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Lowery ready for next step
SDSU distance runner preparing for elite training on national level
MICK GARRY
mgarry@argusleader.com
Article Published: 12/27/05, 3:40 am
Carving out miles on prairie roads got Brad Lowery where he is. Now he’s hoping some time running the rolling trails of the Monterey Peninsula will get him closer to where he wants to be.
The South Dakota State senior distance runner will head west to California beginning in January in an attempt to take the step from college standout to national and, he hopes, international prominence.
He will be a participant in the Big Sur Distance Project, a commune of sorts affiliated with Team USA and inhabited by highly regarded runners who are supplied housing, training facilities and top-level coaching.
Thus equipped with all the things runners need to keep on keeping on, it should give him a chance to see how far his legs are capable of taking him.
“My training (as a collegian) has not been too intense,” Lowery said. “One thing my coach, Rod DeHaven, has been trying to tell me is that at SDSU I’ve been enough ahead of my teammates that I’ve been training by myself. Out there I’ll be running and competing against some great runners day in, day out. I think I should be able to see my times drop quite drastically.”
Lowery will be leaving South Dakota as one of its most decorated runners. His 4:01.67 time in the mile run at the Howard Wood Dakota Relays last spring was one of the highlights of the track and field season in South Dakota.
It was one of several successes for the Pierre native, who won nine North Central Conference titles between cross country, indoor track and outdoor track.
He also earned All-America honors at the NCAA Division II level six times and won two Division I independent championships. Last spring, he won both the 1,500- and 5,000-meter races at the Drake Relays.
“He fits our program perfectly,” said the Big Sur Distance Project’s coach, Bob Sevene. “We want runners here like Brad, people whose talent, personality and likability are going to help them and their training partners achieve their goals.”
Lowery began seriously thinking about a post-collegiate running career as a junior at SDSU. He saw an ideal opportunity to head in that direction with Sevene, considered one of the nation’s foremost distance coaches.
With DeHaven’s encouragement, he applied to be included at Big Sur and found out midway through the college cross country season that he’d be entering “The Project” in January.
“The weather, the scenery and the training equipment are all pretty nice,” Lowery said. “I’ll be sharing an apartment with another guy on the team. It’s nice to know where I’ll be living in January and that I’ll be able to afford to train full time. I’ll get a part-time job for some spending money, but I’ll be able to put a full-time focus on running and training and see what I can do.”
Sevene is a longtime college and post-collegiate coach who has worked with some of the top runners in the U.S., most prominently with 1984 Olympic Marathon gold medal winner Joan Benoit.
Sevene was named head of the organization in 2003 and has steadily built up a stable of runners. They include Blake Russell, who won the 2004 Twin Cities women’s marathon and clocked a 2:29.1 to finish sixth in this year’s Chicago Marathon.
Lowery, who attempted to qualify for the Olympic Trials in 2004, will be joining a program that is aimed at getting U.S. distance runners closer to the front internationally.
“We’re a superstar-oriented society,” Sevene said. “That’s all people want to promote. But when you look back at the 1980s, U.S. success at distances was based on depth. You build the depth, and the runners raise the bar themselves.”
Lowery will then become part of “The Project” to raise the bar.
“Too many runners like Brad are falling through the cracks in this country,” Sevene said. “When he gets here he’ll be surrounded by athletes who have basically the same commitment toward excellence. Maybe they’re putting their lives on hold, but they’re also finding out how good they can be. You just never know where that can take you.”
Lowery ready for next step
SDSU distance runner preparing for elite training on national level
MICK GARRY
mgarry@argusleader.com
Article Published: 12/27/05, 3:40 am
Carving out miles on prairie roads got Brad Lowery where he is. Now he’s hoping some time running the rolling trails of the Monterey Peninsula will get him closer to where he wants to be.
The South Dakota State senior distance runner will head west to California beginning in January in an attempt to take the step from college standout to national and, he hopes, international prominence.
He will be a participant in the Big Sur Distance Project, a commune of sorts affiliated with Team USA and inhabited by highly regarded runners who are supplied housing, training facilities and top-level coaching.
Thus equipped with all the things runners need to keep on keeping on, it should give him a chance to see how far his legs are capable of taking him.
“My training (as a collegian) has not been too intense,” Lowery said. “One thing my coach, Rod DeHaven, has been trying to tell me is that at SDSU I’ve been enough ahead of my teammates that I’ve been training by myself. Out there I’ll be running and competing against some great runners day in, day out. I think I should be able to see my times drop quite drastically.”
Lowery will be leaving South Dakota as one of its most decorated runners. His 4:01.67 time in the mile run at the Howard Wood Dakota Relays last spring was one of the highlights of the track and field season in South Dakota.
It was one of several successes for the Pierre native, who won nine North Central Conference titles between cross country, indoor track and outdoor track.
He also earned All-America honors at the NCAA Division II level six times and won two Division I independent championships. Last spring, he won both the 1,500- and 5,000-meter races at the Drake Relays.
“He fits our program perfectly,” said the Big Sur Distance Project’s coach, Bob Sevene. “We want runners here like Brad, people whose talent, personality and likability are going to help them and their training partners achieve their goals.”
Lowery began seriously thinking about a post-collegiate running career as a junior at SDSU. He saw an ideal opportunity to head in that direction with Sevene, considered one of the nation’s foremost distance coaches.
With DeHaven’s encouragement, he applied to be included at Big Sur and found out midway through the college cross country season that he’d be entering “The Project” in January.
“The weather, the scenery and the training equipment are all pretty nice,” Lowery said. “I’ll be sharing an apartment with another guy on the team. It’s nice to know where I’ll be living in January and that I’ll be able to afford to train full time. I’ll get a part-time job for some spending money, but I’ll be able to put a full-time focus on running and training and see what I can do.”
Sevene is a longtime college and post-collegiate coach who has worked with some of the top runners in the U.S., most prominently with 1984 Olympic Marathon gold medal winner Joan Benoit.
Sevene was named head of the organization in 2003 and has steadily built up a stable of runners. They include Blake Russell, who won the 2004 Twin Cities women’s marathon and clocked a 2:29.1 to finish sixth in this year’s Chicago Marathon.
Lowery, who attempted to qualify for the Olympic Trials in 2004, will be joining a program that is aimed at getting U.S. distance runners closer to the front internationally.
“We’re a superstar-oriented society,” Sevene said. “That’s all people want to promote. But when you look back at the 1980s, U.S. success at distances was based on depth. You build the depth, and the runners raise the bar themselves.”
Lowery will then become part of “The Project” to raise the bar.
“Too many runners like Brad are falling through the cracks in this country,” Sevene said. “When he gets here he’ll be surrounded by athletes who have basically the same commitment toward excellence. Maybe they’re putting their lives on hold, but they’re also finding out how good they can be. You just never know where that can take you.”
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