Mizuno's Newest Brand Ambassador: Clara Grandt

by Bob "Wish" Wischnia on June 29, 2011

When Clara Grandt of Team Riadha/Mizuno steps to the starting line of the 2012 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in Houston in January, she will be one of the least experienced marathoners in the field. With only one marathon under her belt, Grandt will certainly be overlooked in the pre-race hoopla.

But that one marathon—last spring’s Boston—demonstrated that Grandt has so much potential that she could be a factor in the Trials. In Boston, Grandt ran as a virtual unknown and yet her time of 2:29:54 was astonishing on several fronts.

Although she “only” finished 16 overall among the women at Boston, Grandt was third among the American women. And the 24-year-old did it by running near even splits of 1:14:54/1:15 which is extremely difficult even for savvy Boston veterans on the much tougher second half. Remarkably, Grandt’s debut time was the second fastest ever by an American woman of her age (only bettered by two-time Olympian Cathy O’Brien who ran 2:29:38 when she was 23).

So will Grandt be ready to take the next step in January and thrust herself into the ’12 Olympic team conversation?

“Can I finish in the top three in Houston?” asks Grandt, mulling over the question she has asked herself countless times since Boston. “Yes, I think it’s possible. It will definitely be kind of a stretch to see myself with the top women, but if I can improve between now and Houston, I have an outside chance to slip into the top three. It’s not out of the realm of possibility, but I have a belief in myself that I can make the London team.”

Obviously, that’s a tall order for the 5-2, 105-pound four-time All American at the University of West Virginia. Her speed at the shorter distances (road PRs of 16:28 and 33:20 as well as 1:13 for the half) aren’t comparable with the top American women, but this summer will only be her second season on the roads racing against top competition. Last summer, she finished as high as fourth in the USA 20-K Champs in 1:09:02.

“There’s no question I need to get faster,” says Grandt. “If I can, I don’t see why I can’t do what Desiree Davila did at Boston {where she finished second} and make that leap. Don’t get me wrong Boston was great, but it was a learning experience for me. I ran too safely, too cautiously. Looking back on it, I was much too conservative and held back in the first half. I felt good, but I had more in me. My problem has been not having the confidence to get up in the front pack and be really competitive. Hopefully, after some good summer races, I’ll have that confidence.”

Getting the confidence that she belongs with the big girls has not been easy for Grandt who grew up in tiny West Union, West Virginia (population, 806) about 70 miles from Morgantown where she now lives. At West Virginia, under Sean Cleary, who remains her coach, Grandt’s high point was twice finishing fourth in the NCAA 10,000. But all through college and high school, running a marathon was on her mind.

Grandt has the look and efficient form of a marathoner and runs and talks like one. Rather than shying away from long runs and heavy weekly mileage, she enjoys the training more than the shorter, faster work she did in college.

“I wanted to run a marathon in high school,” says Grandt, “and always thought this is something I want to do. I like the hard work you put into it. I’ve been doing long runs for years and feel like I have the right mindset for it. I was building up for the marathon all through college with weekly long runs so when I decided to do Boston, it wasn’t a big transition for me.”

Grandt didn’t even begin to focus on Boston until February. To get ready, she extended her long runs to 20-24 miles and bumped her weekly mileage up from a normal 100-110 to a high of 120.

She probably won’t change her training drastically for the Olympic Trials in January. “I do well off my base mileage and don’t want to overdo it,” says Grandt who only runs once a day but supplements that with twice-a-week weight training and adds core and plyometric work.

“The only thing I’ll do differently for Houston is I’ll do a longer buildup than I had for Boston,” says Grandt who teaches aquatic classes part-time in Morgantown. “What I need to work on is my finish. I need to be able to start quicker and finish stronger.

“That’s why this summer is very important for me. I’ll be working on improving my leg turnover while still keeping my base mileage high. If I can do that, I think I’ll be able to PR at all my road distances. I’m definitely looking to go sub-16 in the 5-K and sub-33 in a road 10-K this summer. But I’ll need to be more aggressive right from the start, rather than hanging back.

“If I can do that, a marathon in the mid-2:20s is within my range. Who knows? I’ve learned not to put limits on what I can do. I still have room—lots of it—to grow.”