- January 22, 2002

INTERVIEW WITH KEVIN SULLIVAN

LetsRun.com caught up with Canadian miler/1500 meter sensation Kevin Sullivan via telephone from his home in Michigan and had a lengthy conversation with him about his plans for the 2002 season, the rest of his career,and his past successes/failures.

Sullivan may be just 27 years old but he's been competing at the highest levels of track and field for a long-time. At age 14, he ran a sparkling 1:53 for 800 meters.  By the time he graduated from high school, he was a sub-4 minute miler - a feat that was largely ignored by the popular press given the fact that Sullivan hails from Canada and not the U.S.  Sullivan went on to enjoy a standout collegiate career at the University of Michigan where he was a two-time NCAA indoor champion in the mile and one-time NCAA champion outdoors in the 1500 meters.  On the international scene, Sullivan has shined for Canada throughout the last decade, having competed in five outdoor track and field world championships (with a career best 5th place showing in 1995 while in college) and one Olympic Games - 2000 Sydney - where he earned a career highlight by finishing 5th.

In addition to being a professional runner, Sullivan also is a volunteer assistant coach for the his alma mater, Michigan, where he trains and coaches the two most recent additions to the high school sub-4 minute club - Alan Webb and fellow Canadian Nathan Brannen.

Sullivan will make his 2002 mile debut this weekend at the Adidas Boston Indoor Games - the first meet on the 2002 USATF Golden Spike Tour.

Click here if you want to read Sullivan's thoughts about how he got into running and his high school running career.

The Kevin Sullivan File

Interview conducted on January 22, 2002 by Robert Johnson.

LRC: With the 2002 season just getting under way, I first wanted to take a look back at your 2001 season. Heading into the year, you must have had some really high hopes considering that 2000 had been simply an amazing year for you with a nearly 3 second p.r. in the 1500 meters and a 5th place showing in the Olympics. Additionally, the 2001 world outdoor track and field championships were in your native Canada (in Edmonton) and you  were one of their few medal hopes.  Your season seemed to start really well as you beat Olympic Bronze medalist Bernard Lagat several times and ran a 3:51 mile at the Prefontaine meet and yet it didn't end so well as you failed to make to the finals of the world championships.  Overall, what were your thoughts about last season?

Sullivan: I was definitely a little bit disappointed - well very much disappointed with how I ran in Edmonton. But overall I thought the season was relatively successfully. I still ran 3:33 in the 1500 and 3:51 in the mile.  I also bounced back and ran well at the Goodwill Games in the mile (where Sullivan earned a silver medal with a 3:56.81 clocking) and that made up a little bit for what I didn't do in Edmonton.

LRC: What exactly happened at the world championships in Edmonton?

Sullivan: I think I mainly just made a tactical mistake in the semifinals. I left myself too much ground to make up off a slow pace and at that level that's not something you can do. I was as fit as I'd been at anytime of the year.  It was just a tactical error on my part.
        The pace well over 2 minutes (at 800 meters) and I was in about 10^th or 11^th. When El Guerrouj (the eventual world championship gold medalist) went with about 600 to go, I was in the back and one of the last ones to get going.

LRC: Is there anything else that might explain the difference between your great success at the 2000 Olympics and then the disappointment at the 2001 world championships? Perhaps a matter of timing - just having it on the right day.

Sullivan: I think maybe a little of it may have been just a matter of timing but it really came down to the fact that I just made a big mistake (in 2001) in the most important trace of the year. I also may have put a little too much pressure on myself being at home and in front of the home crowd. There were some distractions there that were a little different than normal.

 LRC: You've been out on the circuit for along time now - with 5 world outdoor track and field championship appearances and one Olympic Games.  How do you judge a successful season? A fast time or a performance at a major championship?

Sullivan: Well ultimately, I judge my season based on my performance at major championships, but I also look at other things - see if I made improvements in my time, see how I raced and so on. The season is not just about one race but the big ones are definitely the most important.

LRC: More pointedly, let me ask you: What would you rather do - run sub 3:30 for 1500 meters or win a bronze at the world championships?

Sullivan: I'd rather have the medal.

LRC: Which type of competition do you prefer? The sort of time trial in Europe or the more tactical races found in the world championships.  

Sullivan: I really like something in between the two. The 3:32- 3:36 type of race. That's where I'm really most effective.

LRC: Looking ahead to rest of 2002, with there being no world championships or Olympic Games, what are your goals and what are you focused on?

Sullivan: Well being Canadian, I do have the Commonwealth games - so I do have a semi-major championship at the beginning of August and I 'll be focusing on that.  But you know this year I'd really like to take a crack at that 3:30 mark (in the 1500) and 3:50 mark (in the mile). I think if I stay healthy and consistent in my training I can make a go at it.

LRC: Speaking of training. How's your training been going? I know the season is just getting under way, you ran a 3k last week (where Sullivan placed second in 8:07), but how have been things been going since the end of last season?

Sullivan: Training's been going pretty good. It's been a little up and down this winter but overall I'm pretty pleased with where I am.  I'm training really hard right now. I've been training as well as I have any other winter.

LRC: Are you focusing a little more on strength this year? Or is it pretty common for you to run a 3k at this time of year?

Sullivan: It's pretty normal for me. I usually try to run one or two (3ks) indoors and normally one fairly early in the season

LRC: Can you tell us a little about your training in general? How much mileage do run?

Sullivan: We're doing a lot of strength work right now. I'm been between 90 and 100 miles per week the last two months probably.  That's pretty standard for me at this time of the year.

LRC: Kevin, you've been at the top levels of the sport for a long time. I mean you ran a 1:53 for 800 meters at age 14. Can you tell us what type of changes you make in your training from year to year, if any? Perhaps add a little bit of mileage?

Sullivan: Through my college years, I tried to add a little mileage each year. But I'm at a point now where I'm at a point of diminishing returns. I'm not going to get much more from doing 110-120 miles a week. I tried doing 110 and it didn't do much for me so I'm pretty comfortable with the 100 mile range where I'm at.

LRC: In terms of workouts, do you have a favorite or perhaps greatest workout that stands-out?

Sullivan: One of the better workouts that I like to do is 5 x 600 meters in 1:22 or faster with an 800 meter jog.

LRC: Wow, that's flying. I guess that's why you're a miler and I'm not. Can we change subjects a little bit and talk a little about the training group that's popped up in Ann Arbor over the last year. You've always been there but in the last year Tim Broe (#1 US ranked steeplechaser) , Phil McMullen (#1 ranked US miler), Alan Webb (3:53 high school miler) and Nate Brannen (3:59 high school miler) have all shown up. What's your take on the group? Has it been a big help to have those quality guys to train with?  

Sullivan: It's definitely a great situation even though I still haven't had a lot of opportunity to work with Alan and Nate yet. We're starting to get into that now but we couldn't do it earlier as during their cross country seasons, I was on a bit of a break.   But working with Tim and Paul has definitely helped. It's nice to have guys to work with. Before I was pretty much doing everything by myself.

LRC: How much do you guys actually run together? Do you just get together once or twice a week for workouts or do you pretty much do everything together including the easy runs?

Sullivan: I would say we probably do 90% of our stuff together - me, Tim and Paul and Alan and Nate.  I'm down there everyday with the team.

LRC: What about the workouts? I can't imagine you'd all be doing the same ones  exactly.

Sullivan: You're right. It all depends on the time of the year. There's a lot of times during the summer when Tim's steepling that he's got to do his own thing and we milers do something else but we do work a lot together.

LRC: What's it like training with Paul McMullen - your old college rival of sorts? (Sullivan and McMullen both attended college in Michigan (McMullen went to Eastern Michigan) and finished 1-2 respectively at the 1995 NCAA outdoor track and field championships  in the 1500 meters).

Sullivan: It's worked out well. We come at the event from different angles - he more from a speed angle, me more from a strength angle.  We've really helped each other in a lot of different areas.  He's really helped me when we've done some really intense stuff on the track and I've helped him out when we've had to grind out some longer intervals on the track.

LRC: I know it's early, but having been around Brannen and Webb for a few months now, how do you view them at this stage in their careers? Also do you look at them in a special way or do you give them special attention since you're sort of passing the torch of sub 4-minute high school miling to them?

Sullivan: Well, I think they are definitely as talented or more talented as I was (in high school). I mean Alan was more talented than I was over the mile (3:53 for Webb versus 3:59 for Sullivan) and Nate was more talented than me in the 800 (1:46.60 for Brannen). But I really try not to give them more attention than I would give any other guy on the team but I guess it's possible they might actually end up getting a little more.

LRC: One last question about Michigan and Ann Arbor.  How did you end up choosing to go there for college and why did you end up staying there?

Sullivan: It really was a combination of things. Great academics was one thing. Ron (Warhurst) is a great coach. I was comfortable with Ron from the start of the recruiting process. Plus (Ann Arbor) is fairly close to home for me - only a 4 hour drive, so I could get home and my parents could get down for meets and stuff like that.
       The reason I stayed is that things were working well for me. I didn't see the need to uproot myself for no reason - it just wouldn't be worth the time and effort.

LRC: What's McMullen's status for the indoor season? I haven't seen him in any results or start lists.

Sullivan: I don't know really what his status is. He's been a little banged up. I'm not sure what his plans are.

LRC: In terms of coaching at Michigan, you're currently a volunteer assistant coach. Is that something you see yourself getting into as a career after you stop your own competitive athletic career?

Sullivan: I think if the right situation came up, I'd like to pursue that. I know I definitely want to stay involved in the sport (of track and field) when I'm done competing. I'm not sure what role that will be but if the right coaching situation arose, I'd have to look into it.

LRC: Can we talk about your immediate future for a minute? Do you plan on running world-cross country this year? You've always seem to be pretty successful at it , especially for a miler (In college, Sullivan was a four time Big 10 cross country champion, 4-time NCAA x-c regional champion, and 4-time NCAA x-c All-American (NCAA runner-up in 1997). At the world cross country championships, Sullivan has placed as high as 25th in the 4k event).

Sullivan: That's my plan but I haven't been selected yet for the 4k team. I've always enjoyed cross country - and I've always been pretty good at it. When I was younger, I ran on four world junior teams.  I think it's an important part of my training. It's a nice break from track.

LRC: Looking ahead to this weekend and the Adidas Boston Indoor Games - your first mile of the season - do you have any expectations heading into meet? It looks like a pretty good field with Lagat, another Olympic finalist (Zegeye ) and Berryhill (2001 NCAA outdoor 1500 meter champion).

Sullivan: I'm mainly looking forward to going in and competing well. It's hard to set a specific time goal or place goal this early in the season. I don't know what level of fitness these other guys are at. It's more of a test for me. But don't get me wrong, I'm not going in there to lose. I'm going in there to try to win but it's kind of hard to predict right now.

LRC: Thinking more long term, what are your career goals after this season? Despite the fact you've been to 5 world championships outdoors and one Olympics Games, you're still only 27 years old.

Sullivan: I'd definitely like to do another Olympics. But for me it's really a year to year thing. As long as I'm performing well, I think I'll stay at it. But I don't want to do it just go to another Olympics or world champs. I only want to go if I'm performing at a certain level. If I'm going just to go on a trip, I think that means it's time for me to give up the competitive aspect of my career.

LRC: Lastly, I want to conclude by asking you a question or two about the issue of drugs in track and field. As someone who has been at the top level of the sport for along time, how big of a problem do you think illegal drug use is in the sport? Also, how much of the problem is more of a public relations problem where the press publicizes every positive in track and field but ignores the fact that other sports' drug testing policies, like the NFL or NBA, is even more of a complete joke?

Sullivan: It's so hard to say (how big of a problem drugs is) because there are so many rumors that fly around. But it's pretty hard not to look around and wonder if the competition is doing things fairly. I try not to think about it too much. But the reality of the sport is that's it's out there. I just don't know what to extent although I do think things are getting better and people are trying to make improvements.
      In our sport, however, you're right when someone gets caught it's magnified more so than in other sports.

LRC: There's recently been a lot made of the fact that several national track and field federations including the US's failed to give there athletes the required minimum of two out of competition drug tests last year. If you don't mind us asking, how are things with Canada and can you tell us how many times you were tested last year?

Sullivan: I get tested at least 4 times a year out of competition. Overall, between 2000 and 2001, I've been tested close to 15 times - I'm not sure of the exact number.  

LRC: Well that's encouraging - at least somebody's getting it right.  Let's me ask you one final question. We were thinking that the best way to clean up the sport would be for the clean athletes to lead the way and put pressure on the dirty athletes and national governing bodies to cut it out. As a result, we are thinking about starting a web-site where athletes send in the results of all of their drug tests.  That way any dirty athletes or dirty national governing bodies would be put on the spot. Moreover, it would also remove a lot of secrecy from the process which seems to be half the problem as the lack of publicity about the testing process leads to everyone having their own favorite conspiracy theory.  Publicizing the tests would also show the public that track and field is serious about it's testing and could reveal the even greater hypocrisy of the established pro sports like the NFL, NBA and MLB. What do you think of this idea? Do you think athletes would agree to fax in their drug test results?

Sullivan: Yeah, I think it's a good idea. If you don't have anything to hide, then why would you possible object to it?  In Canada, they actually do something similar to that.  The Canadian national track and field magazine each year publishes the names of everyone tested, the type of test administered and the results - everything but the dates.

LRC: Well thanks a lot for talking with us.  Best of luck to you this weekend and in the future.

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