Catching up with Josh Simpson

Josh Simpson has been a well-known and top runner in West Virginia for sometime now, but over the past few years he has taking his results to the national scene, including a huge breakthrough 2008 season thus far. At TriStateRacer.com we are very excited to catch up with Josh and hear his thoughts on many topics, like his early beginnings into running, racing so far in 2008, representing USA, and chasing some of the WV All Time top times.

NAME: Josh Simpson
AGE: 24
Hometown: Morgantown, WV
PR’s: 10k: 28:22.  Half Marathon: 1:03.52
Sponsors: NYAC

 

Ok Josh let’s get things started off with: How did you get started running and why?

 

Well, I played baseball for most of my young life. My Twin brother, Justin, was the star runner. He was always in the paper and winning races. As a baseball player I didn't get any of that attention. Of course like most young high school kids, everyone wants some of the "lime-light" and I was no different. But that didn't push me far enough to actually go run. Running was still a type of punishment for me, like it is for all of our other sports. And I wasn't about to start doing that full-time. Everything started to change though my sophomore year, when I had run around 5:30 in the physical fitness mile, in gym class, as a plump 165lb baseball player. The XC coach and my brother both encouraged me to join the XC team that year, so I did. I still didn't embrace running though. Running the 15-20 miles a week during practice was torcher, and I was still a pretty heavy kid. But the season was ok, I managed to run 18:05 for the season and I was content with that. The next season I had trimmed down a little bit and got my time down to 17:05 with no change in my low mileage training. Again, I was content with that. But that summer I decided that I wanted to be better. I wanted to be like my brother who had won states that year and ran 15:30s at the Footlocker Regional in NC. So I started to mimic his training, and bumped my mileage to ~70 a week, which dropped my weight to around 128 lbs. The transformation was quick. I ended up running 15:15 that year at Footlockers. From there I could only hope to go up.

So after high school you originally signed to go to WVU and then the program sadly got dropped. What were your feelings at the time of this?

 

What a Shock that was. I had decided to remain at WVU to be coached by Sean Cleary. I had signed and was on my way to be a WVU runner. But one day as I was driving home from a run at my state park, I got a phone call from one of my friends telling me that WVU had cut the men's program. I obviously thought it was some type of joke. We were talking about a D1 school, how could something like that happen? Well, I got home and found out it actually had. I was in shock. I didn't know what to do; it was a very emotional time for a lot of us. I headed down to Morgantown and fought with my teammates to try to get things settled and maybe get our team back or find out why this had happened. But of course nothing got settled and the school dumped us without remorse (although they will say they feel horrible about it). Unfortunately many many runners across the country would know how I felt in the short year to follow as a lot of D1 programs started giving running the axe. Their Loss I say! We have the best sport, and if you want to be good in the sport, then hold tough and train hard. We don't need them.

You headed to NAU next right? How was that experience?

 

The experience was great for me. Ron Mann had just left NAU, so I wasn't sure what I was getting into again. I had lived in Arizona for a few years as a child and I was very excited to be living back out west. Running in Flagstaff was amazing and although there may be places that are just as awesome to train, I don’t see how they can top it. Running on all the dirt trails and up on the Mountain was incredible. The only problem was that moving to a new place, by myself for the first time, you could say I wasn't the most dedicated runner. I got out and run and trained hard, but I didn't have the mental focus I should have. I was busy taking in the new environment and living life. I only stayed for the summer and that following XC season, where we finished 22^nd(?) in the country at nationals, which was fun. But I knew I had to come back and train with my old coach at WVU if I wanted to be as good as I knew I could be. I will say though, that I left with some good friends and good memories while I was there. I got to live with Letsruns Weldon Johnson, which was pretty sweet for me.
 

Who is your Coach and can you talk a little about him?

 

My coach is WVU head coach Sean Cleary. He's Canadian (don’t hold that against him) but he's the best coach I could ask for. He's a great guy who cares about all of his runners. And he can make you pretty fast as well. He currently trains New Balance super stud Megan Metcalfe, NYAC's Zach Sabatino, Super Sophomore Keri Bland and Marie Louisse Asselin, just to name a few.

Can you talk about that current training your doing? Training partners?

 

My training pretty much consists of some track work and tempos. We'll do some cutdown interval work then some steady stuff. I haven't really touched any speed yet. I really like to get in their and crank some Tempo's, out on the roads. I've always been natural on the road, so I can get moving pretty easily for those. As for training partners, I do a lot of work on my own. I wish we had a steady training group here, but we don't. I train with Sabatino sometimes, and a couple other guys I run with, Jay Dolmage and Casey Batey. We all help each other out a lot and it's fun when our workouts accommodate each others. But like I said, mostly the work is done alone with my Coach.

In 2006 you made some very strong showings at USA Championships for 10miles and 25k. Did those races get things going for you and allow you to see your future potential?

 

The 10 miler was a real big eye opener for me. I didn't know what to expect. I just knew I could run a good one. It just so happened that I ended up finishing 6th and beat a lot of guys that were huge names in the sports. Like Dan Browne and Fam. I was extremely pumped after that race and knew that I could run with the best guys soon. You could say that it was that race that started things for me. After that I wanted to train like the best and be one of the best.

If I remember right last summer during a chat we had, you were going through an injury that had knocked you out, what was the extent of the injury?

 

I got a lower back injury that took me out for about 5 months, practically the whole summer. It was a big blow to me, but I cross trained 2 times a day and did what I could to stay active. After a while I just prayed that one day I could jog again lol

So how did you bounce back from the injury last summer into your huge breakthrough 2008 1:03.52 Half Marathon at the USA Championships in Houston?

 

Well, like I said, I cross trained twice a day on a Ski machine we have at our Rec-Center. I came back to running in October and after a month of just running some I started to workout. It just so happened, to my surprise that it didn't take me long at all to be in the shape I was in before I got hurt. So it was still a possibility in my mind to try to go to Houston and run well in that race. I felt like I was in pretty good shape going into that week, but of course I got sick, like a lot of people were, and that really through a curve ball into my mind in how well I could actually compete the day of the race. I stuck it out though and felt pretty good the morning of and it just so happened that I still ran under 1:04, which was my goal going into it.

You followed that up with the Top 15 finish at the loaded USA XC Championships over the 12k distance in San Diego, how did that race go?

 

Again, I felt like I had gotten into better shape than I had ever been in and was very excited to try to make that World Team. And of course I got sick again, when I flew out to San Diego. So that worried me with such a loaded field. I started the race a little conservative because I was having trouble breathing the day before, and I didn't want to spike my heart rate so early, feeling under the weather. So I moved through the field and claimed 14th place, which I was happy with barring the circumstances. I just hoped that that would get me to at least the NACAC race.

After that race came the great honor every runner dreams about: You were picked to represent the USA in the NACAC Championships in Orlando, Fla. Can you talk about the pride you must have felt to put on that USA Singlet and how the race unfolded for you?

 

To tell you the truth, I was on cloud 9 to have the chance at representing the USA. I felt really good going into this race and it was a lot of fun being apart of a team again, especially a USA team. As the race unfolded Thomas Morgan and myself went 1-2. I really thought I could win, but Thomas had put too much of a gap on me with 1k to go. But it was exciting to hear them say over the loud speaker, as we were coming in, that we were on pace to break the course record. It was also exciting being the only USA team to win their race. I think because my coach is Canadian it made it that much sweeter to beat the Canadians.

Next came the biggest race to date for you at the Stanford 10k, talk about the race and the emotions you felt when you finished with a 28:22 showing on the clock?

 

I went into this race with the goal of running in the 28:30s. My training had been going great and I knew if I had a good night that I could do it. The race went out slow, I was about 2:20 through the first 800m. I didn't get out very well, but I moved steadily through the pack the whole race and just clicked off 68's. I was amazed at how easy the pace felt, and just continued to move up. As long as I was still hitting 68's I didn't feel the need to move harder. It wasn't till about 600m to go that Keating, Hass, Kilburg and myself started to get rolling. When I came across the line and saw 28:22 I was shocked. In my only 10k before that, last year, I had run 29:23. I was so excited; I took off my shoes and ran to find my girlfriend (Keri Bland). I was full of emotion that night and realized that if I had gotten out better and pressed during the race that I could have run faster. It was a very exciting realization for me.

Now looking forward: What is your plans from now until the US Olympic track trials in Eugene, OR?

 

Well, I hope that my time holds up and gets me into the Trials. I think that it should. Until then I am just training to get even fitter. I will race at some point in the next month, but I am not sure where that will be or what race. I am just excited to train hard and really show what I can do in July at the Trials.

What are some long-term future goals you want to accomplish in professional running?

 

One of my goals is to run faster on the track for 10k then any other West Virginian. Chris Fox of Syracuse ran 27:53 in his day. He is someone I really admire and look up to for guidance and support. So that is definitely something I want to break. Also, I want to make more than 1 World XC team. I've always been really good on an XC course, so I’m itching for next years race already. And of course as any runner would dream: the USA Olympic team. Whether it is at 10k or the Marathon. I have a lot of years left in this sport and I know I can achieve great things.

So you now are chasing some of the times set by WV all time greats Chris Fox and Steve Taylor. What are your thoughts on these standards as you strive to achieve them?

 

Both of these guys are top notch runners, coaches, and people. I couldn't ask to be mentioned among two better guys. And it excites me a lot to chase their legacy's down. They have both run under 28 and have run 2:12, 2:13 for the Marathon. I can't wait for the day that my name gets mentioned along with theirs in conversations.

Ok, last question: Can you talk about your girlfriend’s (Keri Bland) success at WVU and how each of you feed off the other’s success?

 

Haha. Well, Keri is the greatest girlfriend ever. She supports my running and me as much as I support hers. She is so talented at such a young age (sophomore) its crazy. It makes it fun every time we go race, because she will come back and have run 4:35 for a mile and I’ll be like MAN you are awesome. And I’ll come back from one of my races and she will do the same. We really have a good time feeding off one another's energies. We both strive to be the best we can be and we expect each other to be the best. So it's like we always have that support system at home. She is super fun to watch run as well. The other night she ran 2:07.0 solo and made it look easy. She's scary good, so watch out. Fair warning to the country, Keri Bland and Josh Simpson are here to stay ;)
 

Josh thanks for a great interview. Best of Luck with the rest of the 2008 season and beyond and continue to make everyone in West Virginia proud!
Interview by Jason Pyles, contact at: runjpyles@yahoo.com