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St. Louis Track Club Men's Elite Mile BRIAN LYONS
Thanks! Everything is going really well right now. We had a great event with the GO! St. Louis Marathon and Family Fitness Weekend, then our son, Lukas arrived 2 weeks later and both he and Margaret are doing very well. Training for me has really just begun, but I feel fresh and excited for a new training segment and racing season. I've hit some key workouts while preparing for this weekend and I'm feeling stronger every day. 2. Many of the runners in this field are full-time runners or spent some time as a full-time runner at some point in their post-collegiate careers. As someone with a lot of talent do you ever wish you would have joined one of the training groups around the country? I think about it every day – but after college I didn't have plans to run competitively any longer. I moved to St. Louis in 2004 and kept running, but not really training for anything for the next two years. In 2006 I followed workouts from Mike Nelson and trained with Ben Rosario for the Twin Cities Marathon. I have a great balance with work, family, and running. I can't go out of town every weekend for a race so I just have to be selective on which races I want to compete in. I also couldn't train as much as I do without an extremely supportive wife. 3. You have come a long way from your high school days at tiny Purdy , MO. Does your small-town upbringing and the fact that you ran at the Division II level sometimes give you a little mental edge in races? Coming from a small town and small university I've always felt like the underdog going into a race. I like being in that position. 4. As a Saint Louisan you will likely have a lot of people pulling for you to run well on Saturday. What are your goals for the race? Right now I feel that I'm on the upswing in my training. I may not be at peak performance by this weekend but I feel that every workout so far has been a progression. This weekend I want to be in the mix. I'm not going for the win or anything but I'll be shooting for a personal best. 5. What other races do you have planned after the Festival of Miles? This is a great time of year to be fit and race ready. There are a lot of great races coming up. I would like to get on the track for a 5k and will have to seek out an opportunity as track races are hard to find this time of year in this area. After that I plan on doing the Steamboat Classic 4 mile in Peoria, IL in June, then finish the segment off with the Macklind Ave Mile. Hopefully my fitness will continue to improve and I can make this a long season. 6. How much of a difference does it make for you as an athlete to have a really big crowd at race? I love the energy that a crowd brings. You don't get that very often as a runner. This is a special event that a lot of people are passionate about. St. Louis is a sports town and being a player at a sporting event with a big, energetic crowd – well you can't ask for much more than that. 7. Finally, knowing who is in the race and knowing your own fitness level how do you see the race playing out on Saturday without giving away any secret strategies of course! *** |
West County |
1. Brian, first of all congratulations on becoming a dad…again! Also congratulations on a very successful GO! St. Louis Marathon and Family Fitness Weekend. Being the race director for a big city marathon and having your second child in a three week span probably didn't do wonders for your training. How have things been going and what is your fitness level like right now? 
