Interview with Steve Slattery

By Duncan Larkin

Steve Slattery, 27, is one of America’s best hopes to make the Olympic steeplechase final in Beijing. But first he has to make the U.S. Olympic team. Originally from Flanders, NJ, he ran on the University of Colorado’s 1998 cross country team made famous in Chris Lear’s book, Running with the Buffaloes. While at Colorado, Slattery was a 2001 Big 12 champion and a 2002 NCAA and U.S. runner-up in the steeplechase. After turning pro in 2002, he won the 2003 U.S. steeplechase title. In 2007, he ran a personal best of 8:15.69 in Brussels, the fastest time for an American that year and the fastest qualifying time for the U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Track & Field, currently taking place in Eugene, Oregon, making him a strong candidate to qualify for the Olympic team.

This past February, Slattery and his wife, the elite runner Sara Slattery, decided to move from Boulder, CO, to train with Team Running USA under Coach Terrence Mahon in Mammoth Lakes, CA. After a series of sub-par performances earlier in this year, Slattery made a strong showing at the Reebok Grand Prix last month (running a second-place 8:28.21).

New York Road Runners: How do you feel going into the Trials?

Steve Slattery: I seem to be peaking at the right time so I’m excited. I haven’t put up a lot of great performances, but my training is going well. I don’t need to run a lot of races; I get a lot of confidence out of my training;

NYRR: In February, you and Sara switched coaches and moved to Mammoth. What’s it been like training under Terrence [Mahon]?

SS: It’s been going really well. Last year I had an up-and-down season. I realized that to get to the next level, I needed to improve my strength. I don’t have a lot of strength in the longer events. I realized that I needed to train with Terrence and the guys at Mammoth Lakes. When I went up there, we were training a lot of longer stuff and I really struggled with it, because when you’re training your weaknesses, things aren’t always going well. I think that for my long-term development it was a really good decision. I think Terrence is the greatest coach; he’s really helped me a lot. I think my initial results weren’t great because I was in a new situation and training my weakest aspect as a runner. I think I improved on that. It took me a while to get my legs under me. It was a hard winter of training where I was being pushed every day harder than I’m used to.

NYRR: So did everything increase? Did your mileage go up? Did you average pace per mile increase during your tempo runs?

SS: My volume of training didn’t go up a lot, but the longer tempo runs—that kind of volume—did. The longest weeks that I’ve run in my life happened over the winter, but it was more that week in and week out we were doing longer strength stuff—just more threshold work than I’ve ever done before—and- longer intervals and faster tempo runs, and that’s what I needed to do to get better. It wasn’t fun doing it. I was going out there and suffering every day. I knew going there that it was the stuff that I was the worst at. Ian [Dobson] and Ryan [Hall] are amazing. I knew that their system worked. I just had to tough through it. By the end of the winter I was improving on a lot of that stuff. I was just worn out; I was pushing it harder than I was ready for. My energy levels and legs just weren’t there.

[Editor’s note: On June 30, Ian Dobson made the U.S. Olympic team in the 5000 meters with a third-place finish at the Trials. Ryan Hall made the team at the marathon Trials last November.]

NYRR: In past interviews, you’ve talked about how as a steeplechaser you’ve focused your training not so much on the vertical aspect, but on running hard on the flat.

SS: Yeah, I think it’s just all-out flat, you know, running the flat 3000-meter distance as fast as you can.

NYRR: So you still subscribe to that training philosophy?

SS: Yeah. I’ve done a little more hurdling this year, training at the Olympic Training Center. My dorm room is like 100 meters from the track so I’ve never been in a situation where the steeplechase barriers are not accessible, but I haven’t really done a lot of steeple stuff. But for the most part, I’ve trained on the flat as a 3000-meter runner.

NYRR: I spoke with Ian Dobson a few months ago. As you know, he was a great steeplechase runner at Stanford. He told me that when he turned pro, he decided not to pursue the steeple because of the increased chances for injury--seems like a lot of pros make that decision. Do you feel like you are a unique breed of runner because you decided to commit to the steeplechase?

SS: Yeah. I tell people that think about doing the steeplechase that if you’re getting injured running a lot of flat stuff then maybe it’s not the best event to get into. I think I’m a good athlete compared to other distance runners—like my jumping ability. I think that’s what helps me personally—that’s my outlook on the event. I know I’m a good distance runner and I know that if I concentrated on one of the flat events, then I’d have a lot of success but I feel that running in the steeplechase takes advantage of the other gifts I have that I wouldn’t be able to apply if I was just doing a flat race.

NYRR: Last year in Brussels you ran a personal best, 8:15. I was surprised when I read that you said things didn’t go well in that race and that you could have run faster. Why did you feel that way? Also, to be competitive at the world level you have to be running five to 10 seconds faster than your PR. How do you see yourself taking it to that next level, assuming you make the team in Beijing?

SS: I think if you can run just under 8:10, that’s plenty fast enough to compete for a medal, even with guys running around 8 minutes. If you run an 8:10 with good racing skills, you can definitely get a medal. I know that with my talent and abilities I can run 8:10 or better.. My aerobic conditioning isn’t as good as the Kenyans. I think my speed and my hurdling are on par with them. Compared to most guys running 8:15, I think my strength isn’t as good as theirs. That’s what pushed me to come out to Mammoth and put in the miles. I know I run below 8:20 year in and year out. I ran 8:15 last year, and if everything had gone well I could have run maybe 8:12 or 8:10 if I didn’t have an injury interruption around the U.S. Championships. If I come out and increase my strength, how much faster can I get? That’s how I’ve approached this year.

NYRR: Terrence Mahon coaches a lot of talent. Do you find that he’s an accessible coach?

SS: He’s there plenty. I haven’t had a coach like him for the past year or so when I was in Boulder. I don’t feel like I need a ton of attention and so I’m glad that he has those other people to work with. I’m the kind of guy that does what he tells me to do. I don’t need him to go over every detail with me. I like the freedom that comes with him having other people to concentrate on. I like that little bit of space, but he’s there all the time. I see him like five hours of the day. He’s an awesome guy.

He treats Sara and me as well as he treats the athletes who have been on the team for a long time. He really wants us to succeed. He’s an awesome person to have at practice. Like today, I was doing a long workout and at the end when I was hurting and I needed someone to push me, Terrence jumped in and ran part of my interval and got me going. That’s the type of coach he is: He’s very hands-on. If he sees you struggling in the workout, he’ll jump in there and yell at you and pace you. It’s been a huge benefit to have him around this year—someone that brings a great amount of energy day in and day out.

NYRR: Americans haven’t won a gold medal in steeplechase since 1952, a silver medal since 1920, and a bronze medal since 1984. There’s all this talk about the resurgence of American distance running—with guys like Ryan Hall and Alan Webb. But what about with the steeplechase? Do you think we’re heading in a positive direction with that event?

SS: I think that we are heading in that direction with Dan Lincoln running an 8:08 [the current American record]. He was as good as anyone that year [2006]. I know that we have several guys that can compete with the best guys in the world. If you just go in there and compete or try to go with the front pack, the fast times will come. I think if we can get to the point where we can get an American running with the front pack, then the next step is having someone who will go for it. I think you see that a lot now.

When a lot of the American guys run now in Europe, they are going for it with the best guys in the world. And sometimes they fall short. I think that’s the phase where we are right now—taking that chance. When I go over to Europe, I’m ready to take that chance, and I see a lot of other guys doing it. I know that it will just be a matter of time before I or someone else starts putting up some pretty good times and competing well with those guys.

Interview conducted June 24, 2008, and posted on July 2, 2008.