Q&A With New Saucony Pro Brian Shrader
Q&A With New Saucony Pro Brian Shrader
Earlier today, former Northern Arizona All-American Brian Shrader announced that he would forego his remaining eligibility to turn professional. Shrader made headlines back in November when he won the .US 12k Championships in Alexandria, Virginia in an American record time of 34:11. Shrader decided to remain a collegiate after the victory, turning down the $20,000 prize money in favor of his remaining track eligibility at NAU. However, Shrader ultimately decided to go pro, and has signed on with shoe sponsor Saucony and Ray Flynn Sports Management. We spoke with Shrader earlier today about his decision.
First off, congratulations on becoming a professional runner. What made you decide that this was the right time?
I have actually been signed for awhile now. It just took some time for me to be able to make an announcement. Most of the timing of the decision came down to how rare of an opportunity it was for me. But I’ve never raced past early June so this will also set me up to really focus on training and be ready to race come this summer when most of the serious professional races are.
Why did you choose Saucony/Flynn?
Ray Flynn was a natural fit to be my agent. When I was on the US road running circuit, Ray’s name always came up as one of the most respected guys in the business. During our talks he immediately got to know me and wanted what was best for me.
I am very fortunate that Saucony is taking the chance on me. I know I don’t have the most impressive PB’s, but they really believe that I can achieve the goals that I have set. They also have the trust in the setting that I am already in. They trust my coach, my training location and my training partners. I’m confident it will make the transition to the professional life a lot easier. It was easy to fall in love with the brand after talking to them and hearing about their vision. I’m every bit as proud to wear a Saucony logo on my chest as I was to wear the NAU logo.
After winning the .US 12k Championships back in November, you elected to stay at NAU instead of going pro immediately. What made you change your mind?
To be honest, I didn’t realize how much of a reality it was for me to go professional. At the end of the fall I was 100% focused on running an indoor 5k for the upcoming season. I didn’t know if I was going to go pro or not so I wanted a 5k qualifier for the season no matter what. The more I talked to people during the winter break the more I realized I should seriously consider taking a sponsorship.
I had a lot of people to look up to and get advice from. My coach was always on my side to consider taking it if it was best for me. Diego Estrada understood how hard it was to get a sponsorship and was crucial in guiding me throughout the process. Sara Hall actually also helped me. I was having trouble leaving eligibility on the table but she told me how Ryan also had to make the decision to leave the NCAA early when he went professional. I thought I was being completely selfish if I went professional so it was just calming to hear that someone like Ryan Hall went through the same thing.
Did the prize money for winning that race factor into your decision?
Not as much as you would think. It was definitely a lot of money but $20,000 alone wasn’t enough to convince me to forego my eligibility. It’s the fact that I was able to put that prize money on top of a guaranteed contract to help me live my dream. I know how rare of an opportunity being a sponsored athlete is in our sport so I had to take it while I had the guaranteed chance.
What are your goals for this upcoming outdoor season?
I am going to finally make my 10k debut on the track! I’m sure there will be a learning curve to it but I would like to focus on that event. If I could run a solid 10k and 5k and put myself in good position at the US Championships then I would consider that a good step in the right direction towards the 2016 Olympic year. I know how loaded the US is right now, but I also believe in my ability. I know that my coach will have me ready to put up a tough fight.
Do you plan on racing more on the roads this year considering your success in the 12k?
It’s tempting to do more road races right away, as it was pretty comfortable and natural for me. But I’m going to really focus on the track this spring. I still have a lot of room for improvement to reach my potential. But I will definitely be doing more road races come the summer and fall. They will probably be shorter road races. I don’t think I’m strong enough for half-marathon type distances yet but hopefully I will be ready to move up to those by next year.
Will you be joining a new training group, or are you going to continue training in Flagstaff?
I’ll continue to train in Flagstaff. A big incentive to signing with Saucony was the fact that they actually wanted me to continue training in Flagstaff, as they saw it works well for me. Coach Eric Heins will still be coaching me and I will still be helping out the NAU team. It’s hard to beat the training group we have at NAU right now so I’m sure I’ll get my butt kicked plenty by them this spring. I’ll also jump in as many workouts as I can with Diego Estrada to help him out and really get some quality work in. Flagstaff is unique in that there are always random professional runners who spend time up here. Trevor Dunbar is here right now so I’ll try to fit some training in with him just like old times at Oregon.
Now that I’ll be graduated after this term I’ll probably take advantage of being able to train at sea level at times. I’ll probably try to get to Australia with my girlfriend during the winters and have some stints down there in the future.