Jason Hartmann Remains Confident in What May Be His Final Elite Race
By Chris Lotsbom
(c) 2013 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved
LRC Editor’s Note: Separately, LetsRun.com interviewed Jason Hartmann. We’ve embedded our interview with him in this article. The now self-coached Hartmann told us he’s upped his training about 10 mpw to 130 mpw for 9-10 weeks out of a 12 week marathon buildup for the 2013 Boston and said, “I feel like I”ve prepared myself really well to be honest.” A few more excerpts from his interview are quoted at the end of this piece.
BOSTON (12-Apr) — One month ago, when Race Results Weekly spoke with Jason Hartmann prior to the NYC Half, the 6′-3″ (191cm) American was primed and focused on April 15th, the date of the 117th Boston Marathon. On that morning, the 32-year-old said he would determine whether his professional running career would see another starting line.
Now, less than 72 hours from the start of the race –or test, as Hartmann once referred to it– the Michigan native who lives and trains in Boulder remains cool, and confident in his philosophy.
“The one thing I have focused on is training,” said Hartmann, who appeared poised and ready to race. “I don’t have any complaints about anything.”
Hartmann proved that he is indeed in great racing shape by finishing in 61:51 at the NYC Half on March 17, shaving more than a minute off of his previous personal best.
“It was an evaluation,” Hartmann said. “I was really confident with the result. It showed me I didn’t have to do anything crazy the last few weeks [to get ready for Boston]. I got back to training for two heavy weeks then tapered.”
Asked whether following that performance he ever second-guessed putting all of his career chips on Boston, Hartmann said no.
“I want to put everything into this race, and the result will be what it will be,” he said. “I get a certain amount of confidence knowing that this could be my last race and that I’ll have no regrets when I get to the line. There is a certain level of comfort with that, and I take great satisfaction with that.”
Hartmann continued: “It is no added pressure or anything, it’s ‘you know what, I did everything I could, gotta race the race, see what it will be at the end of the day, and I’ll have to live with it.'”
One thing Hartmann wanted to make clear to fans was that he has reached the decision to prolong or end his career at Boston not because of a lack of a conventional sponsorship or financial means.
“I think of it kind of like Forrest Gump,” he described. “Every runner can relate to the Forrest Gump movie — when you’re running and you’re like ‘you know what, I don’t want to do this anymore.’ That’s how I look at my ending.”
On Patriots’ Day, Hartmann will toe the line knowing he’s done everything possible in preparation for the 26.2-mile journey ahead.
As he said, there will be no regrets.
LRC Note: Here’s a few more excerpts from our interview with Hartmann in case you don’t have eight minutes to watch/listen to it.
Hartmann on his training:
“I’m trying not to do things I’m not capable of doing.
When you’re a younger athlete, you really get this mindset of, ‘I gotta train hard, I gotta train hard, I gotta train hard.I gotta hit this home run.’ But as you get older you’re like, ‘I’ve just got be consistent, just get singles, just get singles, just get singles,’ and then eventually you may get a pitch to hit out. When you try to hit home runs all the time, you (often) strike out. I’m trying to make contact and be smart… That’s what age does – with age, comes experience.”
His race plan for Monday:
“I don’t have a time in mind. I just have to read my body and assess the situation. If they go out in 61-62, where have I run (something to indicate I can do that). I haven’t done that.
I’m not trying to do anything I haven’t trained to do. I’ll try to run as hard as I can and allow other people to beat themselves.”