 
Custom Search              NTERVIEWSWHERE ARE THEY NOW? JAMEY GIFFORD Jamey Gifford was a stand-out runner for Baylor School in Chattanooga. He graduated from Baylor in 1997 and attended Stanford University, where he ran cross-country and track for the Cardinals. While at Baylor he was a AAA 6-time state champion - winning the cross-country title in 1994, 1995, and, on the track, winning the 1600m in 1996,and both the 1600m and 3200m in 1997. He recorded times of 4:12.30 for 1 mile and 9:07.92 for 2 miles, performances that rank him #5 and #8 all-time among Tennessee high school runners. He was also a Foot Locker National Cross-Country qualifier. Jamey's sister Debby was also a 2-time state champ for Baylor , winning the Div.II cross-country title in 1997 and following that up with a win at 1600m the following spring. Jamey now lives in San Francisco with his wife Dana. Born: January 27, 1978
Races that you recall with the most fondness: The race that jumps in my mind from high school was the Foot Locker National Cross Country Championship my junior year. My big goal for the season was to qualify for nationals, but hadn’t given much thought to where I might finish. I had the top 15 in mind, which would mean All-American status, but really wasn’t sure if I even belonged in the race. When My favorite race from college was the 1998 NCAA Cross Country nationals as a red-shirt freshman. I worked really hard to make the final spot on the team. For most the race, I hovered just inside the top 100, but with about 2 miles to go I see our 5th runner falling back and struggling. This really flipped a switch because I knew the team needed me to take over as our 5th runner. I ran as hard as I could all the way to the finish and moved up to 62nd place, and helped the team finish a close 2nd. My best post-college race was the Humboldt Redwoods Half Marathon last fall. Previously I had struggled to run longer races because I’m just not able to run the mileage I used to. Leading into the race I got my mileage as high as 60 miles a week, and made tempo runs a much bigger part of my training. During the race there was a good group of runners hitting 5:20 to 5:30 miles. I ran hard the whole way and finished 6th in 1:11:08. Who was your biggest training/racing influence? It’s impossible to name just one person. Larry Hale coached me most of the way through Baylor, and he pushed me to be very tough. My teammate Jeff Edmonds was 2 years ahead, and he always ran with a lot of passion. At times we were rivals, but later very good friends. My senior year Van Townsend arrived as the new coach and Baylor, and he really took the foundation that Larry helped me build to take my running to a new level. At Stanford I was influenced by all my teammates. Seeing guys like Jonathon Riley, Gabe Jennings, Michael Stember, and Brad Hauser make the Olympics took the mystery out of what it took to get to that level. I got to see what they did everyday. Finally I have to mention my parents because they provided so much encouragement and support. No one believed in me more than they did. What are you currently up to? I’ve been living in San Francisco since I graduated from college in 2002 working for Wells Fargo the whole time. I’m currently a portfolio manager for Overland Advisors, which is a hedge fund that Wells Fargo runs. I got married to my wife Dana just over a year ago, and definitely enjoying married life. My other main hobbies are skiing and piloting small airplanes. You still stack up pretty well on the TN All-Time High School Lists, but Tennessee has come a long way in the last 10 years or so. Your thoughts? I think it’s really cool, and the best part for me is how many of these runners are from Baylor! When I was in high school, the top guys in Tennessee were trying to win state championships, but at meets like the Foot Locker regionals, the Tennessee runners were way behind guys from states like Texas and Virginia. Now the bar is so much higher, and guys are really trying to run at the national level instead of just being the best in the state. Bumbalough just took everything to a new level, and Baylor has had some huge performers like Oliver Townsend and Brandon Lord. I think it has to be pretty intimidating to look at the Baylor school record board now! What are your future running goals? Well, after feeling pretty burned out by the end of college, running is now a lot of fun for me again. So I just want to keep improving from where I am now, but still enjoy the sport when I get older and start slowing down. In terms of time goals, I’m hoping to run a sub 70 minute half marathon, a sub 2:30 marathon when I move up to that distance, and to get my 5K time from the high 15 minute range where I am now to the low 15 minutes. My stretch goal is to win the Dipsea Race someday. Competitive PBS: College: 1500m: 3:50.84; 3000m Steeplechase: 9:14.61; 5000m: 14:35.83; 10,000m: 31:50.33 High School: 1500m: 3:52.75; 1600m: 4:10.84c; 1 Mile: 4:12.30; 3200m: 9:04.47; 2 miles: 9:07.92 Achievements: Placed 8th in the 10,000 meters at the Pac-10 Championships after running the steeplechase earlier in the evening. Placed 21st (#5 for Stanford) at Pac-10 Cross-country championships in 1999.
Jamey's blog at http://trackgiff.blogspot.com/
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the field didn’t take off and leave me behind, I just tried to work my way through the field, and after a furious kick, crossed the line in 8th place. It was a huge surprise and gave the confidence I could run at the national level.
