For most young athletes, winning a National Title at the collegiate level is only a dream. For 19-year old sprinter Justin Allen, it’s a reality.
The Mt. Vernon native recently became a National Champion at Buffalo State for his accomplishments on the indoor track team, with his time of 47.64 in the 400-meter dash. Allen also holds records at Buffalo State for the 4×2 relay (1:27.92), the 4×400 relay (3:17.10) and also holds the division III record in the 200-meter dash (21.54).
Although Allen has succeeded in winning a National Title as a sophomore, he still feels there is work to be done.
Here are some edited excerpts from our conversation regarding Allen’s success at Buffalo State.
How does it feel to be a National Champion and only be a sophomore?
Allen: It feels good. I mean, I worked really hard this year on my mechanics and everything else, but to be honest I still have a ton of work ahead of me and I feel like, even though I won the Nationals, it doesn’t make me invincible in years to come and I have to continue to improve in order to stay on top.
Do you feel that you do anything differently in your training that separates you from everyone else?
Allen: No, not really, I think that my raw talent allows me to train at a very high level during practice, and I’m always reminded from my coaches that nothing is given to you and that you have to earn everything that you get, so I would say that that motivates me to train harder in practice because I definitely think that you compete just how you practice.
Now that you have won at Nationals, what’s next?
Allen: Basically, just keep training hard and getting better every day is the plan. My ultimate goal is to one day be awarded runner of the year, an award given to one runner in the entire nation. It’s pretty much the most prestigious award you can get as a collegiate runner. I definitely feel that I’m capable of winning the award, but it’s going to take a lot of work on my part.
What specific things do you still feel you need to improve on?
Allen: Everything. There’s no part of my game that is at the level that I need it to be at right now. To be honest, I really won’t be satisfied until I feel that everything is perfect. More specifically though, I know my mechanics need a lot of work; whether it’s my take offs or how I position my feet when I run, it all needs work and those are the type of things that I need to be better at if I want to progress further in the sport.
What kind of things do you do in the off-season to help keep your body in shape?
Allen: I obviously do a lot of cardio work. I also work out a lot more than I use to; my first year here, I didn’t really lift too much and I was really weak, but now I lift a lot more and I think it has elevated my performance quite a bit. Right now, though, I’m taking a little break to let my body rest because I feel if I overwork myself and get injured, it’s not really benefitting anyone.
How long did it take to hit you that you were a national champion and what exactly went through your head?
Allen: To be honest it still hasn’t really hit me yet. It’s a huge accomplishment for me and I couldn’t be happier right now. However, it has been a bit of a distraction, because after I won the Nationals I was awarded this big trophy and when I got back to school I put it in my room. I just found myself staring at this trophy for days on end, so I eventually decided to send the trophy home to my dad’s because I felt like it was a distraction for me and I felt as though looking at nothing instead of a huge trophy would make me feel like I had won nothing, which would ultimately help me stay better focused on what I really want to accomplish.
Is there any particular person or “hero” that you accredit your success to?
Allen: I’m not really the guy who generally believes in having a hero, but my teammates were definitely a huge reason for my success this year. Even though not all of them may be superstars, they still worked there butts off in practice every day and always pushed me to be better. I have great respect for that, and I think that there is something to be said about this group of guys that I had the privilege of training alongside all year.
Michael Tellier can be reached by email at tellier.record@live.com.