| I recently had the privilege to interview one of the best and hardest working runners in the state of Ohio and beyond. I have seen him progress from a high school runner to the elite runner he is today. Anyways, enjoy the interview. |
What is your background?
My hometown was Liberty Center, and of course I went to L.C. High School. I ran both
cross country and track from junior high through high school. I think I still hold school
records in the 1600m run and cross country, although I still regret not going after the
3200m record. At LC I was a 3 x All-Ohio runner in XC and Track. After HS I attended
Eastern Michigan University and went from running 40 miles a week to 80 miles. I was
forbidden to enter the weight room, and ended up dropping 30 pounds of mass with
just running and some core training. Under Bob Parks I was the conference runner-up
in the 3000m steeplechase my freshman year. By the end of college I had been a part
of 7 conference championship teams, and 2 NCAA Cross Country teams (we placed
21st and 3rd at Nationals), along with making a few all-conference teams. I graduated
with a degree in Exercise Physiology, and currently work at the Rehabilitation Institute
of Michigan as a Spinal Cord Injury Specialist. I currently reside in Belleville, MI and
train in the Ann Arbor-Ypsilanti area with my coach Bill Stewart (qualified for the
Olympic Trials in the 800m and marathon in his running career)
Who has helped you get to where you are as a runner?
I feel that my father Doug Desgrange has been the most influential part of my life. We
started running at about the same time (he's was kicking my butt at the time), and he
was the one who really got me into running road races. I can't contemplate the amount
of money and miles he put in to get me where I am today. To this day i don't know if I
possess a gift to run, or if it's just shear guts to go out and hammer a long, hard run; but
what I do know is that my dad has been there every step of the way to keep me on the
path towards greatness. I feel you need that to compete at an intense level in this sport.
How long have you been running and what got you into running?
I have been running now for 12 years. I got into running in junior high when they
announced that they were having cross country try-outs. I didn't know anything about
football since all through my earlier years all I did was wrestling (which I burnt out on
due to lack of interest). I liked to run so I thought to give it a try. I remember I ran my
first JH XC race at Archbold in 7th grade and ran about 15 minutes for two miles and
thought I was the best, despite placing 20th or something of that nature. After that race
I started my quest towards making the Olympics. My training was and is more of a trial
and error approach. I had quite of bit of speed, but I needed the distance training to be
competitive. As I said before, my dad started running when I did and got me hooked
on road races. He constantly beat me in races, and then one fateful Sunday morning
everything changed. My dad, myself, and my brother would go for a 3 mile run on
Sundays before church. i remember trying to stay up with my dad, and then he would
drop me. Well this particular morning I was staying up with him for the longest time
when I all of a sudden had to go to the bathroom. He kept telling me to keep going and
not stop, but I did after a few tears fell. He gave me a pretty hard time about it. I was
so infuriated with him that it was at that point I never let him beat me again. That
moment was the boost I needed to propel my running career.
What are your best times in your events?
400m: 50.1, 800m: 1:54.8, 1500m: 3:54.3, 3000m: 8:30.8, 5000m: 14:26, 10,000m:
30:11, 1/2 Marathon: 1:08:12, 3000m Steeplechase: 9:03.2
What are your goals for the future?
My goal is to break 2:20 for the marathon, hopefully a 2:16 effort in October. I've ran in
two USA championship races so my goal is to break into the top 10 in future races of
this magnitude. My hope was to make the Olympic Trials this year in the marathon, but
a sewer drain after the 9-mile mark in the Chicago Marathon ended that dream. So
now I'm focusing on improving my marks and in 4 years to be hopefully a force to be
reckoned with.
What race is your specialty?
I have always been pretty strong performance-wise in the shorter races, but have
always trained as a long-distance runner. I'm planning on having the marathon as my
specialty event. The marathon requires so much preparation and determination that I
feel those are my strengths as a runner.
What awards have you achieved and what achievements are you most proud
of?
I have quite a few races that I have won (or come close) from high school to my
professional career, but only a few are noteworthy. Definitely being a part of a winning
collegiate team was always great, as well as being on two NCAA National Cross
Country teams. My freshman year I placed 2nd in the steeplechase and that was a
great feeling. My junior year I was 4th in the MAC for cross country. I was the
Academic All-American team my senior year as well as being a scholar athlete all my
years at EMU. I placed 15th and 17th at the USA 25k and Half-Marathon
Championships respectively.
What big races do you have planned?
I'm running the Crim 10 mile race on August 28th where I hope to crack the top 20
overall consider the marathon training I'm putting in right now. I'm going to run a few 5k
for some speed before I go to Illinois to run the Quad Cities Marathon at the end of
September as a training run. The biggest race of the year for me will be the Detroit
Marathon where I will crack 2:20 and maybe get as low as 2:16.
How many miles do you run a week on average?
Normally I'm right around 100 miles per week, but it depends on where I'm at in my
training. Right now (3 months leading up to a marathon) I'm between 120-130 miles
per week.
What kind of injuries have you had to work through?
My biggest injury has been pain and swelling in my knee. This has plagued me since
my sophomore year in college. I've been to orthopedic doctors and sports med
doctors and something's always different. I don't know if this injury is from all the
trauma of doing the steeplechase in college and running a lot of high mileage at the
same time or what. It's definitely frustrating. Other than that I have nothing too serious
to talk about.
What is your most memorable race?
Probably the first time I went to the Drake Relays in Des Moines, IA. I competed there
in a relay, and I just couldn't believe the amount of people there watching track and
field. All of the stadium was sold out, and when you walked out onto the track it was
just awesome. The crowd was just roaring while you were running.
What advice would you offer to young runners?
Make sure you're running because you want to. If it starts to feel like a job you'll lose
interest. I always wish that in high school that I focused on running one event per meet.
I look back and wonder how fast I could have gone had I not been the work-horse
running four races per meet. Running times are definitely important for motivational
purposes as well as getting any type of athletic scholarships to a college/university.
Lastly, if you want to do anything with running you have to sacrifice. Whether it's getting
up early before school to put in 3-5 miles or watching out how late you stay out, you
need to keep your body physically and mentally strong.
What kind of running products do you use and/or recommend?
In my opinion you get what you pay for. In college we had a small contract with Mizuno
in the beginning (before a contract with Adidas) so we had to make the Mizuno shoes
last for a whole season. Me being a higher mileage guy would put about 1500+ miles
on a single pair of shoes. The Mizuno brand running shoes have been the best shoes
as far as holding up to vigorous amounts of miles and terrain. I FULLY encourage
people to check out their shoes. As far as apparel goes I also wear Mizuno clothing,
but I do have some Nike and Adidas too. If you're running mega miles I think a
performance supplement such as PowerGel has great benefits. On some of my 20
mile runs I need that extra boost of energy, plus I use them in my longer distance races.
I'm also a firm believer in the 4:1 carbohydrate-protein recovery drink Endurox R4. I
went a long time running lots of mileage without any type of quick recovery drink. I
experimented with it for 2 months and found that my body could tolerate the hard
pounding I was putting it through when taking Endurox R4. Of course nothing beats
getting nutrients from natural food sources. I want to send this message out to runners
out there about nutrition...do NOT diet. I have had in the past and present ups and
downs with nutrition. Competitive runners need to eat, but they need to eat
responsibly. In high school I ate nothing besides junk food (twizzlers, snack cakes,
slushes), but when I started eating more natural food sources my weight decreased
and performances got better. I do not try and starve myself, I eat when I'm hungry; but
you need to find a balance in your nutrition that optimizes your running and all the hard
work you're putting into it.
My hometown was Liberty Center, and of course I went to L.C. High School. I ran both
cross country and track from junior high through high school. I think I still hold school
records in the 1600m run and cross country, although I still regret not going after the
3200m record. At LC I was a 3 x All-Ohio runner in XC and Track. After HS I attended
Eastern Michigan University and went from running 40 miles a week to 80 miles. I was
forbidden to enter the weight room, and ended up dropping 30 pounds of mass with
just running and some core training. Under Bob Parks I was the conference runner-up
in the 3000m steeplechase my freshman year. By the end of college I had been a part
of 7 conference championship teams, and 2 NCAA Cross Country teams (we placed
21st and 3rd at Nationals), along with making a few all-conference teams. I graduated
with a degree in Exercise Physiology, and currently work at the Rehabilitation Institute
of Michigan as a Spinal Cord Injury Specialist. I currently reside in Belleville, MI and
train in the Ann Arbor-Ypsilanti area with my coach Bill Stewart (qualified for the
Olympic Trials in the 800m and marathon in his running career)
Who has helped you get to where you are as a runner?
I feel that my father Doug Desgrange has been the most influential part of my life. We
started running at about the same time (he's was kicking my butt at the time), and he
was the one who really got me into running road races. I can't contemplate the amount
of money and miles he put in to get me where I am today. To this day i don't know if I
possess a gift to run, or if it's just shear guts to go out and hammer a long, hard run; but
what I do know is that my dad has been there every step of the way to keep me on the
path towards greatness. I feel you need that to compete at an intense level in this sport.
How long have you been running and what got you into running?
I have been running now for 12 years. I got into running in junior high when they
announced that they were having cross country try-outs. I didn't know anything about
football since all through my earlier years all I did was wrestling (which I burnt out on
due to lack of interest). I liked to run so I thought to give it a try. I remember I ran my
first JH XC race at Archbold in 7th grade and ran about 15 minutes for two miles and
thought I was the best, despite placing 20th or something of that nature. After that race
I started my quest towards making the Olympics. My training was and is more of a trial
and error approach. I had quite of bit of speed, but I needed the distance training to be
competitive. As I said before, my dad started running when I did and got me hooked
on road races. He constantly beat me in races, and then one fateful Sunday morning
everything changed. My dad, myself, and my brother would go for a 3 mile run on
Sundays before church. i remember trying to stay up with my dad, and then he would
drop me. Well this particular morning I was staying up with him for the longest time
when I all of a sudden had to go to the bathroom. He kept telling me to keep going and
not stop, but I did after a few tears fell. He gave me a pretty hard time about it. I was
so infuriated with him that it was at that point I never let him beat me again. That
moment was the boost I needed to propel my running career.
What are your best times in your events?
400m: 50.1, 800m: 1:54.8, 1500m: 3:54.3, 3000m: 8:30.8, 5000m: 14:26, 10,000m:
30:11, 1/2 Marathon: 1:08:12, 3000m Steeplechase: 9:03.2
What are your goals for the future?
My goal is to break 2:20 for the marathon, hopefully a 2:16 effort in October. I've ran in
two USA championship races so my goal is to break into the top 10 in future races of
this magnitude. My hope was to make the Olympic Trials this year in the marathon, but
a sewer drain after the 9-mile mark in the Chicago Marathon ended that dream. So
now I'm focusing on improving my marks and in 4 years to be hopefully a force to be
reckoned with.
What race is your specialty?
I have always been pretty strong performance-wise in the shorter races, but have
always trained as a long-distance runner. I'm planning on having the marathon as my
specialty event. The marathon requires so much preparation and determination that I
feel those are my strengths as a runner.
What awards have you achieved and what achievements are you most proud
of?
I have quite a few races that I have won (or come close) from high school to my
professional career, but only a few are noteworthy. Definitely being a part of a winning
collegiate team was always great, as well as being on two NCAA National Cross
Country teams. My freshman year I placed 2nd in the steeplechase and that was a
great feeling. My junior year I was 4th in the MAC for cross country. I was the
Academic All-American team my senior year as well as being a scholar athlete all my
years at EMU. I placed 15th and 17th at the USA 25k and Half-Marathon
Championships respectively.
What big races do you have planned?
I'm running the Crim 10 mile race on August 28th where I hope to crack the top 20
overall consider the marathon training I'm putting in right now. I'm going to run a few 5k
for some speed before I go to Illinois to run the Quad Cities Marathon at the end of
September as a training run. The biggest race of the year for me will be the Detroit
Marathon where I will crack 2:20 and maybe get as low as 2:16.
How many miles do you run a week on average?
Normally I'm right around 100 miles per week, but it depends on where I'm at in my
training. Right now (3 months leading up to a marathon) I'm between 120-130 miles
per week.
What kind of injuries have you had to work through?
My biggest injury has been pain and swelling in my knee. This has plagued me since
my sophomore year in college. I've been to orthopedic doctors and sports med
doctors and something's always different. I don't know if this injury is from all the
trauma of doing the steeplechase in college and running a lot of high mileage at the
same time or what. It's definitely frustrating. Other than that I have nothing too serious
to talk about.
What is your most memorable race?
Probably the first time I went to the Drake Relays in Des Moines, IA. I competed there
in a relay, and I just couldn't believe the amount of people there watching track and
field. All of the stadium was sold out, and when you walked out onto the track it was
just awesome. The crowd was just roaring while you were running.
What advice would you offer to young runners?
Make sure you're running because you want to. If it starts to feel like a job you'll lose
interest. I always wish that in high school that I focused on running one event per meet.
I look back and wonder how fast I could have gone had I not been the work-horse
running four races per meet. Running times are definitely important for motivational
purposes as well as getting any type of athletic scholarships to a college/university.
Lastly, if you want to do anything with running you have to sacrifice. Whether it's getting
up early before school to put in 3-5 miles or watching out how late you stay out, you
need to keep your body physically and mentally strong.
What kind of running products do you use and/or recommend?
In my opinion you get what you pay for. In college we had a small contract with Mizuno
in the beginning (before a contract with Adidas) so we had to make the Mizuno shoes
last for a whole season. Me being a higher mileage guy would put about 1500+ miles
on a single pair of shoes. The Mizuno brand running shoes have been the best shoes
as far as holding up to vigorous amounts of miles and terrain. I FULLY encourage
people to check out their shoes. As far as apparel goes I also wear Mizuno clothing,
but I do have some Nike and Adidas too. If you're running mega miles I think a
performance supplement such as PowerGel has great benefits. On some of my 20
mile runs I need that extra boost of energy, plus I use them in my longer distance races.
I'm also a firm believer in the 4:1 carbohydrate-protein recovery drink Endurox R4. I
went a long time running lots of mileage without any type of quick recovery drink. I
experimented with it for 2 months and found that my body could tolerate the hard
pounding I was putting it through when taking Endurox R4. Of course nothing beats
getting nutrients from natural food sources. I want to send this message out to runners
out there about nutrition...do NOT diet. I have had in the past and present ups and
downs with nutrition. Competitive runners need to eat, but they need to eat
responsibly. In high school I ate nothing besides junk food (twizzlers, snack cakes,
slushes), but when I started eating more natural food sources my weight decreased
and performances got better. I do not try and starve myself, I eat when I'm hungry; but
you need to find a balance in your nutrition that optimizes your running and all the hard
work you're putting into it.
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| Ryan Desgrange Interview |
