When Jake Riley (MMechEngr鈥�21) ran in the Olympic Marathon Trials Feb. 29, he didn鈥檛 think he鈥檇 qualify for the Games 鈥� until he reached the last 10 meters of the race. After four years as a student athlete at Stanford, a professional running career, struggles with injuries and finally a move to Boulder to study and train, Riley competed at the trials with his mantra 鈥渘o more next times鈥� in mind. He placed second with a time of 2:10:02, and is headed to Tokyo this summer for the Olympics. Here, he reflects on his earliest wins, the importance of balance and the motivation of self-improvement.听
How did you get started as a runner?
In elementary school in New Zealand, I went to a city cross-country meet. I didn鈥檛 know much about running, but I went. When I got there 鈥� I was a third grader, so take this with a grain of salt 鈥� I won it. That was a really big deal for me. I got a medal; I wore it around all the time. So that kind of gave me my first little taste.听
Then in middle school, after we鈥檇 moved back to the States, on the first day of track they took all of the sixth graders around and had us try out all the events. There was this kid who was just crushing everyone in everything. He won the high jump, he won the 100m; he won pretty much all of it. Then in the 1600m run, I beat him. That was a very big deal for me. I think that was kind of my first introduction to winning and to the idea that this was something not only I am good at, but that I am good at in comparison to other people. It was something that was kind of mine.听
How did you go from the 1600m race to the marathon now?听
Well, it鈥檚 always just been whatever was the longest event I could do. I think by most standards I鈥檓 fast, but by professional standards I鈥檓 not that quick. But I鈥檝e got staying power; I can tough it out. My skill set is about being able to hold a moderately difficult pace for a really long time. Every time I move up in distance, I鈥檝e been more successful, so it was inevitable that I would eventually get to the marathon. I have not started doing ultramarathons yet, but I think it鈥檚 only a matter of time.
You just graduated with your master鈥檚 degree, so you were training for the Olympics while you were studying mechanical engineering. What was that like?
I was dealing with not being able to find a job, and feeling like I had some unfinished business with running. I figured I could work part time, go to school part time and I could train. I was looking for places I could find a challenging academic career and a solid running community. Boulder checked those boxes. I got into CU and worked on grad school part time; I got a job working as an SAT tutor.听
Since making the Olympics, my trajectory has changed a little bit. But eventually, I鈥檇 like to work in athletics. I鈥檇 love to do shoe design. Something along the lines of creating the next generation of training shoes.
What advice would you give to young athletes with Olympic dreams?
Balance, I think. In general, I see a lot of people who think that in order to be successful at your sport it has to be all that sport all the time. It鈥檚 really easy to get burnt out because running is a huge time commitment. Sports take a lot of emotional energy; they take a lot of physical energy. That鈥檚 hard to sustain over a whole Olympic cycle or even a whole season.
I鈥檓 in one of those sports 鈥� and I would say gymnastics, swimming, a bunch of these other ones, too 鈥� that鈥檚 only popular every four years. That means you鈥檝e got four years when you鈥檙e digging in the trenches, you鈥檙e in the dark, and you鈥檝e got to sustain that high emotional energy, focus and drive. That can be draining. It鈥檚 really, really helpful to have something else there.
Would you say that you鈥檙e more motivated by achievement or do you really just love the act of running?
I wouldn鈥檛 necessarily say I鈥檓 motivated by achievement. I watched that Michael Jordan Last Dance documentary and he talked about how every time he went on the court he had to win. I don鈥檛 have quite that solely-motivated-by-competition fire.
I do think my motivation is partly success related, but also partly about how much better I can be than I was last time. When the training is doing what you wanted it to do, that feels amazing. And then the cherry on top is when you can take the buildup and time commitment and put it into a race to see the results. So, some of it is self-improvement. But a little bit of it is, yeah, running can be fun.听
What is your favorite training trail near Boulder?
We start at , and then you can go underneath HWY 93 鈥� it鈥檚 called Community Ditch. So, you take Community Ditch and then there鈥檚 this loop we do through El Dorado Canyon Park.
First of all, on Community Ditch you鈥檙e running right toward the mountains. You鈥檝e got the Flatirons laid out in front of you over this gorgeous plain. Then you get a bit of the hills and you run through the pines. After that, it leads you through this little slot canyon in El Dorado. There鈥檚 a whole bunch of little places you can add on if you want. It鈥檚 a soft surface, technical trail without being too technical. I love it.
What do you do for fun?
I have all the subscription services. But I guess it鈥檚 kind of tiresome for me to say I鈥檓 watching Game of Thrones for the second time. We also go camping. I love Estes Park. I met my girlfriend through pub trivia, so we do a lot of that. More of that is online since COVID. If I weren鈥檛 training, I might go with some friends to play volleyball in Denver.
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Watch Jake Riley compete in the Olympic Marathon Aug. 2, 2021.听
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Interview condensed and edited by Grace Dearnley (Engl'21).
Photo courtesy听Brian Metzler (top); Zach Hetrick (right)