Centrowitz Excited to Join Salazar's Training Group
By David Monti
(c) 2012 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved
February 4, 2012
BOSTON (04-Feb) - Although he turned pro last year and recently signed
an endorsement contract with Nike, IAAF World Championships 1500m bronze
medalist Matthew Centrowitz is still a student. He's in his final
semester as a sociology major at the University of Oregon in Eugene, but
looks forward to finishing up his studies so he can join Alberto
Salazar's Oregon Distance Project training group in Portland, about two
hours north of Eugene. There, he'll train daily with Mo Farah, Galen
Rupp, Dathan Ritzenhein, and Ciaran O'Lionaird amongst others.
"I had great years in Eugene," Centrowitz said in an interview here
yesterday. "I'll always look at it as a good home to me. I think
that's one of the reasons, like I said earlier, that going to the Oregon
Project (will be good)."
Centrowitz, 22, who will run the 3000m tonight at the New Balance Indoor
Grand Prix here, has terrific closing speed. In winning the USA 1500m
title last year, he ran the final 400 meters in 53.25, to hold off
Bernard Lagat. At the world championships, he closed even faster,
clocking 51.6 seconds to come from sixth to third position in the final
100 meters. Centrowitz said that the spectrum of distance running
represented in Salazar's group --from the mile to the marathon-- would
benefit all of the athletes.
"I think those guys will help my strength a lot," he reasoned.
"Hopefully, I can help their speed a little bit. I think we're going
to work really well together. We're not all in the same events. Some
of us aren't even competing for the same titles in the U.S., some from
different countries. So, I think the dynamic of the group is going to
be great."
Centrowitz is likely to do many workouts with O'Lionaird, the former
Florida State miler from Ireland who was last year's Atlantic Coast
Conference 1500m and 5000m champion. Like Centrowitz, O'Lionaird
competed in the world championships 1500m final, finishing tenth.
"I'll have Ciaran (to train with)," Centrowitz said.
But it's athletes like Ritzenhein, Rupp and Farah who may contribute the
most to Centrowitz's development given their great endurance. For
instance, Centrowitz sees extending his long runs with Salazar's group.
"About 90 minutes right now," Centrowitz said when asked about his
present long runs. "I'll definitely look to progress probably close to
the two-hour benchmark, eventually. Just things like that
--strength/tempo runs, long runs-- that's the area I can most work on.
I think that's why me being in a 3000 is going to help. I'd like to do
some more over-distance than under-distance. I think it's going to
help the mile later in the year."
Rupp, the USA 10,000m record holder who possesses extraordinary range
with personal bests of 1:49.87 for 800m to 60:30 for the half-marathon,
is excited about Centrowitz joining his group.
"It will be really good having someone who can help out," Rupp said in
an interview. "Obviously, he's got great closing speed. He'll be able
to help out a lot in a lot of the faster, shorter workouts. Hopefully,
we'll be able to help him out in the longer stuff, getting him a little
energy in that last lap."
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