Prior to Saturday's U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Marathon in Los Angeles we caught up with Jesse Davis, 34, of Indianapolis, Ind. to learn more about his running, how he felt when he learned he had qualified for the Trials, and his life beyond running; including, who he would most like to have lunch with, his role model, and his favorite athlete. This will be Jesse’s second Olympic Trials. At the 2012 Trials he finished 68th running 2:22:24. Davis's lifetime best marathon is 2:18:00. So let's get to know Jesse a bit better...
I manage the Runners Forum in Broad Ripple
Homemade Chili
Bob Dylan / Foo Fighters
Kurt Vonnegut
A Song of Ice and Fire (Books 1-5). Hoping to read 6 & 7 someday!
Breaking Away
Nick Arciniaga (I can't keep up but I'm a fan!)
My coach Matt Ebersole, of Personal Best Training.
Don Fisher (The voice of IU)
Dave Grohl (lead singer Foo Fighters)
My first middle school track season when I went undefeated in the 100 and 200 meter dash.
Ball State (which is where I went out of high school for two years before they cut the program), IU, Indiana State, Hanover, and Northern Florida.
Thomas Frazer (He beats me into the ground but in a good way.)
Greg Humrichouser (We always have to stop for him to use the bathroom. Just kidding Greg you know we love you!)
I wanted to do a fundraiser for my friend Scott Spitz who had just been diagnosed with Cancer. I picked a 12 hour race and people pledged money for every mile I was able to complete. I ended up with 78.4 miles and raised over $3000. The race was The Hawtthorn Half Day in Terre Haute, IN It was 1 month after I got back from my honeymoon in June of 2013. Needless to say I had not been running and had gained some weight. It was a challenge to get ready in 1 month when the furthest I had run previously was 26.2.)
A friend of mine sent me a screen shot of a Tweet saying that the USATF was looking for applicants for the 50 km world champs. I have been interested in doing more ultras for years, so I went ahead and applied a few days before the deadline. Initially I was named the first alternate, but later someone backed out and I was on the team.
The whole last 10 km I knew it would be close. At 26 miles I saw I was 10 seconds faster than 26 at Chicago when I ran 2:18:13. At that point I knew I had to give everything I had because I will never forget how bad it felt after Chicago to just miss the time.
It will be hot, so I want to race smart and hard, and hopefully place better than expected because I had a good plan.
In Chronological Order: