Kevin Collins may be winding down his career, but even on casual training he can still compete on a level very few can ever even dream of. His most recent conquest was a win in the Stockade-athon 15k in Schenectady, New York. He won in 47 minutes and 22 seconds. He went through the first mile in just under 5 minutes and through 5 kilometers in just over 15 minutes.
“I’m having fun, and I’m riding some residual waves of fitness here and there from 20 years of work […] I haven’t felt that good in a race all year. … I am extraordinarily happy.” […] Collins, the second-place finisher at the 2003 U.S. National Marathon Championship, said he is no longer pursuing a world-class career. He sports a significant lump of scar tissue on his heel, the result of the repetitive motion of running. He said the injury will eventually drive him from his sport. “I don’t train to run fast right now,” he said. “And I’ll tell you this: In years past, I’d be running 140 miles a week and training through the event. This time, I was casual. I took a day off this week. Two of them, actually. So there you go.”
I am still hopeful to see him in the Olympic marathon one day. It may not happen, but it would be a great race to watch. Even here in Maine, I still race against people that find out where I went to school and then reminisce about Kevin destroying them back in college. He came out of a division III program and was the first American to finish the Boston Marathon in 1996. His current goals include winning the “Rochester’s Runner of the Year” series after his disappointing race in Maui. He was forced to drop out at 19 miles due to achilles tendon problems.
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