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ON THE ROAD TO SACRAMENTO
WITH CHRIS GRAFF
July 9, 2000
Welcome to another installment of On The Road To Sacramento
where we are interviewing America's top athletes as they prepare
for their shot to represent the Stars and Stripes in Sydney.
Today's interview is part of a series with runwiththebuffs.com,
and it is with US Distance star Chris Graff. Graff, who grew
up on Long Island, competed collegiately at St. John's, and set
personal bests of 13:46 and 29:12 there. But he had his big breakthrough
last year when he smashed his 10k pr by over a minute, running
28:07 for 10k, which is under the Olympic A Standard of 28:10.
Graff lives in Washington, DC and is a member of the Reebok Enclave.
He is roommates with Scott Anderson of online journal fame, and
a former roommate of LetsRun.com's Weldon Johnson.
The Graff File
Birthdate: Oct, 5 1975
Hometown: Rockeville Centre, Long Island, NY
PROGRESSION
High School:
9th grade prs. 2:58 1000m
10th grade prs. 4:50 mile 10:20 2mile
11th grade prs. 4:31 mile 9:40 2mile
12th grade prs. 4:21 mile 9:17 2mile
College:
3:47 1500 13:46 5,000 29:12 10,000
All-American 5k and 10k in 1998.
6th place 5k NCAA; 10th place 10k NCAA
Post-College:
28:07 10k, 13:41 5k
11th at 1999 USATF Nationals in 10k
Q and A
RWTB/LETSRUN:
Chris, the Olympic Trials 10k is less than a week away. As one
of seven people with the Olympic A qualifying time, you've got
to be considered a strong contender for a spot on the team. How
do you feel about the way things have been going so far during
the outdoor season and how do you rate your chances?
GRAFF: I am very happy with my preparation thus far. We
have put in some fantastic work, and I am getting the rest I
need to be ready next Friday. I think that many people, myself
included in the past, do too much work in the last days leading
up to a peak event. In addition I think it is of critical importance
to be as single minded as possible while staying relaxed. I am
good at doing nothing.
As far as my chances go, I think they
are pretty good. We are all starting from the same line, and
we all cover the same distance. Without Bob in the race ...I
hope I didn't give away a secret ...(editor,s note: It was a
secret to us. We'll believe it once declarations are made), I
think things open up a little more. Even if he didn't feel great
and couldn't win, he certainly was going to qualify, making the
other 6 run for 2 spots. Now it is 6 for 3 spots. I'll take those
odds. I am confident that I have been trained to run with anyone
for 9000 meters. That is all I can ask of my coach, to give me
a shot. What I do with it is up to me.
RWTB/LETSRUN: In year's past, the 10,000 often was regarded
as perhaps the easiest distance event to make the Olympics in
for men in the US, but this year it very well may be the most
difficult. There are a slew of proven runners in the event who
all seem to be running well. Whom do you see as the top contenders?
GRAFF: As I said, without Kennedy running, things open
up more. Alan has shown the ability to close very well off of
any pace in every race he has run since he crushed the last 500
of his last NCAA race. He has to be the favorite. Brad is great
and pressing at the hardest part of the race, making everybody's
weakness his strength. That is a mental trick though, not physical
one. Physically we are all very close. However, on the other
hand, I am from New York.
RWTB/LETSRUN: How do you see the race breaking down? Do
you prefer a tactical or more honest race?
GRAFF: I don't care. No matter how fast or slow it is
you are going to have to close the last 1000 and especially the
last 400. "Honest" races are more fun because it gives
you something to do the whole way instead of just waiting around,
but I can be patient.
RWTB/LETSRUN: What,s your mental makeup entering the trials?
Do you feel a lot of pressure to make the Olympics or do you
view it more positively as sort of the ultimate opportunity?
GRAFF: I don't feel a lot of pressure from outside sources.
I don't know if anybody out there thinks about me because I haven't
raced too often or in many big meets so far this year. I also
don't think of it as the ultimate anything, because I think the
Olympic final is the ultimate. I will run well at the trials.
If it is well enough to make the team, I will feel fortunate.
I am very thankful for the opportunities I have been given throughout
my career. No matter how good you are you still need things to
go your way. Everybody can be beaten.
RWTB/LETSRUN: How big of a relief was it to get the Olympic
A standard out of the way last year and therefore be able to
focus your training for the last year on performing well in one
race - the Olympic Trials 10k on July 14, 2000?
GRAFF: I didn't appreciate how big it was until this spring
when I watched other people chase times while my training was
uninterrupted. At the time I was much more excited than relieved.
I ran 65 seconds faster than my pr at NCAA's the year before.
After the huge commitment to that race, I was a little lost the
rest of the year. Once the season ended, I knew the next year
had only one race that meant anything. Again I felt fortunate
to have only one thing to focus on, instead of two.
RWTB/LETSRUN: What's your take on the Olympic Trials 10,000
being a straight final this year? Do you view this as being advantageous
of disadvantageous to you personally?
GRAFF: Whatever. I don't think that the outcome is going
to change if there are rounds. When you are ready, you know it.
You can run a sub 4 mile or a sub 28 10k, it doesn't matter.
It might be annoying if the race is too big, but the first three
guys are going to be the same. Complaining about not having heats
is what the 4th place guys does, so I reserve my right to complain
later if necessary.
RWTB/LETSRUN: Do you consider yourself to be a big-meet
runner? Last year, your primary focus was getting the Olympic
A standard out of the way and you did that at Stanford. Does
that performance give you a lot of confidence heading into the
Trials this year?
GRAFF: I definitely consider myself a big meet runner.
In high school I would run my best at the state meets. In college
my 5k and 10k pr's were set at the same NCAA meet: my last one.
Down 1, 7.2 seconds remaining, I want the ball.
In terms of confidence, I look at the workouts I did last year
and how I felt during them as compared to this year, and I know
I am fitter right now that I have ever been. In a fast race I
can run way under 28. It won,t go like that at the trials, but
I know I am as fit as anyone else. I am excited to test it.
RWTB/LETSRUN: Since graduating from St. John's, you've
really improved a great deal. What do you think have been the
keys to your post-collegiate success? Did you know that there
was a lot of room for improvement or has it come as a bit of
a surprise?
GRAFF: I have often felt like I was one step away from
something great a few times. In high school I felt like I just
missed running a big one. In college I felt like my performances
during my last year were the beginning, not the end. I ran 14:18
as a junior. I ran 13:46 less than 48 hours after 29:12 as a
senior. I looked at that improvement curve and felt like I had
a lot more. Doing as well as I did last year in terms of running
fast and representing the US twice was fun, new, and exciting,
but it felt like the next logical step, not like a miracle.
I think that the biggest thing for me
improving has been the Enclave. Working with a group that could
run faster, harder, and longer than me was vital both for my
physical development and for my mental outlook on what I could
do. They pushed my to places I had never been. The other half
of that development is Matt (Centrowitz) (former American Record
holder for 5k), my coach. He has been to all the places I want
to go. When his commentary begins with, "When Pre and I
did this" or "When Alberto (Salazar) and I would go
for a run" there ain't a whole lot you can say. I am not
a genius. I am not the toughest guy you have ever met. I don't
have a three step acceleration like (John) Trautman (former Olympian
at 5k) and some other guys. I do trust my coach and the system
that has worked for years. I am a flesh and blood machine. If
Matt says that he has trained me to run a certain time or to
make a team, I believe it.
RWTB/LETSRUN: Can you tell us a little about your training
in general? What do you view as the keys to your success and
what kind of mileage do you do?
GRAFF: Of course periodization determines the volume of
my running. I have been up to 125 in the fall or winter, but
prefer 115. I find that the intensity is sacrificed if I consistently
attempt 120 or more. I keep all my runs honest and 20 mile runs
at 6 minute pace or better are not uncommon. We are based around
the classic Oregon formula. For me the strength, which is 99%
of what we do, is the key to everything. Running fast at the
end of a race is a function of feeling good when I get to that
point. It does not have as much to do with my top end speed.
RWTB/LETSRUN: Do you have any plans for after 2000? Do
you think you'll keep it up for another 4 years?
GRAFF: I love what I do. How many first or second year
college graduates can say that? I want to stay involved in the
sport for a long time, and for the next four years, my involvement
will be as a competitor.
RWTB/LETSRUN: Graff, many thanks and best of luck in Sacramento.
Thanks, we're gonna have a little fun.
Click
here to see what Chris has to say about his high school career.
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