ahead of people.

LRC: Well I think we've pretty much covered the running as much as it almost can be covered. So let me move on to the rest of your life: No that you are retired, what are you going to do with your life?

As soon as I shut the doors on the running shoe clause that I have, the first thing I'm going to do is start a adidas All-Star distance camp for kids in July with Mark Croghan. From there, I hope to continue stay involved in the running scene and maybe do some speaking at running events. Maybe go down to Gate River (15k in Florida) and help them with promotions and marketing. Do a lot of kids events and basically push the sports from the grass roots level.

LRC: Where are you living nowadays. Are you still in Tennessee?
I'm still in Knoxville. I've been down there for 16 years now going on 16. It's been a while. But I have no reason to move. A lot of kids get out of college and they are looking for that magic way to improve. I really think you should stick with what works.

Don't try to fix anything (if it isn't broken). If you've improved, stick with it until you really stop improving and think you have to move on.

LRC: That actually leads me to one more running related question. I'll make it my final question.

Did you ever think about doing any altitude training?
Yeah, I did but then I looked at my progression in the 10k that we talked about (earlier in the interview). Heck, I went all the way from 28:45 down to (27:31). I mean I improved so much. It's worked for other people but I just improved so much where I was that I didn't want to change any thing. So that's what stopped me from going.

LRC: I guess that about does it. Is there final words of wisdom that you want to add?

Lastly I just wanted to say to all those running fools out there "Don't hang em up until you can promise yourself you'll never say I woulda, shoulda,coulda. I'm walking away MAXED OUT.

No, thank you. I really appreciate you guys writing up a story on me. If you need anything else, just give me a shout. Take care.