"Flow is a harmonious experience where mind and body are working together effortlessly. It lifts a performance from the ordinary to the optimal."

--Flow in Sports by Susan Jackson & Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Human Kinetics, 1999

In October 2006, Christopher Raabe placed tenth in the Under Armour Baltimore Marathon with a time of 2:20:58 and qualified for the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials-Men's Marathon to be held this November in New York City. We discussed his running on Saturday, July 14 at a Starbucks in the Foxhall neighborhood.

Christopher Raabe is patient and soft-spoken. On July 4, Chris won the Cure Autism Now 5K (15:32) in Potomac, MD after placing second the previous three years. He stayed for the post-race awards ceremony with his mother and a couple of friends. On a rainy Thanksgiving morning in 2004, he won the 2004 B-CC YMCA Turkey Chase 10K (32:37) and waited with his father (and fellow racer) on a muddy field as NBC 4 personality I.J. Hudson quipped jokes and recognized top finishers.

Social Studies

Christopher Raabe (28) currently lives in Washington, DC and trains on the cool, shaded trails of Glover Archibald Park. He grew up in Sauk Rapids near St. Cloud, MN, which is northwest of Minneapolis/St. Paul. His father, Bill Raabe (52) is a top ranked local age group runner. In 1989, Bill Raabe started running to improve his fitness and Chris ran with him for fun. (Bill was a runner in high school.) Chris also played a little bit of tennis as a boy. Chris participated in cross-country and track during his four years of high school (enrollment size: 1200 students).

He insists that he began as a slow runner, a back-of-the-pack varsity athlete. He found running to be a difficult activity, but one could improve through practice, and progress in the sport can be measured with a stopwatch.

Chris participated in other after-school activities but most of his friends were runners; conversations were a routine feature of practice. Minnesota is known for its extremely cold winters, but he continued running with friends during the off-season winter months. He performed better in cross-country than in track; he finished fourth overall (or so) at the state cross- country meet his senior year.

Midwest Roots

He continued competitive running at North Dakota State University and graduated with a double major in physics and classic languages. The NDSU program is led by Coach Don Larson, who has experience and a record of success at the NCAA Division II level. NDSU was ranked #1 for outdoor track & field in 2001 with Chris contributing in the 5000M (15:04) and 10,000M (30:48).

Chris started slowly as a collegiate racer; he attributes those poor results (such as a 5000M track race he finished in more than 17 minutes) to mental rather than physical factors. Chris persisted on the team instead of quitting; he didn't want to end his running on a bad note. Sophomore year, he got his "head straight" and his times became competitive. By senior year, his fitness was good and running was easier, but his race times were only slightly faster.

Plans Change

Chris began physics graduate studies at George Washington University in 2002, but soon ran out of funds. He tended bar for seven months before landing a job at the U.S. Patent Office, where he has worked for 2.5 years. As a runner, he disliked the smoke and late night work. It was a relief to find employment that covers living expenses and offers a flexible work schedule that allows afternoon training. So he sacrificed the challenge of advanced science research and replaced it with an opportunity to test himself as a marathoner.

He attempted Grandma's Marathon in Duluth, MN a few years ago but dropped out with an Achilles problem. The Under Armour Baltimore Marathon was a decent race for him (1:10:30 at 13.1 miles), although he made a mistake when he went with a fast group running sub-5:00/mile splits (2:11 pace) after the half. He raced the 2007 Chevron Houston Marathon in January 2007 but dropped out (32:58 at 10K, 1:09:15 at 13.1 M, 1:38:49 at 30K or 2:19 pace). He won the Wirefly National Half Marathon in March and returned to Grandma's Marathon in June, where he "fell apart" a bit in the warm weather while placing 12th in 2:22:32 (32:38 at 10K, 1:08:43 at 13.1M, final 10K of 35:54). The marathon is tricky because a runner has to make pacing decisions as fatigue sets in and rational thinking becomes more difficult. But Chris has the potential to run faster; Ben Cooke at Georgetown Running Company and Wilson Komen are optimistic about the possibilities.

Basics

During the buildup to a long race, Chris runs twice a day while logging 115-130 miles per week, and goes to a track once a week for a hard workout. He started training with Wilson Komen in 2006; Wilson is fast and experienced, with sub-2:18 marathons on his resume. He's also a "good person." Wilson has taught Chris the importance of taking it easy on slow runs and easing into hard runs during the first miles to prevent injury. Slow runs make it easier to run fast on hard days; recovery time is important. Running with a training partner makes it easier to go fast and stay relaxed; it takes practice to "run fast comfortably." During the final two months before a marathon race, Chris is more careful to allow plenty of time between demanding sessions.

Chris uses plyometric drills but does little stretching. His flexibility bears too much resemblance to a cinder block, although he has a PT to improve that situation. He stopped tracking his training in a logbook because there were frustrating episodes of ugly race results. He eats meat sparingly and has cut back on starch consumption from college days, when he claims to have eaten six bowls of cereal for breakfast. He eats few snacks at work (dried cranberries) to avoid stomach problems during afternoon training. His lean build is well suited to long distance. His most unique training resource is training partner Wilson Komen (currently coming back from a nagging hamstring injury). Chris reads few published runner interviews because everyone uses the same method: high mileage and hard work.

Christopher Raabe races sparingly; he ran a personal best at the Philadelphia Distance Run (half marathon) on September 16 (1:05:06 with splits of 30:35 at 10K, and 49:32 at 10 miles). He e-mailed this comment on his performance: "I was hoping to run a little faster, but it's a PR, so I shouldn't complain too much." In Central Park on November 3, he wants to do well and avoid embarrassment on a national stage. The challenging New York City hilly loop course with twists will test every man in the field. Fans have several local reasons to cheer (named Christopher, Jacob Frey, Chris Graff, Eric Post, and Michael Wardian).