Thanks for joining us everyone! Today we have with us, professional runner Jordan McNamara, 2016 Olympic hopeful. Jordan runs for Nike & the Oregon Track Club, he is also a sub 4:00 minute miler with an incredible story! We are going to sit down and find out, what his high school experience was like, from being brand new to the sport and earning the credentials as one of the top high school runners in the country before he was finished.
Danny Duncan: You have had tremendous success as a runner, describe how it was competing in high school and what it meant to you?
Jordan McNamara: “High school for me was all about discovering my love of running. In Middle School, I was lazy and more focused on the latest video game. I’ll never forget my first HS XC practice. I Showed up- donned in basketball shoes and baggy shorts, with absolutely no idea what I was doing. As the run started, I asked some of the fellow runners who the boys leading the pack were. “Those are the varsity guys, best to let them go”. Without a second’s hesitation, I pushed my way to the front, determined to last with the school’s top dogs. Needless to say, my mental grit carried me as far as I could throw. I ended up getting dropped at mile 4 of an 8 mile deathmarch- ultimately finishing half an hour behind the varsity boys. I limped home, sore and fatigued beyond reason and vowed I’d never run again. The next day I showed up, and haven’t missed a beat since.
Jordan Competing in high school. (17 years old)
Through HS, my enthusiasm was a constant. It was my fitness that continued to grow. From the beginning, I loved to run, I mean really just absolutely LOVED the sensation. I would sit in class all day, twitching and waiting, anxious to hear the bell of freedom. Within 5 minutes of school’s end, I would be hot on the trial, usually alone, smiling for no reason what so ever. Even at the tender age of 16, I would run 14,15, even 16 miles, all for the simple joy of it. Little did I know, I was laying the foundation for something truly special. As I matured I got better, rising through the ranks until I was one of the best in the state, and even the country. I would run at 5 A.M., often in the dark, pretending to be Dathan Ritzenhein or Alan Webb- runners who I would down the line race, and even beat.
Sure I had my set backs. As a senior, I went through my final XC season undefeated. I would finish races and spectators would think I’d taken a short cut, such was the amount of victory. Once this began to occur again and again, such notions were dismissed. those watching had little understanding that I had simply worked at an incredible level- in excess of 100 miles a week- all because I wanted to. Unfortunately, I suffered a stress fracture and was unable to compete in the post season championships. As always, I bounced back. I took my anguish and replaced it with my love of running, letting it fuel me to work deligently while rehabbing my injury back to health. I ultimately graduated HS with decent credentials, but not ones indicative of the future that was to come.”
Find out more about Jordan in the next interview. We will be discussing his dreams after high school, his most memorable moment while competing in college and what it meant for him to break 4-minutes in the mile.
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I want to wish Jordan the best for his upcoming track season, along with thanking him for his time!
Follow Jordan on Twitter:@JordanMcNamara
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