Jacob Thomson, senior at Holy Cross in Louisville finished 4th overall in the Arcadia Invitational 3200m Run with a KY All-Time #2 8:48.73. He is a multi-time Kentucky State Champion in track and XC. He has earned All-American honors as well in XC and was the New Balance Outdoor Nationals 5000m Run Runner-Up last year.
This trip to California started just like any other. We flew out Thursday morning and, with the time change, arrived in the early afternoon. Traveling with me was my mom and grandma. Pat Gregory and his dad went out with us, too. Pat and I have known each other since I was in the 3rd grade. We went to the same grade schools and our moms work together. We have gotten pretty close over the last year and a half, and we do pretty much everything from running to fishing together. It’s funny because we both come from almost the same backgrounds. We both played competitive AAU baseball throughout grade school. Pat came out and ran the middle school state championships for us his 7th grade year because we had a kid who couldn’t make it to the meet. Needless to say the rest is history, and he picked up running pretty quickly.
Friday Pat and I woke up and ran. We were still getting adjusted to the time change. We knew we would be running around midnight our time, but fortunately we were on spring break so we had been staying up a bit later anyways. We went to the mall and hung out for awhile then headed to the Santa Anita race track to catch a few horse races. It was nice to relax and not have to be focused on running for awhile. We had some Olive Garden for dinner and then went to bed.
Saturday we headed to check out Hollywood Blvd. It was pretty cool; it was one of those things you have to do once while you’re there, but only once. Hollywood can be a very cheesy place. We headed back to the hotel to rest up and catch the Louisville game. Sam Wharton and Jack Keelan walked over from their hotel and watched the game with us. The Cards game me a scare early on but pulled it together in the end.
I headed to the track at 7p.m., just in time to catch Sarah Baxter win the girls’ 3200. I had time to catch up with some of my long distance friends. One of the great things about getting to go to these big meets is that you start to meet a lot of people and make connections and strong friendships that will continue into college and beyond. After catching up, it was time to start my warm up. I did my run and caught most of Pat’s race while I was stretching and doing drills. Before I knew it, I was in the check in tent lacing up my spikes once again, with Jacob Burcham sitting to my left and Jake Leingang and Bernie Montoya sitting right behind me. We all sat in silence before they called us out to do some strides while the 200s were finishing up. The feeling was in the air and you could see the message in everyone’s eyes, it simply said, “Game on.” This was one of the first times I came in as one of the favorites but surprisingly enough I wasn’t too nervous, just another plus of attending these type of meets throughout my career.
The gun went off and 30 guys took off around the first turn. I got in a decent position and put it on cruise control with the rest of the pack. After we came through the 1600 split I was a bit disappointed when I looked over and saw the clock ticking 4:32-4:33. This was the fourth time I have broken the 9:00 barrier and not a single time have I been out faster than 4:33. If you took the top 12 guys from that race and had them go through in 4:25 or under I bet it would be insanely fast. We wouldn’t run such a huge negative split but we would all have a much better chance at the 8:40 barrier. I buckled up the last 1000 meters and held onto the front pack. I felt decent in the race, but I certainly didn’t feel great. I went around a pack with 400 to go and kept moving up with 300 to go. With 200 to go I could feel a group moving behind me. I put my head down and focused on Bernie as he and Ben had started to pull away. I ended up closing in 57.26 to run 8:48.73.
I was happy with my performance, but the first thing I did was walk over to my phone and look up Bobby Curtis’ time. I knew he had run 8:48 but I wasn’t sure on the decimals. I saw that I had just missed it and that deflated everything a bit. Nevertheless, it was a great season opener. I moved just ahead of Chris Derrick on the All-Time 3200 list; if that is a sign of things to come I will welcome them with open arms. Sunday I rewatched the race a few times and studied the splits a bit more. I found exactly where I made a key mistake that kept me from having a better shot to win the race. With 1000 to go, a big pack, that included both Bernie and Ben, swallowed me up and I shifted back. It took me too long to break out and swing back around. I always try to learn from my races and become a better racer. I was impressed with the race Blake Haney ran; he sat in a great spot most of the race and finished very strong. I definitely will take at least one more shot at Bobby’s time though. Whether it be at Eastern Relays or New Balance Nations is still undecided.
By the same we left the meet, it was very late. Pat and I showered and went to pick up Sam Wharton and Jack Keelan. Everywhere we tried to eat was closed. We ended up at BJ’s. I think just about everyone in the place had come from the meet. We had a nice dinner and headed back to the hotel. I iced my leg and then went to bed. My lower right calf flared up two weeks ago, which prevented me from running the 5000 at the Raleigh Relays. It was nothing too serious; I just got a little carried away in a speed workout the Tuesday before the Raleigh Relays and felt a pain the next day. So we backed off for a few days to make sure I didn’t jeopardize the Arcadia trip.
Sunday I woke up and went to church with my mom and grandma. Then Pat and I headed out to Griffith Park, the site of the Hollywood sign. It had to be the worst 70 minute run of my life. There wasn’t a flat trail or road anywhere around the place. But the scenery was awesome. It was one of the coolest things I’ve seen. After the run we walked up to the observatory and you could see for miles. After the run we went to In-N-Out Burger. It’s really big in California. I’ve been to California four times now, and all anyone talks about is In-N-Out Burger. So we went, and it surely didn’t disappoint. We headed back to the hotel once again and showered up to head to the beach. We got to see the sunset from the Santa Monica Pier, which was nothing short of amazing.
We didn’t have too much time on Monday, just enough to wake up and get in our run before packing up and heading to the airport. I am writing this on the plane. Looking back on the trip, it was another great experience. I am very grateful for the opportunities that I have been presented with throughout my career. I know that without the help and support of others, none of this would have been possible. I can’t thank my coaches, parents, family, and school community enough for all they have given me over the last four years.
Here are the FAT splits Arcadia posted from the race. My training has set me up perfectly. Even since my freshman track season I have been on a steady progression. I now have the strength, as well as the speed, to run with just about anyone out there. I am looking forward to finishing up the rest of my high school career on a high note. Thanks for reading!
67.26
71.36 (2:18.62)
68.43
66.74 (2:15.17)
66.33
66.52 (2:12.85)
64.82
57.26 (2:02.08)
4:33.79 - 4:14.93 = 8:48.72
