Awaiting The Baton In The Relay Exchange Zone - Profiles Of Athletes, Coaches & Legends During The War Against Corona, Profile # 33, U.S. Champion & Top NIKE American Miler Craig Engels

Jeff Benjamin and Craig Engels, photo by Jeff Benjamin

Craig Engels is one of the most popular athletes on American athletics social media, with his gutty racing, sense of humor, 1970s mustache and classic mullet hair. Mr. Engels has serious wheels, and he took out Matthew Centrowitz last outdoor season at the 2019 USATF Outdoors in Des Moines, Iowa. Engels has run an 800m in 1:44.68, 1,500m in 3:34.04, and the Mile in 3:51.60. In 2019, Craig took the 2019 USATF Indoor title at the mile, and the 2019 USATF Outdoor title at the 1,500m. In 2020, Craig took 3rd at the USATF Indoor 1,500m final in Albequerque, New Mexico.

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He is coached by Pete Julian and represented by Ray Flynn of Flynn Sports Management.

We thank Craig Engels for his time and comments to Jeff Benjamin on how to manage training in the current plague.

Awaiting The Baton In The Relay Exchange Zone – Profiles Of Athletes, Coaches & Legends During The War Against Corona

Profile # 33

U.S. Champion & Top NIKE American Miler Craig Engels

By Jeff Benjamin

Craig Engels, 1,500m, 2020 USATF Indoors, Feb 2020, photo by Cortney White

How is your daily training/coaching regimen going and how challenging has it been for you in this environment?

“To be completely honest, nothing has changed in my daily routine aside from getting to see my roommates more. We would typically run in the morning, do our supplemental core work, body work and recovery, then head home and recover until our next run. Now, I do that exact thing, but with my roommates who are my good friends.”

What advice can you give to runners, -especially youth, high school, collegiate- who are challenged during this time as well?

” We just all have to remember this is a tough time for everyone, and only the strongest willed, and most determined people are still training, working out, and getting better right now. So every step, run, workout and lift you put in, you’re getting ahead of the competition.”

Author

Jeff Benjamin
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.
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