By Cory Mull
The marathon is a difficult distance to transition to, but ’08 Central Bucks West graduate Tyler Jones made his debut last Sunday at the Chicago Marathon and needed no such curve.
Jones was remarkable in his first attempt at 26.2 miles, finishing in 2 hours, 19 minutes, 39 seconds as placed 29th overall and was the first Pennsylvania finisher, as well as the 19th American overall. He ran as a sub-elite runner -- which he had to apply for to gain entry into the race.
“Going into it, I did not know what to expect,” said Jones, who ran for LaSalle before transferring to William & Mary over the last two years of his career, though he has one year of eligibility remaining. “I was hoping to run between 2:20 and 2:23, realistically. My plan was to go out to a 5:30 minute pace and drop my way down. I sort of went out the other way.”
Instead, he opened up with a 5:06 mile before following with a 5:09 mile. He eventually settled down, clocking his first 5,000-meter split at 16:12 before he followed with consistent, steady intervals for the next 18 miles.
He never led, but saw himself within a lead group for the first half that included professional runners from a variety of countries.
“It was just incredible,” he said. “It was really exciting.”
He logged interval times between 16:21 and 16:32 the rest of the way, before finishing the final 7,000-meters slightly slower. It all made for a remarkable finish, one that gave the 23-year-old confidence moving forward.
“I felt in control most of the way,” Jones said. “The only thing I’m not happy with was my last six miles. You turn toward Michigan Avenue over the last 10K and it was very windy. It was like running into a wall.
“I was sort of more mentally weak at that point. I was tired. I wasn't particularly happy. But at the same time, I felt like I was in control.”
On a course such as Chicago, which Jones said was “dead flat,” training played a big factor. He logged 120-mile weeks at the highest point in his training cycle, but the most important training, he felt, were his tempo runs on the track, which prepared him for steady splits.
“It allowed me to lock into a pace,” Jones said. “I came out and mindlessly ran the pace I knew.”
Jones’ high school coach at Central Bucks West, Greg Wetzel, thought he made as good a debut as you could make at the distance.
“Tyler has great racing instincts,” Wetzel said. “He put himself in a competitive situation and dug in. Having seen him race a hundred times, I can’t remember ever seeing him fail to do this. It is a lot of fun to beat people who are better than you on paper - that is all that happened.”
Interesting enough, Jones does not train within an elite development program, or an accomplished running club. He is currently a graduate student at Penn State University where he is studying computer science. But he said his dual role as a student and runner allowed him a perfect schedule which he could successfully complete.
“I want to keep going with it,“ Jones said. “Right now I can balance both equally well. I can do both without adversely affecting each other. I’ll be in graduate school for a while. I’m not sure whether I will go for a PhD, but I know I won’t be in the real world for a long time, which will be beneficial for my training.”
“Given Tyler’s preparation, his remarkable finish was well-earned and in no way a fluke,” Wetzel said.”