Ed Torres, who was third in the 2008 USA Men's Marathon Championships at Twin Cities in Minnesota in 2:17:54, has been named to the U.S. squad for the World Championships in Berlin. He replaces the ailing Fernando Cabada. The marathon will be on August 22, Torres' 29th brthday. Torres has competed at the World Cross Country Championships three times. He was 11th in the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials in the 10,000 and has a personal best of 28:16 for that distance. In 2009, he has been eighth in USA Cross Country and 15th at the USA 15K. At the University of Colorado, he was the Big 12 runnerup three times in the 5000 and once in the 10,000. Torres and his twin brother Jorge, a 2008 U.S. 10,000-meter Olympians, attended high school in Wheeling, Illinois.Did you know you were a sort of first alternate in the marathon for the World Championships and that there was a likelihood you might end up on the team?
Ed Torres: My understanding of the rules when we ran last year in Minnesota (the USA Championships) was that the first two people would be eligible if they'd hit 2:18, and that they'd take two people automatically from that race. So I knew for a fact that if Fernando or (Matt) Gabrielson went down, that I was their alternate. If one of the other three guys (on the team, Dan Browne, Nate Jenkins, Justin Young) went down, I think the spot would have gone to the next fastest time, which I believe was Jason Hartmann. So I kind of had an idea those were the rules, but I wasn't sure that was way they would follow them. I'd trained with Fernando Cabada (they are both members of Tempo Sports), but in the springtime, I started focusing more on 10ks and doing my own workouts with Jorge; Fernando was sticking to his marathon training and focusing on Worlds, obviously.
I really had no idea what was going on with him until maybe the week of my brother's wedding, maybe July 11. I heard that something was bugging Fernando. That's not good. At that point, I had already taken seven days off and I was going to work on doing a full marathon. But my coach (Steve Jones) talked to me at the wedding and said "yeah, Fernando's pretty beat up, it's pretty bad. He might have to pull out. You might want to start doing some running here over the weekend." So I started running, and sure enough, two days later I got the call saying that he was going to pull out. At that point I called my agent and he got back to me and said "you're next in line."
So that meant you'd have about six weeks of marathon specific training before the World Championships race.
ET: That weekend of my brother's running, I wasn't completely off running. But as soon as I found Fernando was hurt, I started pounding the miles pretty good just in case. So I will had six weeks of good training. Unfortunately, I hit a big bump in the road. The week after I found out (about his selection), I did a good week of 120 miles. That following week, I found out officially I'd made the team, but the next day, my wife, my mom, and my good coach - my good mentor growing up - drove back home (from Jorge's wedding) and had a bad accident. The whole week ruined my training. I had a hard time focusing on my running. I had an emergency I had to deal with.
We know your coach was killed. What kind of condition is your mother in now?
ET: She's recovering well. She's good. She had several breaks, but I don't want to talk about that situation. She's on her way to recovery right now.
And your wife?
ET: She, for being in such a bad accident, was blessed that she came out with just a shoulder injury and a couple of lacerations. She can't really work for a couple of weeks (as a dental hygienist). She has to get her shoulder working.
I know the coach (Greg Fedyski) was important to you. Do you want to say something about him?
ET: I can tell you he was like a father to me, a second father to me. It was a tough loss for my brother and me. It hurts. It's really going to hurt us because he was our biggest mentor. We are who we are because of him, especially in the running aspect and also in just the general way we act in life. He molded us to be good people and I owe a lot to him. It's been a painful last couple of weeks. I'm so happy that my mom and wife are doing well, but it came at a big cost.
He was your coach in middle school, correct?
ET: He coached us in middle school and high school. We felt our success was better with him. That's why we stuck with him in high school. We had a little bit of issues with the (regular) high school coach. We knew what the right thing was to do, to stick with him (Fedyski). He stood by us and supported us and we never regret what we did because when something works, don't change.
When you got the word you were going to race in Berlin, did you have a pretty good training base behind you at that point?
ET: Yeah. For someone at my age, I've had so many years behind me. These last few years, I feel like I've put in so many miles, so taking an easy week wasn't going to be a big deal. All spring long, I've been running 90-mile-plus weeks. You're not going to lose that in a few days. When I first got the word I might be going, I said, "you know what? I can jump into a 110-mile week. It's not going to hurt me. My body's fresh and ready to go." It wasn't too worrisome, but in the back of your mind, you would like the 12 weeks to get ready for it - specific marathon training. But under the circumstances, I believe I can surely be fit because of the work I've done the last few years.
What did you think of your 2:17:54 at the USA Men's Marathon Championships at Twin Cities? Were you running strong for all 26.2 miles, or did you have any trouble?
ET: I felt strong the whole route. The only trouble I was really having was the weather. I felt my body wasn't staying warm enough throughout the whole run. I had long sleeves throughout most of the run, but I was so soaked and cold. I wish I would have had a rain jacket or something. I didn't feel comfortable at all as far as my body being at a normal temperature. But I felt like I was reacting, I was aware of everything. I was picking out my drinks and the energy gels I needed to take and everything was going the way I wanted it. I did make a mistake of not covering a move; when Fernando (Cabada, who won) took off, I knew I should have gone with him. I train with him, and I know I can stay with him. But he made a big move and unfortunately, I was in the back of the pack and still chilling out. It was a little mistake that I probably won't make ever again. If I have a training partner who makes a big enough move, I'll cover that move.
Was there a persistent rain through the race?
ET: There were cool temperatures. There was on-and-off rain for most of the first half, and after that, it rained the whole time.
You did qualify for World Cross Country in Amman Jordan and you took the trip. Some people had safety fears. But you were happy and anxious to go, right?
ET: I had that in the back of my head. I was thinking about where I was going. My wife, at first, was like "I don't know if you should take that chance of going out there. You've been to a few of them (in Switzerland and Scotland)." I thought about it, but I didn't go to (Mombasa) Kenya (in 2007), and I kind of regretted not doing that. This time around, they protected us pretty well. I felt confident that USA Track & Field wouldn't take us anywhere they didn't feel good about. That was one of the reasons. The other was that after I got done with USA Cross Country and some people had pulled out, that left me as the veteran of the team. I thought "okay, I can just skip out and let these younger guys go or let them have one guy who's had experience go with them and kind of be the captain or the veteran of the team." Going out there (to Jordan), that was my first time that my brother (Jorge) wasn't going and I was the one who'd be left in charge. I was comfortable, because I'd been co-captain before.
Why'd you skip going to Kenya?
ET: They started talking about what shots and vaccinations you needed. It sounded like there would be some effects that would linger for awhile.
Realistically, on the flat marathon course in Berlin, what do you think you can do?
ET: Realistically, I'm aiming between 2:17 and 2:20. I know a lot of people will be thinking "wow, why are you going out there for that?" I'm being realistic. I'm not going out on pace and run under 2:14 and ruin a chance of even finishing a race. I've gone out fast before and I know what it feels like. If you're not ready to go on pace, you're going on a suicidal mission. If I can just go out there and try to focus on going out at 2:17 or 2:20 (pace), maybe I'll surprise myself and have the energy to come back and finish at 2:15. I'm going to be the guy who's going to be very conservative and coming from behind. Nate and Justin and Dan and Matt will help the team out, but if one of them has to bail out I'll try to make up the ground and make the best that I can, try to get down to 2:15 or 2:16 to help out the team (the men's marathon at the World Championships is also a World Cup for national teams).
When will you go over there to Berlin?
ET: I'm heading out there on Monday (ie, yesterday). I think everybody's getting there by the 11th. But I needed a couple of extra days. I want to be here with my mom at the hospital and stuff.
THX RunnersWorld!
ShareThis