Utah native Jared Ward made the U.S. Olympic team by employing a strategy everyone can use: making small, incremental steps to achieve his goals.
Ward, who earned a spot on the U.S. marathon team in February, told Runner's World magazine that he never runs on Sunday because of his Mormon faith and that he took the tortoise's path to success.
"Ever since high school, where I only ran 40 miles a week, I've focused on making incremental improvements in my running. Every season, and every year, I try just to run a little more, a little harder and a little faster," Ward told Amby Burfoot of Runner's World.
At the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro in August, Ward will join two marquee names on the marathon course: Galen Rupp and Meb Keflezigh, who have both been in the Olympics before.
Ward, however, had an edge on his teammates in at least one area: He is a statistician whose master's thesis at Brigham Young University was titled "Optimal Pace Strategy in a Marathon."
In addition to his slow-but-steady approach to running, Ward took a two-year break from running while serving a two-year church mission in Pittsburgh. A BYU teammate explained to USA Today why this break was necessary:
“You have to do everything with your companion — your companion that you’re assigned to,” Jason Witt told USA Today sportswriter Roxanna Scott in November. “Even if they are willing to go out and run, the chances of them being able to go out and run even eight- or nine-minute miles is slim to none.”
Perhaps under the influence of pierogies, Ward gained 20 pounds while in Pittsburgh, but the Provo resident who is coached by Ed Eyestone weighs in at 135 now.
His 40-miles-a-week training is also a thing of the past. Ward typically runs 120 miles a week while preparing for a marathon, he told Abigail Lorge of Runner's World.
Ward, who is married and has two children, told Burfoot it was BYU coach Eyestone who encouraged him to adopt a measured approach to training.
“He suggested that I concentrate more on gradual improvement and small goals, and that I should practice feeling good when I reached them. He wanted me to run season by season and aim for continuous improvement," he said.
Those values will carry Ward to Rio in August, but he will have to make one small compromise to run there: The Olympic marathon event is on the 21st — a Sunday.
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