A Breakthrough Season Concludes Sunday

By Scott Bush

It's been a season of success for Christo Landry. Before the 2014 season, Landry had seen plenty of success on the roads, but a national title eluded him. This year, from the gun, Landry attacked, and for a while he looked unbeatable, scoring three straight national titles over 10 Mile, 25 km and 10 km distances. Close runner-up finishes at the USA 7 Mile and USA 20 km Championships clinched the USARC overall victory for the 28 year old and now he sets his sights on the final USARC race of the season, the .US National 12K. 

We caught up with Landry this week, discussing his big season, the final race of the season and a whole lot more.

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Scott Bush (SB): You’ve had one heck of a season and it seems as though the .US National 12K is the icing on the cake, so to speak.

Christo Landry (CL): While it might be icing on the cake in terms of the USARC title (as I don’t see Tyler Pennel on the start lists), it’s another shot at a National Championship and a chance to race against one of the most loaded fields of the year on a very fast course within ten miles of where I grew up and went to high school. Just a little excited.

SB: You enter the race coming off the Chicago Marathon, where you ran a new PR and finished 13th overall. How did you feel about your race in Chicago and how have you bounced back from such a grueling effort?

CL: Chicago was a great opportunity that I didn’t take full advantage of.  I still need to work on being patient in the marathon. The relaxed, not pressing, feeling that one must be able to achieve for the first half of the marathon to be able to attack in the latter stages still seems foreign to me and it's something I need to stop fighting.  

Bouncing back has been as tough as could be expected after hitting the preverbal wall in the marathon. It took about three weeks before things started to feel back to normal, and with the mileage only in the mid 70’s, I’m starting to feel fresh again.

SB: The USARC title is so close to being yours. What does it mean to you to snag not only three national titles this season but the overall title, too?

CL: Still wrapping my head around, even though it barely exceeds some of the goals I set for myself at the beginning of the year. To have sustained success at this level is what I’ve been working towards for a while now. That being said, it’d be nice to improve on it next year.

SB: You had a chance to really test your limits over a variety of distances this year. Will you narrow down your focus as we head into a World Championship season?

CL: You won’t see me racing quite as much next year as the focus will on laying the groundwork for 2016 and two attempts (hopefully it’ll only take one) to make the Olympic Team. That being said, if I qualify for Worlds, things can be shuffled around.

SB: We asked earlier in the year about your improvement this season and you credited much of it to consistency. Giving out a little advice, how should an athlete approach their training to find such consistency?

CL: Everybody’s body is different and the key to consistency is finding out what works for you. Personally, my weakness is soft tissue issues. To keep those from cropping up I hit the weight room twice a week to strengthen my muscles, make sure to stretch for 10-20 minutes after each run, and to start taking preventative action whenever a problem starts form. If you have no interruptions in training, good things are going to happen.

SB: We get it, you run a lot, but what defines Christo Landry away from the roads and track? What are your hobbies?

CL: Well being a runner limits the things you can do in some areas such as playing pickup soccer and basketball. On the other hand, ping-pong is below my risk tolerance level for injury. Outside of sports you’ll find me playing poker, reading (Song of Fire and Ice, etc), finding all of the delicious places to eat, and even playing board games. You may notice a little bit of a competitive streak there.

SB: In one sentence, describe how you feel about your 2014 season.

CL: It’s been an exhilarating ride, one I plan on building off of for the coming years.