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|  Passion + Desire + Focus = Chris Banks By George Banker September/October 2003 For the Washington Running Report
The making of an athlete does not occur overnight and each
individual defines the level of performance. It takes passion
and desire to maintain motivation. When workouts are intense,
one's social life is reduced to near zero. The backdrop to
training is academics and the athlete must maintain a balance.
Chris Banks attended West Springfield High School in Virginia.
His father, who has been running for more than 40 years, was a
catalyst in getting his interest level up. Running was a byproduct of playing soccer, which is very
popular in the Northern Virginia area. At the age of 14, as a
freshman, he set out on his journey, which continues today. The
unanswered question, "How good can I be?" In this sport, success is measured in distance, minutes and
seconds. There have been countless hours and many miles run
trying to change the outcome of each running event. While at
West Springfield, during his junior and senor years, he was
selected for the Washington Post All-Met cross county team. In
1995, he placed 20th (15:45.7) at the Footlocker XC Nationals.
He was a top qualifier (3rd, 15:34.3), 1995 Kenny/Footlocker
Southeast Region. His high school team won five Virginia state
championships (three in cross-country and two in track). The transition to Princeton University revealed higher stakes
and stronger competition. In order to remain competitive,
Banks' mental focus had to shift. The workouts were more
intense and there was more travel and a greater demand on
finding the balance between athletics and academics. On the
track, his performance was improving, but no race was ever a
runaway. The one consistent point is that he always learned
something new, which was added to his "mental toolbox." Banks, in school year 1997-98, ran a team-best of 14:37 in the
outdoor 5000 at IC4As, and finished with a team best of
29:59.93 at 10,000 meters at the Penn Relays. He ran the fifth
all-time best in the 3000 at the H-Y-P meet (8:21.12). As a junior, Banks set the school record and course record for
five miles in 24:29 at Princeton Battlefield in September 1998.
In 1998-99, he qualified for NCAAs in 10,000 meters with a
personal best 29:50 and third all-time best at Princeton. Other
highlights: 2nd (14:45.97) Heptagonal Games 5000 meter Run, Univ. of Penn.
(5/00). Since leaving Princeton, his focus is running; a full-time
career is on hold. The next runner will always cause him to dig
a little deeper on the track or on the road. The pain threshold
will be raised and the competition will force out the best. The marathon is his focus now, and this will cause his mileage
to range from 95 to 130 miles per week. He will usually train
hard for 16 weeks leading up to the race and then take a couple
of weeks to recover after the race. He always likes to have a
good dose of high mileage. Time management and trade-offs are important and are viewed
as "sacrifices" as he states, "There are certainly sacrifices
that have to be made in your personal life if you are serious
about your training and racing. Personally, I've found that the
three most important factors to staying healthy and training
well are getting enough sleep, eating well, and staying
hydrated. If you want to achieve your potential you've got to
stay focused on your goals." His work at Georgetown Running Company has been flexible enough
to permit daily training runs, but some days it is difficult to
get out of the door. But, he says, "That's life." Will running get him to Easy Street? "At this point in my life,
work is a means to an end - professional running is not exactly
a lucrative sport, so work pays the bills. I've got the rest of
my life to pursue a 'real career,' but for the time being I'm
content to pursue my running goals and to just see just how far
I can make it in the sport," said Banks. His immediate goal is to place in the top ten at the 2004 U.S.
Olympic Marathon Trials and to continue to improve. His general
objective in approaching a race: "It really depends on the
race. Some races you run to try to achieve a fast time, and
other times you are simply racing to win. The key is to be
realistic about what your goals are going into the race and to
stay focused on executing your race plan while not getting
caught up with what other people are doing." A Banks observation for all runners, "To continue improvement
in your running, it will take consistency and patience. It
takes years for your body to adapt to running, but the benefits
are countless." What happens when you miss your mark? "It can be a little
disappointing when you don't achieve your objectives, but the
most important thing is to keep it all in perspective and
realize there will always be another day to run. For me, the
journey is just as important as the destination. Yeah, it's
always nice to have a good day and race to your expectations,
but if you judge yourself solely on your race results, then I
think you are missing the bigger picture. It's really more
about trying to achieve your potential as an athlete, as a
person-overcoming obstacles and expanding what you thought were
your personal limits, both physically and mentally." The Banks philosophy translates into road performances like the
following: 1st (31:18) St. Patrick's Day 10K (3/03). Banks trains at Lake Accotink in Virginia, in Rock Creek Park
in DC, and on trails near Georgetown University. You have read about Chris Banks, but when you are next to him
in a race, don't get caught up thinking about what is he going
to do next. It's too late; he has done it already! Best wishes; stay strong, and run well. Your PRs are still out
there and you will discover how far you can go in this sport.
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