Every runner knows the feeling. You’ve got your running clothes laid out and ready but 6:00 has come earlier than you’d hoped. As you switch off your alarm you notice something on the window. Frost. You look at your shoes, then back down at your covers. Now it’s decision time: do you gather the gusto to get out of bed, or adjust your week to call for a morning run the following morning? No one has to know. Runners of all abilities struggle from time to time going it alone. A five mile morning run at 6:45 pace can be daunting when you know everyone else is asleep. But when you know a training partner is going to be downstairs in five minutes, dressed for the cold and waiting, suddenly climbing out from those warm covers is much easier. It’s no surprise that post-collegiate runners who have set their sights past NCAA’s often bunch up in areas around the country to train together. Never mind five-milers, these runners have fartleks, hills, 300’s, and 5 x 1 mile repeats to worry about. Having a buddy next to you, pushing you the whole way makes that load a lot easier, as well as more beneficial. One such area is Columbus, Ohio, where three Reebok runners train out of The Ohio State University under the guidance of 2-time Olympian and OSU Head Track and Cross Country Coach Robert Gary. Rob Myers, a 3:53 miler and 2004 U.S. Indoor 1500 meters champion, has worked with Gary since college, where he was a 2-time All-American for OSU. Along with his 2004 U.S. Indoor title, Myers has run in two World Championships. He also placed third in the 1500 meters at the 2004 U.S. Olympic Trials. Fellow Buckeye and 5-time All-American, Brian Olinger also trains in Columbus and has run 8:19 for the Steeplechase twice, including once this year. Before graduating, Olinger finished 5th in the 2006 NCAA Steeple after coming in 11th at the 2005 Cross Country NCAA meet. Miami grad Dan Huling relocated to Columbus after running 8:27 in the Steeplechase last summer on his way to 3rd at the USATF Outdoor Championships. Dan also took 6th in the 5,000 meters at the 2006 NCAA meet and has run 13:46 for the event. All three have aspirations of Beijing, and credit their training environment as a key element in making the trip. “Training with the guys has helped me be a more well-rounded runner,” said Myers. “It has helped me with my weak points to have somebody there on the type of workouts I struggle with.” “Having two training partners that are at your level, or better than me in my case, really helps boost expectations and fitness,” said Huling, who was attracted to Columbus by the prospect of running under Coach Gary. “Rob is a little more speed-oriented and Brian a little more strength-oriented, with me in the middle somewhere. I've learned a lot from both of them already.” So having someone else there to take the wind on a 3 x 3 is definitely a plus. But that’s not the only benefit of training in Columbus. Access to $300 million dollars worth of OSU facilities as well as loads of parks definitely beats weaving through the suburbs near your house and hoping you don’t have to run in too many circles to make it to 55 minutes. Coach Gary makes sure to take advantage of everything the area offers. “We have a beautiful 36-hole championship golf course with everything from 400 meters to three miles for interval training and tempo runs,” said Gary of the Scarlet and the Gray golf courses which will host The Big Ten Cross Country Championships this October. “Obviously, we have a state-of-the-art outdoor track facility, an indoor track, and a great swimming complex inside our recreation center.” During Cross season, you can find the guys training at one of several parks in Columbus’ Metro Parks system. Blacklick has a four mile cinder loop that stretches fifteen meters wide and is marked every half mile. Darby is ideal for hill training with its many steep short hills. They also make it out to Antrim’s 2K cinder loop for controlled fartleks. And then there are the rolling trails of Highbanks. “We use Highbanks more than any other park,” said Coach Gary. “There is a three-mile grass flat loop, a three-mile downhill-flat-uphill loop, and very hilly trails throughout. You could run for a good 90 minutes before repeating. When all of this fails, we have a 40-mile long bike path that runs in either direction from campus.” By training together, Myers, Olinger, and Huling all benefit mutually. But training at OSU means much of their running is also done with the OSU distance runners. Coach Gary sees this as a positive on all sides. “I would guess that watching Rob run professionally spurred Brian on that next summer,” said Gary who remained in Columbus after graduating from OSU in 1996 to train with 3-time Olympian and Ohio State alum, Mark Croghan. “I hope there are a couple guys that now have professional running as a possible goal. Again, being exposed to those higher levels of track and listening how these guys approach the sport and dream – I hope it's extremely infectious.” As for the pro guys, they know they’re clear examples (Olinger and Myers actually serve as volunteer coaches). “They realize they're being watched and there is some pride and obligation to that. Also, being on a schedule is important – it's something that guys having just graduated don't have.” Being on a schedule, taking turns drafting on windy straight-aways, having someone to hold you accountable for chilly morning runs; there are plenty of things runners having just graduated lose when school is over…plenty of examples that prove distance running is a team sport. So a continuation of that team quality into post-collegiate running seems like a natural progression. “When you graduate, you lose that team camaraderie,” said Myers. “But sometimes if individual pride runs out, you continue to have that team pride if you’re with a training group that you look at as a team.” “The post-collegiates that I coach don't lack the discipline to train hard, but the ferocity with which they train and the constant talking of serious goals is really perpetuated in a group setting, where you have a bunch of people with that same kind of ‘talk,’” said Coach Gary. But it’s not just talk. Instead, this OSU training group could feasibly be headed to the Olympics next year. “It sounds strange, but in my mind, the three post-collegiate guys I coach make up one of the largest training groups of realistic Olympic-aspirations in the U.S.”