BURKE MAKES IT TO THIRD IN THE GRAND PRIX You need talent to make it in New Jersey. But you also need time. Rich Burke, 40, of Morristown has the talent and he has found a way to have the time. With a long commute into New York City each day his only option is first thing in the morning. "I'm out the door between 4:30 and five," said Burke, who placed third in the New Balance Grand Prix in 2007. "I just like it so much better to have it be the first thing I do every day," he said. "I can have a quality workout and plan the time for it, and it's over." This time of the year he has to seek out lighted streets for his run before dawn but when the sun is up he heads over to nearby Loantaka Park. Weekends are tough for Burke whose four kids are involved in their own activities. |
"If you're not able to get out the first thing, next is the kids' events and other things you are trying to get done on a Saturday," said Burke. "The next thing you know it's four o'clock you're rushing through a workout you didn't want to rush."
With time such a premium, his speed work has to be done on those early morning runs, mile, or quarter mile repeats along his route.
"So if you see a guy sprinting down Madison Avenue at five in the morning you'll know who it is," he quipped.
Burke ran cross country and track in high school, but spent his four years at Villanova away from the sport.
"I went to Villanova and didn't run there," he said. "A great track school and I spent all my time gaining weight."
After college Burke got off the couch and was soon running and racing and making a name for himself in Delaware. In 2000 the family moved to Morristown and while he was racing, it wasn't until 2006 and 2007 that he began to really focus. This year, for the first time in his adult running career Burke ran for a team, the Morristown based Sneaker Factory.
"I've been running in road races since my early twenties but I've never run for a team," he said. "It's fun. It's a dimension that I really like."
Burke likes the marathon and this year's racing highlight was the Cape Cod Marathon in October that he finished in 2:38.
"I was really happy with that race," said Burke. "That was probably my eighth or ninth marathon and I think everybody who has done multiple marathons can point to where they've done it right and to where they've done it wrong. And I've had both."
"The Cape Cod Marathon I set a game plan and I stuck to it and it worked," he said. "It is such a great feeling when it works like that. That's what made me happiest. The time was great. It was the best time I've run in three years. It's not my pr but it's the first in the last three years where my game plan worked. Everything fell into place."
His marathon pr is a 2:30 that he ran back in his twenties and he knows he may not do that again. On the other hand the Cape Cod 2:38 is his Masters pr.
"I have started to do that," said Burke. "Now I look at it as 'I had my pr's when I was in my twenties, and I haven't touched those yet. Now I'm collecting new pr's as a Masters runner.'"
"It's great to finish high up in the standings in a race, but what I really like to do is execute the way I want to and run a smart race," he said. "Especially when you see your times improving. I've been lucky the last couple of years and I really haven't gotten hurt. I've been able to dedicate enough time to getting better. The results have shown it and it keeps the energy going."
Not everything goes well, even in a good year. At the Run for Rachel in April Burke finished in 16:33, a 5:20 pace for fourth place. Going into June Burke anticipated a fast time at the President's Cup Night Race 5K. Being a morning runner he was a little off-center and feeling nervous after waiting all day for the big race. His anxiety was justified but not in the way he could have expected. Within five yards of the start Burke went down in front of the nearly 1400 runners in the race.
"I got so scared that I was going to get trampled," he said. "I rolled over once. My shoulder and knee and elbow were cut. The heart's pumping and it was downhill from there. It was not a good race."
Bloodied, Burke finished the 5K in 16:53 and made up for it on Labor Day when he nailed a 21:14 at the Fall Classic four miler for a 5:18 per mile pace. He says he'll return to the President's Cup this year, which will be the Open men's championship.
"What I like about the championship races in the series is the turnout is great for the grand prix and the competition is much better," he said. "So it's a little bit more fun to run those races."
"Even the 15K in December, which is such a no frills race is probably one of my favorite races because the competition was great," said Burke. "It was a lot of fun to race against those guys."
Originally published by the DAILY RECORD of Morris County, New Jersey on Sunday, January17, 2008
Copyright, Madeline Bost, 2008
