Fasil Bizuneh, who set his personal 13.1-mile best of 1:02:20 in a second place showing at the 2007 USA Half Marathon Championships, is racing in Sunday's NYC Half-Marathon. Bizuneh was sixth in the 2009 USA Half Marathon in 1:02:40 and third in the 2009 USA 15K in 43:52. He set his personal marathon best of 2:16:47 with a 13th place finish at the U.S. Olympic Trials in New York in November of 2007. Bizuneh has run 10,000 meters in 27:50.48; he was 15th in the 2008 U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials in that event in 28:43.11. Bizuneh attended high school in Indianapolis and then went to Arizona State University, where he was the Pac-10 runnerup in the 10,000 in 2000 and 2001. Way back in 1999, he'd been 24th in the World Junior Cross Country Championships. He also competed for the U.S. at the 2007 World Cross Country Championships in the extreme heat and humidity of Mombasa, Kenya; "that was a debacle." he recalls. "That was the first race I ever walked in. I was delusional when I finished. I couldn't remember my address." Currently, Bizuneh spends most of his time in Flagstaff, Arizona at 7000 feet of altitude.What went into your decision to do this NYC Half-Marathon? How does it fit in with what else you've been doing? Do you feel ready for a terrific performance on Sunday?
Fasil Bizuneh: My main goal is the New York City Marathon on November. My coach, Scott Simmons, and I were looking at some efforts that would fit in and help us in training for what, and I think the race on Sunday is 11 weeks from the marathon. I'm going to do this race and I'm also going to do the (USA) 20K in New Haven three weeks later. I ran BolderBOULDER (the 10K on Memorial Day) and took some time off. I'm kind of surprised that my fitness is going along really well and I think I'm ready for my PR (in the half marathon).
This year, you had a fine performance at the USA 15K in Jacksonville, but then you didn't do a spring marathon or run at the USATF Cross Country Championships.
FB: After Jacksonville, I went to the Berlin Half Marathon and that didn't go quite as well as I would have liked. I ran 1:03:26 (for 17th place). It's kind of like you hit it or you don't when you go over there. We went 14:09 (for the first 5k) and I kind of fell apart and ended up running by myself the rest of the way. And I also ran the 10,000 that the New York Road Runners put on at Cal (the Brutus Hamilton Invitational) and ended up running 28-flat. I think that's fifth in the U.S. this year. I also did the USA 25K (on May 9 in Grand Rapids, Michigan; he was third in 1:16:21).
But you decided not to do another 10,000 on the track at the USATF Championships?
FB: Right: I had been racing every two weeks. I think I was getting out of shape. I wouldn't have performed at my best in Eugene so we made a decision to take a break there, and start building up and get some quality races in before I really get into the meat of my marathon training.
But no bad news, though. No injuries, just a need for a rest.
FB: Yeah, and it was the time I wanted to take a rest. It worked out well, because I was able to put in three good weeks heading into this race. I feel pretty refreshed.
Was your last marathon the Trials?
FB: No, I ran 2:20 (2:20:52) at Twin Cities last fall. I think I was a little down after the Trials. I thought I had a chance to make the team in the 10k (he was 15th in 28:43.11) and I don't think I ever got motivated to put in a good buildup. I don't think my mind was really in it. I think in general, my marathon career has had a lack of specific preparation. Maybe I was racing too much or I didn't really have specific goals. I'm going to try to do things differently this time around.
At any point did you give thought to do a spring marathon?
FB: Yeah, originally I was wanting to do one after Houston (the USA Marathon). My agent and I looked at Seoul and Tokyo. There really wasn't any interest (my the race directors) because I did run 2:20 in the fall. I haven't gotten the job done so far. For the races I was looking at, we couldn't even get travel covered. We decided to try and PR on the track in the 10k and look for a fall marathon domestically.
So after the USA 20K in New Haven, you'll have eight weeks until the ING New York City Marathon. And will that be just totally devoted to marathon training, no more racing at the point?
FB: No more racing, no. My coach, Scott Simmons, coaches at Queens University, which is an NCAA Division II school in Charlotte. After the 20k, I'm going to spend the last eight weeks at sea level and try and get marathon specific pace work. It's really hard to do the longer efforts at altitude.
You're at Flagstaff much of the year now. What group are you with?FB: I'm with KIMbia. I live with Martin Fagan, who is coached by Greg McMillan. I can mix in some of my workouts with him, but primarily I do most of my workouts by myself. And I'm coached by e-mail and phone by Scott Simmons.
Well, you continue to have some very good performances at races like the USA Half Marathon and USA 15K, It's just a matter now I doing that well at one of the big venues like the USA Track and Field Championships or a marathon.
FB: Definitely. I do feel like my marathon PR doesn't stack up against my other ones. I'm looking to change that. I think going to sea level and getting in longer efforts at marathon pace and getting my body callused and the fact that I have a specific plan this year makes me relatively hopeful that things are going to go well this time around.
Can you say much about the specific plan?
FB: We're going to try and do a lot of the volume at marathon pace, like up to 40 miles a week right at or 90 percent of marathon pace. It's not locked in stone. Scott and I are going to discuss it this week. I want to get up to 14 or 15 miles at under 5:00 (per mile) pace.
Have you been enjoying life in Flagstaff?
FB: Yeah, it's a really great community. It's definitely supportive of running. It's a small town. There isn't much traffic. There are lots of trails. The weather's really nice. And when we do get bad weather in the winter, we're about a 40-minute drive from Sedona, and there's never any snow there. So even when there's a blizzard out (in Flagstaff), we can always get in the workout we had planned.
Tell us a little bit about your beginnings in the sport. Were you born in this country?
FB: No, I was actually born in Germany. My parents emigrated from Ethiopia in 1978. They lived in Germany for a year and I was born there in 1980. We moved to Indianapolis in 1981. My parents still live there today.
When did you start developing the interest in running?
FB: My older brother actually ran in Butler (University in Indianapolis). He raced in high school. The high school I went to had a summer conditioning program, and the summer before eighth grade I started to go summer conditioning with him. I was running maybe 40 miles a week and I had some success in my first few races and have been running ever since then.
When the time came and before you selected Arizona State, were you heavily recruited?
FB: Yeah, I got fifth at Foot Locker (Cross Country Nationals), so that generated a lot of interest. I visited around at a few schools - Wisconsin, Stanford, Michigan State, and ASU. I enjoyed my recruiting trip at Arizona State, and I asked myself "if I wasn't running, would I still want to go here?" I think getting out of the Midwest climate played a big role as well.
You're 29. Has your running career progress at the rate you hoped it would?
FB: I feel like I'm on a plateau right now, so I'm ready for a breakthrough. In the summer of 2006 was when I left Team USA Monterey Bay and started being coached by Scott Simmons. That fall and spring on PRed at pretty much every distance. I think I've been pretty consistent at that level for awhile now. I'm about ready for a breakthrough. Even though maybe you haven't been able to see the progression over the last few years, in terms of the workouts I'm able to handle and the mileage, I think I'm definitely ready to make a big jump now.
Maybe I haven't had all the success that I hoped for, but at the same time I can't complain about where I am right now. I still have a few years ahead of me. I still have a chance to get to what I think my potential should be. I think it's lot easier when you're going up the mountain rather than once you get to the top.
Do you think something at least like 2:15 is doable in New York in November?
FB: We're definitely hoping to run something much faster than that. We're targeting maybe 5:00 pace, and it's not easy to run 5:00 pace for the marathon. I know that.
That would get you in under 2:12.
FB: Yeah, that's what we're kind of looking at.
You can say what you want about RunnersWorld but they nail the interviews of their "A brief chat with..." series. Thanks again!
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