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As Stanford gears up for the Western Regional meet this Saturday, it should come as no surprise that Ian Dobson will help lead the charge. Dobson, a junior, knows what it takes to win team championships. While at Klamath Union HS in Oregon, Dobson led his team to 2 State titles and earned himself 2 Individual State 4A titles along the way. During his senior year, he finished third at the Footlocker National XC Championships in Orlando, FL. Dobson has since brought his talents to Palo Alto where he immediately became an integral part of the team. He has taken two trips to the NCAA XC Championships and was an All-American in 2001 (20th). He also made his mark on the track last spring by placing 3rd at Pac-10s in the steeplechase and by qualifying for the NCAA Championships in the 10K with a time of 29:06. He has been a part of US Junior National teams, which have taken him to Belgium and Argentina. Dobson continues to shine (maybe even a bit brighter) this year as he has finished a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in his 3 races. Dobson and his teammates are hoping to return from Indiana on the 25th with a National Title in their hands. Until then, Ian was kind enough to talk to us and share some insight on Stanford’s program and his own successes.
Background Info:
Name (Nickname?): Ian Dobson, "Hippie"
Age: 20
Hometown: Klamath Falls, OR
High School: Klamath Union HS
College: Stanford University
Major: Political Science
Collegiate PR’s: XC 10K-29:53, 8K-23:30 TRACK 10K-29:06, 5K-14:07, 3K Steeple-9:03, 3K-8:04
Major Achievements: 2001 XC All-American (20th), 2002 Track NCAA qualifier in 10K
Favorite Athlete: N/A
Favorite Quote: N/A
(Run Much) Congratulations on a great season so far. Winning the Stanford Invite, 3rd at Pre-Nats, and 2nd at Pac-10’s. Has the season been shaping up the way you expected? What are your team and individual goals for this post season?
(Ian Dobson) The season has really been going just the way I expected it too. I think I’ve made a jump from the level I was at last year, but it really hasn’t been a surprise to me or my coaches. As far as goals for the rest of this season, I expect we will do very well. I think our team should win the West Regional, and at Nationals our goal is to win. I truly think we have the best team and that if we just do our thing, we will win. As far as individual goals, I have none for the regional besides just doing what needs to be done to move on. At nationals I want to be in the top ten.
(RM) At the Stanford invite you ran unattached. Why is that? Were you uncertain if you were going to compete in uniform this year?
(ID) I ran unattached at the Stanford invite just to be safe. My training has been much more in preparation for this season than ever before, so I guess I was at risk of injury. I was up over 100 mpw, compared to 80s in the past, so we weren’t quite sure how I would respond to that. I was certain that I would compete this year as long as I was healthy and rested, but because I still have the option of red shirting, I was able to take some chances with training this summer.
(RM) Speaking of, what kind of training did you do over the summer in order to prepare you for this season? Does Coach Lananna give you a program to go by with specific workouts, or are you on your own?
(ID) I was home in Klamath Falls most of the summer. It’s a good place to train because there are lots of good trails and it’s at a bit of altitude (4200 feet). We have workouts that Coach gives us, but summer is a time to be flexible. He isn’t so caught up in making sure we do anything on a specific day, he just wants to make sure we get in a couple good sessions a week, hit our mileage, and get a good long run. I ended up getting a fracture in my heel, so I didn’t get going until like July. I worked my way up in mileage, until in August and September I had maybe five or six weeks between 100-110 mpw. I was able to handle that and do some good workouts, so it was a successful summer. The last three weeks of summer, our team goes up to Mammoth Lakes, where we were all able to get in some really good training.
(RM) With Stanford being ranked #1 in the latest national polls and the University of Colorado’s loss of Dathan Ritzenhein this season (stress fracture), does that help with your teams confidence level going into Regionals and Nationals?
(ID) I’ve been pretty confident all along about our chances at nationals this season. Certainly Colorado would have been a good team with Dathan, and they are good even without him, but I think our greatest competition may be Arkansas. I don’t know as much about them, but I am sure they will be very good as always. That aside, I would be surprised if anyone beats us if we run the way we are capable of. At risk of sounding over confident, I think we have a very good team with a bunch of guys who will run well no matter what.
(RM) How about the future of the Stanford team? Many of the best High School recruits continue to join the deeply talented Cardinal ranks.
(ID) I think people are realizing that Stanford isn’t just a place where guys go and get lost in the mix. Coach Lananna is a very good coach by any standard which is why he will continue to have success. Stanford has the additional appeal of having great academics, which means it probably appeals to a lot of people. Basically, I think Stanford is turning into a headquarters for US distance running. This is because of good coaching, good meets, good training groups, and good facilities.
(RM) What were some of the reasons that you chose Stanford over, say, University of Oregon (your hometown State)? What were some of your other college options?
(ID) I guess I chose Stanford for the reasons mentioned above. It was more than just that it looked good on paper, though. The mentality of the team is very condusive to running fast and the team works well together. My three top college choices were Oregon, Wisconsin, and Stanford. I would recommend all three as good programs with good coaches and I had good trips to all three. I’m pretty sure I would have been happy at any of these, but I knew for sure if I went to Stanford I would have a ton of great training partners and pretty much everything else I needed to run fast. I still feel this way. I’m confident that I wouldn’t be running faster if I was anywhere else.
(RM) What is Coach Vin Lananna’s basic coaching philosophy?
(ID) The way I look at it, Coach Lananna’s training philosophy is pretty simple. For a distance runner like me, it is to run about as many miles as our bodies can handle, which is different for everybody. We do a lot of threshold work like fartleks and pace runs most of the year, with a good amount of strides, plyometric-type exercises, and a bit of lifting, but not much. The emphasis is on getting in a lot of good sessions rather than killing yourself once a week.
(RM) What was a typical training week like for you during XC season?
(ID) A typical week involves 11 or 12 sessions, which are broken down into 4-5 morning runs, two workouts (fartlek, pace run, etc.), one long run, and the rest training runs. Usually two or three of these are easy recovery runs, the rest are done at a reasonable effort.
(RM) Would you say you are more of a track guy or cross country guy?
(ID) Right now I’m more of a cross country guy, but I’m working on that. Cross country is fun, but track is really what is important. If I want to run after college I need to be a good track runner. I think I get too caught up in how I’m feeling on the track. I need to get better at just getting out and racing, which I think I do a better job of in cross.
(RM) How did you get started with running? And what keeps you going?
(ID) I got started running in grade school on our school track team back in fourth grade. I run for a number of reasons, but it’s really pretty simple. I’m good at it, which makes it fun, and I truly enjoy the sport. It’s a pure sort of thing, which I like. I like that it is simple. I can go out and run some awesome trails and go cool places and that’s what I enjoy doing. I have met most of my favorite people through running.
(RM) What has been your most memorable running accomplishments or races so far??
(ID) My most memorable accomplishments are easy. The first is from back in high school when my team won the state championship my senior year. The other is last years NCAA cross country championships, which we got second at. Both are examples of teams coming together and running great. It was disappointing to lose such a close race last year, but we really did run well.
(RM) Who has been the biggest influence on your running? (Family, coach, athlete, etc??)
(ID) The biggest influences on my running are my high school coach, Marnie Mason and some of the guys I have run with here at Stanford, like Jonathon Riley, Gabe Jennings, Chris Emme, Grant Robison, and Louis Luchinni, to name a few. My coach in high school taught me what this is all about. She gave me my first look at what it takes to be a good runner. The teammates I mentioned have influenced me by showing me what it’s like to run hard. Those are some tough dudes who really know how to race.
(RM) Have you thought about your plans after college and your long-term running goals ?
(ID) My long-term running goals and plans for after college are pretty much the same. It all depends on how I improve as a runner, but I would really like to continue running after college. Running is the one thing I really love doing so I will continue to run as long as I am improving. As far as specific goals, I want to be in a position where I can compete for a spot on our next Olympic team. To be in that position will mean at least running times like under 28:00 for 10k and under 13:30 for 5000m.
(RM) Wow, that sounds great! So, besides running, where do you see yourself in the next 5 years?
(ID) Besides running I could definetly see myself coaching in five years. I think I'll have a good sense of what makes a good runner by the time I'm done running at Stanford, so I think I could do a good job. I'm majoring in poli-sci, but I really don't know what I'll do with that. I'm also in my third year of taking Swahili. I'd like to incorporate that into the picture somehow, by spending time over in East Africa, whether it be for running or something else like education. Basically, I can't see myself ever getting totally away from running, so whatever I do, it will have something to do with the sport.
(RM) Three years of Swahili? Awesome! What are some of your other interests or hobbies, outside of running?
(ID) I like watching movies and reading. This year I started cooking a lot which I really like. My roommates and I do all our own cooking which is a good way to relax and it let's us have a much healthier diet than if we ate in a dining hall. I also like listening to music and just talking with my friends.
(RM) Do you have any advice for other runners out there? (College, Injuries, Training, etc.)
(ID) I think the best advice I could give is to decide how
important running is and stick with that. If running
isn’t your first priority that’s fine, but then don’t
say it is. To be really good it has to be a way of
life which you are totally bought into. More
specifically, for someone choosing a college, I think
you should go somewhere which reflects your level of
commitment. You will have the best experience if you
and your coaches and teammates are all on the same
page as far as what you’re trying to do. For a person
who is really committed, I think the best thing they
can do is find out what the Africans are doing that
makes them good and try to do that. I think Americans
aren’t afraid to work hard, but most of us just don’t know
what to do. By incorporating certain plyometrics and
different cycles of training, I think our program here
at Stanford is doing a good job of learning from these other
training programs that have produced better results
than a more traditional American program of doing lots
of slow miles and a couple of interval days.
As far as injuries go, I have had my share. I think
what has allowed me to train at a high level recently
without getting hurt is partly that my body is
naturally just developing and becoming more durable.
In addition to just developing, I take lots of ice
baths and I stretch a lot more than ever before. It
seems to me that one of the biggest problems people
have when dealing with injuries is not letting them
heal fully. If an injury is not healed, it can lead
to more serious problems down the road, like
messing with your biomechanics which will cause lots
of problems.
(RM) Thank you so much Ian for a great interview. I wish you and your team the best with the remainder of the season.
(ID) Thanks!
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