Q + A WITH JAMES GILREATH & COACH KRIS HARMON

Interviewed by Jim Ailshie 04.16.07

This coming Saturday in Knoxville, the Volunteer Track Classic will host, what many regard, as the greatest high school boys' 800-meter field ever assembled on Tennessee soil.

The stage will be the University of Tennessee's Tom Black track, where Bartlett High senior, James Gilreath, a recent Baylor University signee, will try, not only to win, but also to break the Tennessee boys' state 800-meter record. Gilreath defeated a strong 800 field in the Mobile Meet of Champions, clocking 1:51.39 in cool, breezy conditions earlier this month. Bookending that fine 800-meter run, Gilreath clocked 16:10 for 5K cross-country in the fall, and he has also recorded sizzling times of 47.43 in the 400 and 21.91 in the 200 this season.

Vol Classic Meet Director Marty Sonnenfeldt anticipates a barn burner.  “At present, we have three entries with legit sub-1:52 800 times,” said Sonnenfeldt.  “If the weather is favorable, it would not surprise me to see a sub 1:50."

The star-studded field includes Gilreath who has a 1:51.39 PR, recent UT signee and Nike Indoor Nationals winner, Axel Mostrag (Fork Union, VA), who has a best of 1:51.49.  Mostrag is a recent University of Tennessee signee and the reigning Nike Indoor National 800 Champion, and Chris Bilbrew (Smith Station, AL), whose 1:51.08 was the fastest indoor 800 time in the nation this past season. Rounding out the top half of the field are Jake Stevens (Mountain Brook, AL), who has clocked 1:52.63, and Drew Tucker (King, NC) who has run 1:54.39.

TR's Jim Ailshie, who set the current state record of 1:50.20 in 1981 while a senior at Dobyns-Bennett High School in Kingsport, spoke with James and his coach, Kris Harmon regarding this weekend's record attempt, the rest of the season ahead, and James’s development as one of the best high school 800 runners in the country. 

TR: What about the race this weekend at the Volunteer Track Classic?

JG: My training has prepared me well for this and I’m really excited.  My goal is to break the state record.

TR: If all goes to plan, what will you split at 400?

JG: Whatever the race dictates. I know it'll have to be fast.

TR: When/how did you get started running competitively?

JG: My sister was running when I was younger, so that's how I got started, just kind of following in her footsteps. I started when I was about 9 years old.

TR: Did you play any other sports in middle school/earlier on in high school?

JG: I played basketball when I was younger, but I stopped after my freshman year in high school.

TR: Kris, tell me about James and his work ethic.

KH: Harmon:  “Last year was my first year coaching James.  Obviously, to do what he’s done and what he’s going to do, He is very, very serious about running. If I was able to talk him into it, I promise you, if I could tell him if you run as fast as you can to that brick wall and try to run through it and it will make you run 1:48, he would honestly try to do it.”

When I first got to Bartlett and Coach Steinbrecher asked me to coach, there was a rift there regarding who was going to coach James and how we were going to coach him.  We initially did a few tests.  Now remember, this is straight off of cross-country.  All of the base training and slow training he’s had.  We did a standing broad jump, a 30 meter and 150 meter dashes.   His broad jump was 9’8”, and his 30-meter dash was a (hand timed, rounded up) 3.7 seconds, from a crouched start.  So I was like 'I’m not sure we’re doing the right thing,' so we started training him down like a 400/800 meter runner.  He had been a miler or a long distance guy the whole time.  He almost had a 10’ broad jump doing nothing but aerobic miles which is ridiculous!

TR: How many miles per week do you typically run in the fall and in the spring?

JG: During Cross-country I was normally running about 40 or so miles a week. I'm not sure how much I do during the spring. It is no where near the amount I do in the fall, because I do mainly track work then.

TR: Can you tell me what kind of training James is doing at this time?

KH: We started back in mid-January.  He was having some problems with his hips so we took some time off.  The longest distance we rep at on the track is 1000 meters, and that ends in February.  We no longer do any long runs any more.  All the aerobic conditioning comes from his warm up, cool down and active rest.  We mostly train from 200 meter to 600 meter, fast, with long recoveries. Three times a week when there is not a meet. and two times when there is a meet.  We mix in tempo runs of 200 and 300 meters throughout the week as well.  We always take two days off during the week, but never in a row.

TR: What is a benchmark track workout that you do on a regular basis to gauge your fitness or progress?

JG: On weeks that I don't have big meets, I often do a 200 workout. It consists of 3 sets of 5 x 200. I start with a 30-second 200, then drop to 29, 28, 27, and 26. After the first 200 I have 60 sec rest, then after the second one I have 55, then 50, and 45 seconds rest. After each set, I have a five minute jog recovery.

Last week, I did a somewhat similar workout consisting of 11 x 200 at 27 secs with 1 minute rest. Then I take 10 min rest, and do 9 more at the same pace with the same recovery.

TR: James, tell me about the decision you made to attend Baylor University.

JG: I talked with Tennessee, Missouri and Baylor.  I liked all three schools, but it came down to Missouri and Baylor.  They are pretty similar programs because the people are involved with the athletes.  They make sure the emphasis is on academics as well as athletics.  I just think Baylor was the better fit for me.

TR: Who is going to coach you at Baylor, Clyde Hart [arguably the best 400-meter coach on the planet] or Todd Harbour [the head cross-country coach and former 3:52 miler]?

JG: I think I will be under Coach Harbour most of the time, but we'll see.

KH: That's another funny story.  He was at the Harding Relays and he split a 46 something 400. There were a couple of people timing him, and I looked at mine and I had a 46.6, and I looked at Coach Steinbrecher and asked him what did you have and he said 46.2.  Of course James was so excited he text messaged Coach Harbour.  He made a funny statement like do you guys have video.  It was kind of like 'I believe it, but don’t believe it.'  He then runs 47.4 FAT at Cordova and he’s like 'we can’t let Coach Hart find out about this' and after the Mobile meet where he ran 1:51 he was like 'Coach Hart would like to make you a quarter miler.'  James is loving this.  He loves the 400 and those guys know what they are doing.  I’ve told James if they tell you to run the mile when you get up there, just listen to them because those guys know what they are doing and this is their life.

TR: Who did you meet during your visit to Baylor?

JG: I got to meet [2004 Olympic 400-meter champion] Jeremy Wariner.  It was pretty cool because a lot of the things he has accomplished.  I guess I was kind of star struck because I didn’t think he was going to talk to me.

Which runner do you most admire and why?

JG: Those that excelled at two distances. Alberto Juantorena because of him winning the 400 and 800 double at the '76 Olympics.  I like Michael Johnson as well because of his dominance in the 400 and 200.

TR: Will you double in the 400 and 800 at the State meet?

JG: That's one of my goals, and I think I will be able to do it as long as I have 30 minutes or so rest.

KH: We are going to do it!  There are a lot of nay-sayers but, honestly, our worry is not state;  It’s the sectional meet.  At state we have the private school and A-AA races in between and he can get more rest in between.  At sectional, it's the girls' 400 and then - bam! - James is up again. He may only get 5 minutes recovery. He wants to do it, and I’m not going to stop him. I believe he has earned it.

TR: How about time goals for this season?

KH: The goal for this season is 1:49 or under.  1:48.99 is our goal.  At the beginning of the year, the 400 state record (46.74) was not a goal, but now it is.  Everything is a goal for James.  Honestly, he thinks he can go under 21.0 in the 200.  To him, nothing is impossible.  Our major goal is making the team for the Pan-Am Junior Games in Brazil.

TR: Are there any other big races you have pencilled in for this year?

JG:  Yeah, I’ll probably do the Music City Distance Carnival on June 2nd, and the Nike Outdoor National Meet two weeks later.

I’m really looking forward to taking my three children and my wife down to Knoxville this Saturday for what I feel will be a most memorable 800 race. “I’m afraid your state record is going down,” Sonnenfeldt told me. He's threathened that before, but I believe, after talking to James, this time he may be right.

Jim Ailshie lives, writes, and runs in Rogersville, where he is a middle school assistant principal and writes for tricitiesports.com. Three years ago, at age 40, he clocked a 2:03 800m.