I saw this link on the Track and Field News site. Paul is a friend of JK and the brojos, as well as many other athletes and coaches. He lives and trains in Ft. Worth. I met him recently at the running store I was working at and he's an interesting person to talk to about running.
Thanks for the article. I think he went from "nothing" to the 29 minute 10k following JKs plan with Wejo. Perhaps WEJO or even JK will add more.
Paul is the quintessential, never-give-up attitude that any serious runner should possess.
Paul has watched other friends/training mates achieve a degree of success but doesn't harbor ill feelings that it wasn't him. He still holds a great outlook on it all.
Actually Paul is the only UNDEFEATED American distance runner for the last 6 years!!! Take that Ryan Hall, Alan Webb, Ritz, Lagat, etc.......
Someone from Texas emailed me that link today and I was shocked. Last I heard Paul was packing the bags and moving from Flagstaff back to Ft. Worth. Robert and I even talked about doing an article on him "Where Your Dreams Don't Become Reality" and just highlight Paul's dedication and what he's learned from the journey.
But whoever said Paul came from nowhere to run 29 minutes is wrong. Paul was a stud runner in high school and pretty damn good in college (he is the only guy I know of who left a top 10 NCAA D1 team to go to DII, but he wanted to run under Vigil) but he then started getting injured (torn plantar at Adams St caused his problems). He was on the perfect 1,2,3,4,5 team at NCAA DII XCs at Adams.
Out of nowhere in 94 , 95, or 96 he ran like 44-45 minutes at Gate River Run (after like 2 weeks before running 30+ something for 10k) He loves the sport and just keeps sticking with it.
That year (2002) in Flagstaff he did PR for the first time in like a decade and shows how great the JK plan is. Paul tried out the Fila program a few years before and I remember talking to him just saying, "you and I should train together under JK."
We never were really health at the same time but he's one of the few guys I know I'd have no problems training with (although he runs atrociously slow the first half mile of a run).
Making the Trials seems like a long shot for sure. But his Gate River Run shows he can get in shape quickly. Not sure whether he can do it again but he's got nothing to lose.
Great to see Paul still at it. He is one of the nicest, no-BS runners out there.
Over the past 15 years he probably was just one or two unfortunate injuries away from a low 28-minute 10K: the Gate River top-5 placing off of minimal training proves it as does his many years of training with some of the best runners in the country in Austin, Alamosa, and Flagstaff.
He was always encouraging and supportive to me in HS when he had every right to consider me as naught but a pimple on his bum.
I'll never forget how good his form looked from the other side of the track as he was dusting me by 200 meters!
Great article. Very inspiring.
Sounds like a nice and humble man.
Paul ran in the 29's for Adams under Vigil in the early 90's.
My bad, should've said his previous best time(s) were as WEJO mentioned, several years in between. Hopefully a story is still written on Paul's journey. Good Luck, Paul! All the Best!
My bad, should've said his previous best time(s) were as WEJO mentioned, several years in between. Hopefully a story is still written on Paul's journey. Good Luck, Paul! All the Best!
Paul is also a hero
of all the record-holders whose pictures lined the walls outside the midway locker room, paul's was the most revered. good luck paul.
I don't get it. I'm sure he's a very nice guy (and apparently was once a pretty damn good runner), but what's so special about an unemployed 37 year old 15:00/31:00 runner? We have about five of those guys (from 30-40) in my area. Of course, they all have jobs and families and don't have to mooch off of friends for rides, but that's beside the point.
Good for him for chasing his dreams, I guess, but there's a point in every man's life when he has to look in the mirror and realize that he'll never be an astronaut/pro baseball player/Olympic athlete. From the article it sounds like he leads a very boring, empty life, but I'm sure I'll be flamed in a few seconds and told he has hundreds of friends and is the best guy ever. To each their own.
I don't doubt Kyle Heffner's ability to get Paul to the Trials at all. He's a great runner, coach, and mentor. Best of luck to you both! :)
Weldon,
Ask Robert to login to Facebook and check out my photos of Paul S. and Kyle H. at the store in TX. Paul tried out the low-heeled running shoes that Kyle is working on.
These?
We all make choices. Tell us how Paul's impact your life? Just as we all thought...they don't. "To each his own" as you stated.
This guy doesn't have a job so he can train "full time" which is approx 2 hours a day. Is he such a prima donna that he can't get a job a few hours a day at a running store or mow yards or something? He has a nutritionist, coaches, a team of doctors and massage therapist and he's not even breaking 15 yet we're supposed to think he has a shot to qualify for the trials. I promise you if you give me that kind of support I can accomplish the exact same thing. Couldn't that slick advertising campaign found a better "hero" because my heros don't live on someone else's dime while chasing an impossible dream.
Dreamer of Dreams wrote:
This guy doesn't have a job so he can train "full time" which is approx 2 hours a day. Is he such a prima donna that he can't get a job a few hours a day at a running store or mow yards or something? He has a nutritionist, coaches, a team of doctors and massage therapist and he's not even breaking 15 yet we're supposed to think he has a shot to qualify for the trials. I promise you if you give me that kind of support I can accomplish the exact same thing. Couldn't that slick advertising campaign found a better "hero" because my heros don't live on someone else's dime while chasing an impossible dream.
Know what, pal? You can make the same choice he has made. Quit your job, live on $40 a day, drive a broken down clunker, get assistance from those who are willing to help, and chase any dream you want.
If you choose not to, then that's your business. Just don't chastize someone else for the choice he made when that choice doesn't affect you one iota.
I think Paul needs to be worried. Are you gonna start stalking the dude?
steveeeee wrote:
I think Paul needs to be worried. Are you gonna start stalking the dude?
If anyone has to worry I'd wager it's TRG