Jeff Benjamin and Todd Williams, photo by Jeff Benjamin
It was in November of 1991 that I saw Todd Williams defeat Pat Porter in Franklin Park, in Boston, MA. His win at the 1991 US Championships preceeded his run in the World Cross Country. In his long career, Todd Williams ran 8:14.58 for 2 miles, 13:19.51 for 5000m and 27:31.34 for the 10,000m, as well as 2:11.17 for the marathon. A fine runner, Todd now focuses his energy on Run Safer, a company that he developed to empower women about safety issues.
Todd Williams was always a fine interview. We always enjoyed his candor, sense of humor and well, focus. We thank Todd for corresponding with Jeff Benjamin on training in the current era.
Awaiting The Baton In The Relay Exchange Zone – Profiles Of Athletes, Coaches & Legends During The War Against Corona
2-Time Olympian & 2–time United States cross country champion Todd Williams
Todd Williams and his famous ad (originally adidas ad in 1995)
1)How is your daily training routine doing and how challenging has it been for you in this environment?
“I’ve honesty kept my same routine(just my wife and I)…. I train or teach(my wife) 2 x per day…. same time. I own a Jiu Jitsu school in Michigan MonroeJiuJitsu.com and I really miss my students but I’m in contact with them daily to give them workouts and make sure they are doing ok!”
2) What advice can you give to runners, -especially youth, high school, collegiate- who are challenged during this time as well.
“Stick to a routine and have goals each and everyday…. reach out to other positive people and motivate one another…. this situation is what it is BUT we can still accomplish something good each and everyday!”
Todd Williams at the LaSalle Bank Banks Chicago Marathon, photo from Chicago Marathon media
To learn more about Todd Williams, please read this: https://www.runblogrun.com/2015/03/todd-williams-interview.html
Author
Jeff Benjamin has written for 30 years for American Track and Field along with RunBlogRun. The Former President of the Staten Island AC & Chair of the Staten Island Running Association was the 5th man scorer for his Susan Wagner High School NYC XC City Championship team. Also a member of the College of Staten Island Sports Hall of Fame for XC, Jeff currently serves as the LDR Chairman for USATF NY. A passionate (or fanatical) follower of the Sport, some of Jeff's subjects have included Sebastian Coe, Emma Coburn, Eamonn Coghlan, Matt Centrowitz, Jim Spivey, Galen Rupp, Joe Newton, Tom Fleming, Ajee’ Wilson, Bill Rodgers, Allan Webb, Abel Kiviat, Jordan Hassay, Marty Liquori, Caster Semenya, Rod Dixon, Carl Lewis and Jim Ryun as well as Book Reviews and articles covering meets and races in the Northeast U.S.
View all posts