Woods will have special interest – and student -- in U.S. Olympic marathon trials

  • brian questel
  • June 30, 2011
  • 271
                        
070411 mattwood Promo: Kormanik’s spot in U.S. Olympic marathon trials has local connection Woods will have special interest – and student -- in U.S. Olympic marathon trials By Brian Questel When Leo Kormanik II steps onto the U.S. Olympic marathon course in Houston in January, the Akron native is doing so with a Wooster connection that has been instrumental in helping get him there. Matt Woods, who is a local exercise physiologist and distance running coach, has guided Kormanik to a berth in the 2012 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials, which will be held January 12. Kormanik qualified for the Houston race with a time of 2:18:12 at the Grandma's Marathon in Duluth, Minn., on June 18. Kormanik’s performance atoned for missing the 2008 Trials and makes him the second runner Woods has trained to reach the Olympic Trials. “Back in the 2008 Trials, Leo and another kid, Dave Gramlich, who were college teammates at Malone, ran and Leo just missed qualifying by 29 seconds. Gramlich qualified for and ran in New York City at the Olympic Trials,” said Woods. “I’ve had another kid qualify for the U.S. track nationals in the steeple chase and a couple women have qualified for the women’s marathon trials. But, I’ve worked with them to varying degrees and not exclusively, so I don’t claim them. “The ‘A’ standard for the marathon is a minute faster than in 2008,” Woods added. “There used to be a ‘B’ standard of 2:22, but they don’t have that standard. Now you have to hit 2:19 or else. They do have a half-marathon standard of 1:05 and if you hit that you can get into the marathon trials. I have some who are going to try to hit that in the fall. Right now, about 70 people have qualified in the country.” During the Grandma Marathon in Minnesota, Kormanik averaged “about 5:17 a mile for 26.2 miles, which is some quality running,” said Woods. “Leo is a unique case,” he added. “He missed the Trials by small margin a couple times. He was in chiropractic school in Atlanta for four years and I coached him long distance. He had a lot of injuries and he was not sure if he would be able to run competitively again. He graduated in March and move back to Akron and he’s working for a chiropractor in Akron. He’s working full-time and training on top of that.” Kormanik, whose wife, Jennie, is a 2:06 800-meter runner who graduated from the University of Akron, clearly rose to the occasion with his performance to get into the Houston Trials. “I hooked up with Leo in 2005 and basically I’ve coached him since that time,” said Woods. “He was the one who got me involved with Malone. He did an internship at my facility and he and Dave Gramlich thought I could do some good for the team. Presently I’m not doing anything with the team, but up until this spring I was. We won three NAIA cross country championships and I have two former Malone people who still train under me … hoping to make Olympic Trials. “One kid ran first his first marathon in Pittsburgh and ran a 2:24, so he’s on the bubble. He’s run a 1:50:50 in the half-marathon, so he’s going back in the fall and if he makes the Trials, great. If not, he’ll keep plugging away. The other kid is a steeple chaser and he’s within 10 seconds of the Olympic standard. He’s just starting to come into his own right now. I have a couple 1500-meter guys on the cusp and some marathoners. I only have one woman I’m actively coaching and I have other clients, but just not at that level.” Kormanik renewed his career in January of 2010 and “he started racing last January for the first time in two years,” said Woods. “He did some good racing on the track and over the course of the last year, he was running well in 10Ks and 5Ks and he ran a half-marathon. Then he ran in the U.S. Half-Marathon Championships in January and ran a 1:05.23 … on a course where there were turns that runners had to come to nearly a complete stop and it was changed because of complaints. “At that point, we had to decide to have a track season and come back and hit half-marathon standard, or run a full marathon,” said Woods. “He’s only run one full marathon, in 2006, when he missed it by 29 seconds in Chicago, but he had not run a marathon since. We felt based on his 10K times, some 29:50s for 10Ks and a couple half-marathons (1:06), we felt if we upped the mileage, we’d take a stab at the marathon.” “He ran in the U.S. 25K Championships in Grand Rapids, Mich., in May and he was 10th in that field behind some of best runners in the country, against some guys that potentially could be on our Olympic team,” Woods pointed out. “We knew at that point the move was right for Leo. He had been running 110 miles a week in preparation and had runs of upwards of 27 miles, so his fitness was there. The great thing was when we got to Duluth was … it was 42 degrees on the morning of the race. It was a boost to race in those type conditions. “The Grandma’s Marathon is named after a saloon which sponsors the race and they’ve had it 30-plus years. It’s one of the last legitimate opportunities Americans have to qualify for the Trials. You can run another full marathon, but you’re not going to recover by January and train for the Trials.” Kormanik was the fifth American and 13th overall in the race, which featured a strong international presence. “There were a lot of Kenyans in the race and two ran a 2:12 to tie for first,” said Woods. “Right now, Leo is one of only four Ohio males to qualify and he’s the third-fastest marathoner in Ohio.” The top three finishers at U.S. Trials will be part of the Olympic team that goes to London next August. “Realistically, we’re looking for a top-15 finish at the Trials,” said Woods. “That would be extremely good. He will be competing against the cream of the crop in the United States … and if he’s in the top 15, I’ll be very happy. We’re hoping to run a couple minutes faster by the time of the trials.” Woods is owner and operator of the SportsLab of Real Fitness, Inc. Located in Wooster, Woods provides coaching and physiological testing for runners of all ability levels. “I work with runners of all abilities and I continue to work with high school and collegiate runners,” said Woods. “I’m available to work with people in the area who are motivated and want to improve and have high goals.” Woods can be reached through his website at www.rfsportslab.com.


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