by Jeff Benjamin
Sean McGorty is an NCAA Champion. The former Stanford star has now ventured to Europe, now as a pro athlete, and is beginning his racing season as a professional athlete. He has done it with a win, a nice 3:36.61 for the 1,500 meters. Jeff Benjamin, Staten Island senior writer for RunBlogRun, reached out to Sean and the young Mr. McGorty responded right away. We thank Sean for his quick response, his racing and wish him a successful series of races, and lots of fun traveling around Europe.
Sean McGorty is on a roll!!
The NCAA 5K Champ out of Stanford has moved into the pro ranks beginning this summer and, in his debut clocked a 3:36.61 1500 Victory in Kortrijk in Belgium. It was also a meet record and the 4th fastest 1500 this season by an American. As he prepares to race an upcoming 5K in Heusden, McGorty generously took the time to answer these 8 quick questions.
RunBlogRun, 1. How did you get involved in the Sport?
Sean McGorty: I got into the sport through my parents. Both of my parents competed collegiately at the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill. My Dad was a decathlete and my Mom was a middle distance runner. That being said, they never pressured me or my brothers into running. We all played different sports growing up, but slowly got immersed in running through CYA Track (Chantilly Youth Association) which my Dad and family friend Ed Lull directed. Once I got to high school though, I stopped playing other sports and began to solely focus on running.
RunBlogRun, 2. Did you consider yourself a slow or fast developer?
Sean McGorty: That’s a tough question for me to answer. Maybe a combination of both? I think that when I got into college I was able to adapt to my coaches training rather quickly, but I still needed some time to really build up my mileage. I think in running there are some things that can come fast, but other aspects will take time to avoid injury.
RunBlogRun, 3. What was your most memorable High School Race?
Sean McGorty: My most memorable HS race is probably my senior year state cross country race. I won the individual race, our team won the meet, and my middle brother Ryan was on the team. That was an incredibly special experience and one that my Mom actually had when she was a senior in high school so it was cool to have the moment really mean a lot to the whole family.
RunBlogRun, 4. What was your most memorable college race?
Sean McGorty: My most memorable college race is the 5k at the most recent NCAA Championships. Winning was the storybook ending, especially after coming back from surgery the past summer, but what honestly made the moment one I’ll never forget was seeing all the people who helped make that moment possible on the victory lap and just being able to give them all a smile and a big hug. Sharing the moment with people that mean so much to me really made it an amazing experience.
RunBlogRun, 5. How has it been different in becoming a Pro Athlete?
Sean McGorty: I’ve only been a professional for a couple weeks now, so not sure if I’m well equipped to answer this question, but I’ll do my best! From what I have seen and been told from talking to other professionals, training is raised to another level and with that increase in training you have to raise the bar with all of the little habits that help you train. What you’re eating, how much you’re sleeping, how much time you’re allowing yourself to recover, all of these things and more become super important because there isn’t a lot of room for error if you want to be competing with the world’s best.
RunBlogRun, 6. Who is coaching you currently?
Sean McGorty: Right now, I am still being coached by my college coach at Stanford University, Chris Miltenberg, and this will be the fifth year I’ve trained under him. I’ve signed with Kimbia Athletics as my agent and I am in the process of working with them on deciding which training group I will be joining.
RunBlogRun, 7. Do you incorporate any cross-training/weight training?
Sean McGorty: When I was coming back from achilles surgery in the summer, I did a lot of cross training. However once I was back up to running the mileage he wanted, the cross training was phases out. We typically would lift 2-3 times a week with one of the lifts being specifically a lower body lift after a workout.
RunBlogRun, 8. What advice can you give to young runners?
Sean McGorty: “Keep it fun. I think one of the biggest blessings for my running development was that my parents never pressured me into running. They let me find my own path and that let me fall in love with running on my own. That love was fueled by the fun I was having training, the thrill of competing, and the people the sport has brought into my life. Another piece of advice would be to set goals, but don’t let yourself be consumed by the goals. I think its great to have benchmarks, but I’ve learned you can develop and grow as an athlete even if you didn’t hit that specific time goal. There are lessons to be learned from every race, and your ability to process what happens, learn from it, and move on can really help you in this sport.”
