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ALAN WEBB
Back to School Interview
Alan will be 20 on January 13 and we hope he gets a puppy for his birthday.
| Alan Webb ran the mile in 3:53.43, breaking Jim Ryan's record In 2001, as a high school student. He became nationally known; appearing on TV, being nominated for the Sullivan Award, and receiving the Youth Verizon award. In 2001/2002, he was a freshman at the University of Michigan. During the year he had an Achilles tendon injury and his racing season didn't turn out as planned. This year he is going back to school but at a new university, George Mason University. He'll be working with Scott Raczko, his former high school coach. With the help of agent Ray Flynn, Alan has turned professional and will be sponsored by Nike. Alan made some tough decisions with the whole world watching, at the young age of 19, an age when, for many of us, our biggest decisions were who to go out with on Saturday night or if we should spend the next hour by analyzing more Beatles albums instead of studying for next week's psychology exam. Alan is not new to KR. We've interviewed him and used his quotes on our running bookmarks (see below). We wish him the best of luck and look forward to seeing him run this year. |
 Photo: John Dye Dyestat.comJust like the kids at KidsRunning.Com, Alan Webb, U.S. high school mile record holder, will be headed back to school. He'll be balancing the 4 R's: Reading, Writing, Math, and Running. KR was lucky to get to interview this young runner (19 years of age) about some very pertinent 'KID' issues. Please have fun with our interview, see what our kids are asking and read what this young runner has to say. 
1. KIDS: We love to run, but we love our bikes and scooters, too. Do you
ride or scoot? If you love to ride, is it for fun or is it for training?
What kind of bike do you have now and what did you have when you were young?
Our teacher told us that you love dogs.
Would you rather get a new bike for your birthday or a new puppy? ALAN: Well, I do like to ride. I have two bikes; a road-bike that I use for training and a mountain bike that I like to play around with. My road bike is a Giant and my mountain is an Easton. When I was a kid, I had a good old Huffy BMX bike. I also like dogs and I think because I already have two very nice bikes I would want a puppy for my birthday.  Photo: Courtesy of Jake's mom, June. 2. KIDS: School is starting. We're supposed to exercise for an hour each day, according to the American Cancer Society, but we will have homework, too! How can we do it all? You will be going to school and training hard. Do you have any tips for us? How about for our teachers? Should they go easy on the homework? ALAN: Everyone talks about it but it is true; time management is the key. You have to organize your time. If you plan out your day then two things will happen. One, you will be able to do more things and two, you will never be bored because you will always have something planned out to do. Even homework seems to go by faster when you know when and how long you need to do it, but the teachers can go a little easy :)  3. KIDS: Some of us are great runners already and we always want to win,
but our teacher says, "Winning is doing your best." Is that what you mean
when you say you love to win, or do you only mean being the first to cross
the finish line? Our teacher runs with us and she only lets us race
sometimes. Usually, we are supposed to be practicing or just having fun. How
about you? Do you race all the time or does practicing and having fun come
into your running routines? ALAN: Of course it is supposed to be fun, but when it is time to race, you should always strive to be the best and win (be the first across the finish line). Since not everyone can be first to the finish, it is important to have other goals, like personal time goals that you can strive for. Even though racing does hurt it feels really good to win a race or get your best time.  4. KIDS: We need encouragement in all that we do. Our teacher says that
everyone needs encouragement, not just little kids. How about you? Do you
get enough encouragement? Who encourages you the most? Are your parents a
great source of support? Who are you a source of support to? ALAN: That's right everyone needs support, even the best runners. My coach and my family are very encouraging. I also support everyone else in my family in everything that they do.  5. KIDS: We heard that you really believe in your coach and that he is a
good 'mix' with you. Our teacher says that everyone needs someone to look
out for them, at least at some point in their life. Did you ever have a
teacher that looked out for you? What grade and what subject did that teacher teach? ALAN: I have had many teachers that have looked out for me, but my english teacher, Nick Harp, at the University of Michigan last year as a freshman in college was extra supportive and helped me to stay on task and find enjoyment in books and literature.  KIDS: Is there anything else that you want to tell us? Do you have any
messages for kids in general? Will you be in any
commercials? When can we see you run?ALAN: I love to run and I also love to learn. I don't know if I am going to be in any commercials and I don't know when I am racing next. LINKS: Brief Chat: Peter Gambaccini, RUNNER'S WORLD Running Bookmark Program, with Quotes by Alan Look and See How they Ran Interview with Coach Mick Alan's Favorites: Book - Life at these Speeds, by Jeremy Jackson Ice Cream - Mint chocolate chip Fruit - Bananas Quote - "They cannot hurt you unless you let them." ~Art Alexakis and Alan Webb Web site flynnsports.com  From right to left, Tom Parlapiano, Alan Webb, Gabe Jennings and Grant Robison. The guys that are mostly obscured are Josh Spiker of Wisconsin on the right (mostly shaved head) and Brendon Mahoney of Georgia Tech in the middle, just behind Webb. Click to enlarge...Photo: Alison Wade Courtesy of the New York Road Runners mensracing.com  Click to Enlarge Photo by Roger Jennings, courtesy of: finishlynx.comThis was the actual image used to determine the place and time of Webb's race at the Prefontaine Classic in '01. 1. Hicham El Guerrouj, Morocco 3:49.92 (current world record holder) 2. Kevin Sullivan, Canada 3:51.82 3. Bernard Lagat, Kenya 3:53.14 4. Adil Kaouch, Morocco 3:53.40 5. Alan Webb, U.S.A. 3:53.43 |
It's always fun to be a fan and cheer for your favorite runners and it's even more fun when you can let them know how much you want them to succeed.
