"The leaders were right in front of me, and suddenly I realized I could run with them, and qualify."
– Jon Pastore, Scranton Prep, December 19, 2002, five days after his 30th place at Foot Lockers in San Diego, California
(Photo by Photo Run)
Jon Pastore, Scranton PrepThe Scranton Prep boys' cross country team has made a big impression in AA in recent years. Overlooked by many in 2000, they won a state championship. Under appreciated in 2001 when Andy Weilacher was leading a great Eisenhower team, they captured the title again by a mere point. Then, with the pressure on, they three-peated in 2002 by taking a very strong Harbor Creek team by 13. And leading that squad those three years has been Jon Pastore.
Pastore was happy with an 8th place finish as a sophomore. He wasn't entirely disappointed with an 8th place finish as a junior. But he wasn't at all happy with a 7th place finish in 2002. "I had a bad day. But the hard part was that I didn’t know if was just a bad day, or if I had actually run well."
Whether it was a good race or not, the performance earned him an invitation to join the state's top seniors on the team that represented the state at the Mid East Regional Championships in Kettering, Ohio, two weeks after states, and two weeks prior to the regional Foot Locker race. "I had no doubts about going to Ohio, but I thought I could compete" When he arrived, he saw two of the country's best, Nef Araia of Indiana, and Wesley Smith of Ohio. "Nef was intimidating. And so was Smith. The pair went one-two. "But after them, I figured I could run with most who were there." As it turns out, Araia and Smith were not the only future Foot Locker finalists. West Virginia's Justin Simpson would finish 3rd. Justin's brother Joshua was 10th at the South Regional, and Illinois' Trent Hoerr, who was 7th in Ohio, would finish 10th in the Midwest. So Pastore's 11th place finish still put him in some very good company. "It was a boost being the top PA guy and almost top ten. Running in that atmosphere was a big help."
The journey from frosh to Finalist.
But it had been a long road from a freshman who simply ran for fun to become one of the top 32 guys in the country in 2002. "As a freshman, it was all having fun, not necessarily competing." Pastore says his best race before this year was his sophomore Districts race. "The varsity race was stacked with four top guys. I was the underdog." He went 15:58 and won the District 2 Championship. "That was the most fun I've ever had racing. But my regional race at Van Cortlandt this year was probably by best overall race."
As a junior, Pastore said he realized he had more than just average talent and started focusing and working harder. He says the team and the quality of the coaching is a tremendous help. "My junior year, it became about competing." That's also the year he finally realized there was such a thing as Foot Lockers. "I saw Andy Weilacher made it. After that, my teammates and I started thinking about racing it." They approached their coaches, who gave their support and laid out a plan to help Pastore work toward the goal. His opening 15:48 in September at the Spiked Shoe at Penn State University in September made him realize the dream could be achievable. "My coaches really helped after my bad race at States. They were very supportive, told me it was just a bad race, described my mistakes and helped me get refocused." But Pastore says that level of attention and care from his coaches extends to developing the best for each athlete on the entire team. "Our guy who was 16th at States was losing to girls in 8th and 10th grade. And they take kids who have never run and win championships. They're amazing!"
Buoyed by his 11th place finish in Ohio, Pastore made his way to New York's storied cross country shrine of Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx. He knew he wanted to be near the front, but not in the front entering the woods. To avoid getting caught around the first sharp turn at the Foot Locker balloon, his teammates got him his spot on the starting line on the outside. "The whole pack slowed down to the left, and I was on the right, so I picked people off." He pulled up to about 25th entering the woods. Sensing that the start had been extraordinarily fast (word was the half was 2:08), Pastore ignored the mile split. "I didn't want it to break my confidence." His race plan unfolded perfectly early, and then got even better. He crossed the bridge heading deeper into the wood and could see the leaders right in front of him. "I got them within a half mile and suddenly realized I could run with them. I felt good and knew I could hold it. I realized I could qualify." He even led the race briefly after the two-mile mark. He would finish 3rd, passing AAA state champ Ian Gottesfeld on the final straight, and matching Andy Weilacher's 3rd place finish in 2001.
Pastore salutes his traveling band of supporters (coaches, family and teammates) at the Northeast Foot Lockers awards ceremony.
Just getting there is great, but Pastore wanted to just do better than get there. His home course of McDade Park matches the Balboa Park course profile in San Diego with its uphill start and hill at the mile. At McDade, he has run 15:43 by himself. "On a good day, I should have finished 12th to 18th. I don't think I could have gotten top ten, but I may have been able to hang in there."
His 30th place showing had much less to do with having a bad race, and more to do with the two weeks between regionals and nationals. On the Tuesday after Van Cortlandt, he joined classmates on an annual retreat for five days. They got a foot of snow, and he only ran a little two days. Sleep was at a premium. He returned home Saturday, was greeted by ice on Sunday, but went out anyway. "I fell on my face and gave up." He took to the pool on Monday and did what he could.
"I was not as focused as I should as been. Right after the gun, everything started going wrong. We went out in 2:20. It felt faster than the clock said." They came through the mile 4:40. "…and I’m dying. Two weeks of spot training was not helping. I tried to hang on. I was in 26th or 27th, even dead last for a bit. But overall, I really enjoyed the experience."
Celebrating in NYC with family and one of his coaches.
Hangin' with Suzie, Bob, Alan and Bernard.
On reflection, Pastore probably wasn't surprised that the heroes of his sport are more approachable than those in other sports. He got to meet Alan Webb, Bob Kennedy, Suzie Favor-Hamilton, Bernard Lagat and others. He listened intently as each spoke and offered advice and wisdom on the mental and physical aspects of their events and disparate roads to excellence. But what he didn't expect was how down to earth they were. "Suzy tried to get us to dance. Alan Webb was buying pizza for everyone because all we had was room service. Bernard Lagat invited a bunch of us to go to Sea World with him. And you'd ask them to take a picture with them and they'd jump at the chance. Other pro athletes don't even acknowledge your existence. It makes you not even want their autograph. But our sports' pro athletes are amazing. I'd choose to model myself after any of them."
In addition to his coaches, (head coach Bill Burk accompanied him to San Diego, while assistant Jim Kilker helped Jon in New York), Pastore had remarkable support from family and friends. Four teammates even made the trip to San Diego. Six or seven also went to New York. "The celebration in New York was the greatest. My teammates are incredible."
Prior to becoming a Foot Locker Finalist, Pastore had narrowed his college choices to Duquesne, St. Joseph's, LaSalle and Penn State. Needless to say, that list has grown substantially since November 30th.
But no more than Jon, who finally realized he "can run with these guys."
Jon Pastore's training for 2002 XC: More workouts, up to three to four a week geared toward fartleks and surging. Trained to get out fast and get rid of lactate. Also to be able to hit hills hard, did a lot of hill fartleks and 1200’s.