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Runners on the Way Up
Aaron Church: Tennis Ace
By Drew WoodrichNovember/December 2005
For the Washington Running Report
Aaron Church and I met at the Whole Foods coffee shop in Vienna, VA, next to the W&OD Trail on a Saturday morning. He had just finished a 21.5-mile run from Vienna to Sterling and back, during which time rain poured down. He changed into dry clothes and engaged in an enthusiastic hour-long discussion of running.
Church got his start in sports with tennis at age three. By age twelve, his parents were driving young Church to weekend tennis matches, where he competed in USTA (United States Tennis Association) Mid-Atlantic tournaments. He continued to play varsity tennis while a student at Northside High School in Roanoke, VA. In ninth grade, he attended cross-country practice and loved it, so he developed into a three-varsity-sport athlete. During the spring season, he competed with both the tennis and track teams. He attended tennis practice after school and raced with the track team, relying on his tennis conditioning. He set personal bests in the mile of about 4:35 and 10:10 in the two mile, marks which many competitive American high school boys surpass every year. He did not consider himself an outstanding runner as a teenager but flirted with the sport. He ranked in the top 15 among Mid-Atlantic region (Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia) tennis players versus being the third ranked Virginia cross-country athlete. Church continued to compete in varsity tennis at James Madison University, where indoor practices were held from 9:00 to12:00 pm. His training included weight room work and his muscular frame tipped the scales at 185 pounds.
Running fell by the wayside until five years after high school. Why did he decide to run the 1999 Disney Marathon and renew his relationship with running? Church replied in a later email: "I am not sure what it was that sparked my interest. More than likely, it was a Kona Ironman special on television. I decided to dust off the laces after not running for 5 years (since high school graduation in 1993) and started very slowly, at 10:00/mile pace. It was a matter of building; the time that had been dedicated to weight training was switched to cardiovascular training. I purchased a book, Four Months to a Four Hour Marathon by Dave Kuehls, and followed it carefully; I signed up with the Runners' World 3:50 pace group and stayed with them at the 1999 Disney Marathon until mile 20. At that point, I said, 'Wow, I am going to finish this race.' So I picked up the pace and shaved seven minutes off 3:50 in the last ten kilometers to finish in 3:43."
He enjoyed the thrilling experience in Orlando and continued to pursue running after completing his first marathon. His transformation into a fast runner sounds simple but it has required dedication and an immense investment of energy. He admits there have been times when he has pushed the envelope too far, exhausted his body with high mileage and inadequate recovery time with a 50 to 60 hour per week work schedule. He found time to run but neglected sleep--he was willing to run in the middle of the night wearing a headlamp to squeeze in a workout. His experiences with injuries since 2003 have taught him to take a day of rest if his body is weary, but the excitement of surpassing his expectations still leads him to over train at times.
Church is 30 years old and avoids running on the track; a slight discrepancy in leg length results in a torque on his hips when running curves. He prefers to use tempo runs or ladders (1 minute hard, 1 minute easy, 2 minutes hard, etc.) for sharpening. His training is "organic": a Garmin GPS watch provides feedback on pace and distance but he doesn't keep a detailed workout log. Church races a few times during the season and enters smaller events close to home in South Riding, VA. Most of his mileage is logged during early morning runs and he trains once or twice a week with Meg McLaughlin (another local 2004 Olympic Trials Marathon participant), who works nearby. He receives product sponsorship from Cliff energy bars and Brooks shoes.
His first shift in lifestyle from a former college tennis player to citizen racer whittled him into a 145 pound runner whose results improved from 35:20 in June 2001 at the Herndon 10K to 34:00 in February 2002 at the George Washington Birthday 10K, and 32:46 in August 2002 at the Leesburg 10K. His next transition as a runner occurred when he made the qualifying standard (2:22) for the Olympic Trials Marathon with a 2:21:47 at Grandma's Marathon in Duluth, MN during June 2003. His weekly mileage had already reached 90 miles per week. He wanted to push harder to improve his performance, so he hired a coach through the Carmichael Training Systems and slowly built up his mileage to 120 miles per week.
Three months after Grandma's, Church started the Marine Corps Marathon in the lead, hitting the 10K mark in 33:20 and running on pace to finish at 2:22. But his feet blistered up badly. He stopped at a medical tent so he could complete his hometown marathon in bandaged feet "on fire" in third place (2:28:24). Church was remarkably cheerful after the race, talking animatedly; he had lost the lead but displayed character. The key to a positive outlook, he advises, is treating racing as a hobby and remaining focused on career and family.
Shortly after the Marine Corps Marathon, he developed a stress fracture that severely limited his training in preparation for the Olympic Trials in February 2004. CTS helped him prepare with a cross training program to maintain aerobic conditioning using limited running; he ran only twelve days during November and December, but managed an outstanding 1:08:10 at the Haliburton (Houston) Half Marathon in January 2004. But he learned that cross training could not replace the mileage necessary to race 26.2 miles and dropped out of the Olympic Trials Marathon in Birmingham a few miles short of the finish line. Racing with the best American marathoners provided motivation, "fuel for the fire." It was a dream to compete in the Olympic Trials Marathon, a memory that remains fresh in his mind. He has a strong desire to continue training and racing although he must overcome the frustration of injuries.
Church stopped training with the CTS program, a multi-sport coaching service, and turned to a training program designed specifically for marathoners-Jack Daniels' Running Formula, a favorite book among serious long distance athletes. After a conversation with Keith Dowling of Reston, VA, he e-mailed Jack Daniels. Church also maintains ties to his high school running coach, whom he credits with teaching him the value of a disciplined work ethic.
Church has demonstrated that the marathon is his best event; his victories in shorter, local races are rare. For example, he placed seventh among local men at the 2003 Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Mile with a time of 53:17 followed by second place in the Annapolis Ten Mile in August (53:11). In August 2005, he savored a victory at the Harris Teeter Leesburg 20K in 1:06:21 and verified progress made since 2003. But the next month, he had to postpone racing plans due to another injury. His priority remains marathoning and he will again seek to bring his best effort to racing for a sub-2:22 marathon qualifying time for the 2008 Olympic Trials.
Meanwhile, Church has enrolled in a Masters degree program so he won't be tempted to spend too much time on the trails. He and his wife, also a graduate of James Madison University, are expecting a baby boy in December. Church is excited. The birth of their daughter, three-year-old Abby, forced him to stop fudging around and quickly complete daily training runs. His new role as a father has made him a better runner.