Rubber to Pavement: BTC Transitions With The Seasons.

Fifth Ave Fights and City Nights

Focusing on getting some speed back into their legs after the long grind of a World Championship year, Bowerman women Shelby Houlihan, Courtney Frerichs, Colleen Quigley, and Emily Infeld headed east this past weekend to close out their summer racing series at the Fifth Avenue Mile held in New York City. All moving down in distance, the event was a challenging but fun opportunity to end their seasons in style, flying past Central Park's trees in quick succession. Colleen led the way for Bowerman, taking 9th in a time of 4:20.6, followed by Shelby for 13th in 4:26.3, Emily for 17th in 4:30.3, and Courtney for 20th in 4:31.3. The crew was all smiles after the race, happy to have braved the challenge of a new event. Laughing Courtney said, "I set PB's at every split." 

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#MarathonManCamp

While the New York Squad finished up in the city, Chris Derrick and Andrew Bumbalough were off in the woods and mountains of Mammoth California (dubbed #MammothonMarathonManCamp on social media), getting themselves ready for the Chicago Marathon coming up on Oct. 8th. Hitting high mileage for several months and drinking in the natural setting of Mammoth, CD and Bumby are excited to finally be in the month out moments of the marathon. Having focused their training mainly on mileage and progressive long runs, Chris and Bumby have begun honing in their pace work now that September has arrived.  

Now back in Portland, Bumby and Chris have rejoined the Bowerman boys still in the city to finish up their training and drink some finely brewed Portland Coffee that they have missed for so long. Andrew Bumbalough is excited to have another shot at the Marathon after his impressive debut in Tokyo of 2:13:58. Chris Derrick is looking forward to his own debut in Chicago where he said in confidence, "I just hope to not have a terrible last 10k." With his 10k prowess, I don't think anyone is worried. 

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Weekend Action

The BU crew doing a tuneup workout on Tuesday.

It’s a promising and international weekend of racing for the Bowerman Track Club with marathon debuts in Tokyo and fast track races in Boston. We’ve got the details for your viewing pleasure.

Tokyo Marathon

Andrew Bumbalough and Betsy Saina will both run their debut marathons in Tokyo on Sunday (Saturday in the US). Betsy is coming off of a career year in which she ran 30:05 to place 5th in the Olympic 10,000m and ran 67 minutes for the half marathon. ‘Bumbi’ is returning to form after an 18 month struggle with two major injuries, hernia surgery and a sacral stress fracture. He has been rebuilding his fitness slowly since the summer of 2016 and ran 28:06 for 10,000m in November in Tokyo, a solid stepping stone to his marathon buildup. First marathons are unpredictable, but both Betsy and Bumbi have had a good block of training to prepare them for the challenge.

When: Saturday February 25th, 7:10 ET

Where to Watch: NBC Sports

BU Last Chance Invitational

Most of the professional men of BTC will be taking to the track in Boston on Sunday evening. Steeplers and rivals Dan Huling and Matt Hughes are in the mile along with a big portion of the deep NJ/NY Track Club middle distance squad. Watch this one with attention as there is a burrito bet* on the line between Matt and Dan.  The remainder of the squad (Ryan Hill, Moh Ahmed, Evan Jager, Lopez Lomong, Chris Derrick, and Woody Kincaid) will be in the 5,000m which has the makings of a cracking race. Word on the street is that the race will be rabbited at around 8:00 for 3,000m (13:20 pace). The very solid field also includes sub-13:10 performers Ben True, who edged Ryan and Moh at the Millrose Games two mile, and Eric Jenkins, who won the Millrose mile. 

After the Boston meet, Lopez, Evan, Ryan, and Woody will head to Albuquerque for the US Indoor Championships next weekend.

*Burritos are the preferred form of currency for wagers amongst BTC professionals.

When: Sunday February 26th, 3:10 ET (mile) and 4:55 ET (5,000m)

Where to Watch: Flotrack

Andrew Bumbalough Goes to Tokyo For Good Vibes...and His Marathon Debut

Andrew Bumbalough is packing his bags for Tokyo in search of some good vibes.

Okay so maybe that is not the only thing he is going to Tokyo for, but it is definitely on his list.

While he is not a superstitious man, Andrew is the first to admit that he prefers running in certain places more than others. There are specific cities and venues that make him want to up his game (or stride for that matter).

The past two years have been long and grueling ones for Bumbalough. Multiple injuries prevented him from training and competing for most of 2015 and 2016. Injuries are hard to deal with in any year, but especially in an Olympic year. Andrew had his eyes set on running the Olympic Marathon Team Trials in 2016, but was unable to compete due to injuries.

One year and two weeks after the Olympic Marathon Trials were held, Andrew is healthy and ready to make his marathon debut at the Tokyo Marathon on Sunday, February 26.

Andrew competing in a 10,000m race in Tokyo in November

Andrew is no rookie when it comes to making the long trip across the Pacific Ocean. In November he traveled to Tokyo, along with teammate Chris Derrick, to race a 10k on the track. The 10k was the main focus for the fall and marked his first race on the track in over a year. Despite not feeling “incredibly fit, I was training really well,” Andrew said.

After returning to the States, Bumbalough and coach Jerry Schumacher knew he was ready for the marathon.

The marathon has been a long time coming for Bumbalough. The marathon seed was first planted shortly after he joined the Bowerman Track Club. He and Jerry first realized his marathon potential years ago during long, winter training blocks. He would rack up serious mileage in training plans that resembled that of a marathoner more than the 5k runner Andrew was. He responded well to running higher mileage and marathon inspired workouts.

After a long gestation period, that marathon seed is finally ready to sprout.

Andrew went through a 10 week build up in preparation for Tokyo, running 115-120 miles a week, an increase from the 90-100 mile weeks he ran while training for the 5k. The biggest adjustment for Andrew was not the increased mileage though. He had to learn how to adjust his approach to the long run. While training for the 5k and 10k, Andrew said the “long run was all about effort and getting the time in. Now, in marathon training, the long run is the focus of the week; the most important day of the week.” He ran many different types of long runs. Some lasted 2 hours and 45 minutes; others were shorter in duration but he ran at an average pace of 5:05 per mile. 

No long run proved to be more important than an 18 miler in January. It was one of the few long runs he ran at his marathon goal pace. It was not easy by any means, but Andrew recalled it feeling effortless. He could not explain what it was exactly, but after completing this run he had a sense of confidence about the marathon he had not experienced before.

Andrew remains confident as he completes his final workout prior to Sunday’s start. Confidence is a major reason Andrew chose Tokyo to be his marathon debut. He wants to finish having had a positive experience. Unlike the Boston Marathon and New York Marathon, Tokyo’s course is flat and will have a large number of finishers in the 2:11:00-2:15:00 time range. As Bumbalough still has goals on the track, he wants to “have a solid day,” finishing healthy and with confidence that he can carry into the spring outdoor track season.

While this is not Andrew’s first trip to Tokyo, he also hopes it is not his last. He might not be frank about it, but he cannot help himself from wanting Tokyo to be one of those places that he enjoys running in more than others. Can one blame him from wanting to feel good vibes in a future Olympic host city though?

Andrew will be joined by BTC teammate Betsy Saina in Tokyo. This will also be Betsy’s marathon debut. Stay tuned to our Twitter account and website for race news and updates.

Winter Workout Video

It's been an uncharacteristically snowy winter in Portland so far this year, but that hasn't stopped us from putting in some solid training to gear up for races this winter and spring.  The snow has been nothing compared to what many of our Midwestern-rooted and Canadian members grew up with, but we've all become soft in our short period of time in Portland.  The presence of snow has brought out some subconscious nostalgia for Matt Hughes, causing him to spice up our workout discussion thread with some occasional hockey jargon.  We can only hope this further inspires him to take a run at the All-Hockey Hair Team.    

Most of the group is headed south to Flagstaff, AZ where we expect we'll see at least 90% of the distance running community out on the trails.  We've got a wide range of racing on tap for this winter including some XC, indoor track and marathon racing.   

After winning 3 consecutive US Cross Country titles in a row (2013, 2014, 2015), Chris Derrick missed last year's Cross Country Championships.  On February 4th, he plans to return to the XC grind at this year's Championships in Bend, OR.  Word on the street is that there's a lot on snow in Bend this year.  Should be great for some true XC!  

Another highlight date on the horizon is February 26th when Andrew Bumbalough plans to make his marathon debut at the Tokyo Marathon.  Andrew is coming off a solid 10k (28:09) to open up his season at the Hachioji Long Distance Meet in Tokyo.  The 10k marked Andrew's return to the track from a battle with injury last year.

For indoor track, expect to see our men and women all over the country for races.  We're still trying to iron out schedules, but we'll try to keep you posted on upcoming races on our Pro Page.