Jason Hartmann has always picked his training partners well.From his earliest prep days in Rockford, Mich., where one of his high school teammates was future U.S. record holder Dathan Ritzenhein, through an All American career at the University of Oregon, to Jorge Torres and the Tempo Sports elite training group he joined in April, Hartmann has trained with some of America's best.
Despite his height -- Hartmann is 6-3 -- and his success, some of those teammates have overshadowed him. For example, his senior year of high school, Hartmann ran 9:01 for two miles -- a great time, but much of the attention was focused on Ritzenhein.
However, at the Medtronics Twin Cities Marathon on Oct. 4, Hartmann ran into the limelight, winning the race in 2 hours, 12 minutes, 9 seconds. That time ranks him fourth among U.S. marathoners this year, behind only Olympic marathoners Meb Keflezighi, Ryan Hall and Ritzenhein.
"It was exciting," Hartmann, 28, said of his first marathon win, in a time that comes out to a roughly 5:03-per-mile pace. "As far as my professional career goes, this is No. 1."
One key to Hartmann's success, he says, is his coach, Steve Jones, a native of Wales and longtime Boulder resident who heads up the Boulder-based Tempo Sports club. There are nine members now, with ex-Buffs Steve and Sara Slattery expected to be back in Boulder training with the club soon. Tempo Sports welcomes runners passing through town to come and train with them, just as Jones did back in the 1980s, when he set the world record in the marathon.
Tempo Sports comprises tough, gritty runners with mindsets similar to that which made "Jonesy" one of the most respected marathoners of his generation.
"Steve is a man of few words," Hartmann said. "I think anyone who knows him as a person loves him as a person. When he gives you advice, it comes from experience. We can take the information he gives and apply it to ourselves."
Jonesy's blue-collar philosophy of
Michael Sandrock training is not based on gadgets or theory. It is all about putting in a lot of fast miles in training.
"One area Jonesy is big on is quality," said Hartmann, who, along with his teammates, often trains at faster-than-marathon-race pace. Fortunately, on a recovery run Monday morning, Hartmann and some of his teammates took it easy.
During the run, talk turned to another club member, Lee Troop, an Australian Olympic marathoner who ran a controlled 2:16 marathon in Italy over the weekend.
"We have a lot of different personalities, and a lot of experience in the group, with Jonesy and Lee," Hartmann said. "Lee has trained for 26 marathons, and Steve has been a world record holder, and when he tells you that you are in good shape, it means something. We, as younger athletes, have to listen."
Hartmann listened to Jones well before Twin Cities. He was part of an international field but was told not to worry about the time -- to "just compete." That's what he did, as the early leaders fell back one by one. The confidence that comes from his consistent 115 to 120 miles of training at altitude showed at the final water stop, at 23 miles.
There, Hartmann's bottle fell to the ground when he went to grab it and the stick holding it up broke. "I had to make a quick decision," he recalled.
Hartmann went back and retrieved the bottle.
He then caught back up and went on to drop Augustus Kavutu, of Kenya, on his way to a $27,000 payday. The five runners following him into the chute were all from long-distance running powerhouse Kenya. "I definitely had a lot more in the tank," Hartmann said.
That bodes well for the future, if Hartmann stays healthy and continues Tempo training -- and listening well.
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