Ryan Gregson Enters 2013 Having “Never Been This Aerobically Fit Before”

Aussie 1,500 Record Holder is Looking To Regain Magical Form of 2010

By LetsRun.com
January 3, 2013

2012 didn’t go as planned for 22-year old Australian 1,500 record holder Ryan Gregson. The man, who two-years ago broke the Australian record with a 3:31.06 run as a 20-year old in Monaco (in the same race Andrew Wheating ran 3:30.90), only ran 3:33.92 and bowed out of the Olympics in the semifinals.

However, 2013 is a new year and as the year gets off to a start it seems that Gregson is very optimistic about his prospects.

Tim McGrath of Inside Athletics recently caught up and did a video interview with Gregson as he was doing some high altitude training in Falls Creek and asked if we’d take a look at it. We’ve always been Gregson fans and watched the video for that reason and because the sunny, warm landscape seemed to be perfect anti-dote to the chill we are feeling in the Northeast of the US.

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You can watch the interview at the bottom of this piece, but the reason we don’t do a lot of video interviews is we feel people don’t have time to watch them all so we’ll give you a few highlights.

Ryan Gregson looking forward to 2013

Gregson has recently been training with Collis Birmingham (13:09/27:29 pbs) and Brett Robinson (a 21-yr old with 3:38/13:40/28:40 pbs) and feels he’s more aerobically fit than ever before:

“The thing that really makes me improve is training with guys that are better than me. I might be able to beat Collis (Birmingham – 13:09/27:29 pbs) and Brett  at some shorter track workouts but with the really long, hard, grinding workouts that we do this time of year – they are ahead of me. It’s great that I’ve got these guys to push me each day in training. Hopefully by February and March, we’ll see if it’s worked out but I’ve never been this aerobically fit in December before.”

As for his goals for 2013, Gregson said the following:

“In the last two years, I’ve been knocked out of the semifinal stages of the world championships and Olympics. I really need to take the next step and start making that final. That’s the biggest goal but the main thing is to be just a lot more competitive in the races over in Europe. Instead of finishing in positions of 5th to 10th, you really need to be first to 5th – really in the mix around the mark and then hopefully when it does get to the championships, I can be one of the factors and hopefully make the final.”

The goals seem a bit modest to us. Yes, if you’ve bowed out in the semis the last two years, the finals is a good, achievable goal. But if you are a 3:31 guy in the final, a medal is a real possibility. Remember, Gregson is both younger and faster than 2011 US bronze medallist Matthew Centrowitz.

More: *Ryan Gregson interview from Falls Creek
MB:
GREGSON VS. WHEATING MONACO 1500!

 

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