Photo courtesy of Mike Scott

Former Harvard distance standout Chas Gillespie is now running his fifth year at William and Mary. The Chicago native has two strong performances under his belt this fall, with a fifth-place finish at The Brooks Paul Short Run and this past weekend when he took 10th in the White Race the Pre-National Meet in Terre Haute. It's surprising that runner of this caliber doesn't have an All-American honor under his belt, but that's going to be the goal this fall. Let's see if he can land his first and lead William and Mary to another strong team showing at The NCAA Cross Country Championships.

Did you get in a long run today after Pre Nats?

We got back last night at 11:30 p.m. Today I just doubled, kind of like a recovery run in the morning and evening for 15 miles.

Is that normally what you'll do after races?

Yeah, usually some doubling and then I'll do a long run tomorrow.

Your overall impression of how Pre Nats went?

I was really happy with my race. I know that training has been going really well for me and the race at Lehigh was a good start. I was excited to get out against some really good guys. I thought, going in, top-15 would put me in a good place. I wound up doing a bit better than that, so I was really happy.

Coming off of summer training, is this what you saw as possible for your last cross season?

Yeah, it has been. It's not just the summer, though. I built up a lot of momentum in the winter and spring and then I probably had the best summer I've ever had. Workouts this fall have been going good. It's a whole combination of things.

After outdoor, how much time did you take off and how has your training built up since then?

I took off two weeks after regionals. I went on a road trip with two of my really good friends and started building up—slowly actually. I didn't really reach full mileage until the beginning or middle of August. That was getting in two pretty moderate workouts in the summer, plus a long run. So, I was putting in the work.

Were you delaying things a bit, maybe anticipating a long year of running ahead of you?

I think that was the idea. I didn't want to rush things. I haven't been totally healthy my entire college career and I wanted to give it a try.

Are those unhealthy days behind you?

I think so. I've learned a lot from injuries I've had. Every year that goes by, I'm a bit healthier than the year before.

When I interviewed Ben Massam, he was a big mileage guy. Are you one of those higher mileage guys too?

Actually, I'm not. I get in 90-95 miles a week. That's what I'm doing this fall and what I did last track season. It's a lot, but not as much as some of the other guys.

Can you race off of that or do you bring it down and increase intensity?

I've raced off of that at Pre Nats and Lehigh, but I'll start coming down in three weeks or so. It's just a long haul to be doing 90-95 week after week. It's like a countdown to when my legs start feeling good. (Laughs)

If you see things going perfectly for you, how do you see this cross country season ending?

I want to be an All American. I haven't done that for any season. Basically, I want to have the results that commensurate with the level of dedication I have and the sacrifices I've made this year and for the past nine years really. I want that to happen and then maybe I can start to think more ambitiously, but that's what I'm thinking right now.

What about team goals?

As a team, we were fifth place last year. If we're really firing on all cylinders again, I think we could be fifth again...or better. A couple things haven't quite gone our way, so we're looking to be top 15. That would a good day. Top 10 if things really start clicking.

You're in a pretty interesting situation. You're the top runner on your team, but also you're still new to the school. How are you balancing that?

Yeah, that's a very good observation. I kind of have a positive attitude toward everything. I like to encourage my teammates, especially the younger guys. Lewis and Patterson, who are on this team and are older, they're my age and have been on this team for a while. They're kind of team leaders. I like to think I set a good example.

How did the whole process of your transferring go down?

I had a conversation with my coach at Harvard, Jason Saretsky, at the end of my junior year. I had a big breakthrough year that year. I told him that I wanted to continue running after I graduated from Harvard. I wasn't done with the sport and I loved it. I wanted to keep doing it. In the Ivy League, you can't compete for a fifth year. You can compete for a fifth year anywhere, but you can't attend school for a fifth year anywhere and compete. He gave me some ideas of places I should look, based on things he knew about schools. I did some research on my own. Maybe that summer and fall, I started thinking of schools that are competitive nationally in cross country and that also have a very good academic reputation. William and Mary is one of those schools and I took my visit here over Spring Break. I really liked it. I thought the whole team was very dedicated. It's a school that doesn't get a lot of top recruits, but it has a reputation for developing the talent it does get very well. I liked that. I decided to come here.

Do you mind sharing some of your other options?

Maybe I shouldn't get too specific, but there were a number of schools that are quite good. Ultimately, William and Mary was right for me.

Going between coaches, especially after you knew the Harvard coach so well, was that a smooth transition?

Well...no, to be honest. Jason knew me very well and knew how I could get the most out of my body. Then Alex Gibby started giving me advice in June and going over summer training. I wasn't training for two or three weeks in the beginning of summer when I found out that Gibby was leaving for Michigan, which was weird. It was pretty weird and that hadn't happened to me before. We didn't have a coach for a few weeks in the summer. That was kind of rough, then Stephen Walsh was named the head coach in August. Since then it's been smooth. I will say that.

What about the training philosophy? Is it that much different?

Overall, it's not that different. There are a couple of things we do differently here than we did at Harvard. They might be more environmental that anything else. We do more continuous tempos here, long tempo runs. At Harvard, we would do a good number of hill workouts. Here the hills are incorporated in the fartleks. Overall it's the same.

What's it going to be like to go against those Harvard runners like Dan Chenoweth?

We haven't raced each other yet. I've raced him before—when I was his teammate. I imagine it will be the same thing. I'm very supportive of him and I was really excited and happy to see him take third in his Pre-Nats race. He could really do some damage at the national meet.

Those environmental changes, are you still getting used to new runs and things like that? Does it feel really fresh?

It does feel really new and it's pretty exciting. There are a lot of running trails here, just miles from my apartment. They're really easy to get on, which is really nice. We had some really nice places to run at Harvard. We'd do our long runs at Walden Pond, which I liked. But, here we have two state parks to go to. It's really fun.

What's the facial hair situation like right now?

It's coming on strong. I grew it out two and half years at Harvard and then I finally shaved it right after I graduated. So, this particular beard is from...June.

Does it get “altered” at all?

I don't know. I just don't know. Someone told me a few days ago about a style called “The Fish Hook”. It's where you have a side burn coming down around the the chin, wrapping around the mouth and then having a mustache. The possibilities are endless!

What are you studying right now?

I'm getting a master's degree in education.

What's the non-running dream job?

Teacher. I'm pretty interested in special education as well as high school English.

As you're getting to the end of your collegiate journey, is that the goal?

(Laughs) I've thought about it a bit and I still don't feel like I'm done running competitively. I've not gotten the most out of this sport that I could get out of it. I love to run. I love the lifestyle. If I could find a way to keep doing it, I would.

Earlier you mentioned getting All-American honors would be recognition for the hard work you've put in. I'm sure that includes not just logging the miles. What are the other things—the small things—that you would preach to people that are important to successful running?

Today I was feeling pretty sore, so I self medicated with some foam rolling, some ice bath, and some Tostitos. I think the first two are good. The third is...optional. (Laughs)

You don't need Tostitos?

Maybe not. But, maybe you do.

Maybe that's what the All Americans are doing differently.

(Laughs) Maybe it is. No, though, I feel like getting sleep is very important. It's one thing that I kind of struggled with in college. I was getting less sleep. I tried very hard to get eight or nine hours during the night. Getting a nap during the day...is really nice. Even just 20 minutes...I think that helps a lot. The guys on this team don't drink during the season. That helps. That's hard to do that if the guys around you do that a lot. Here, they're pretty healthy. Running on soft surfaces helps. Stretching is important. Strength training has helped me a lot with not getting huge, but a small amount of exercises can benefit me a lot.

You're a master's student with a lot going on. I'm sure it seems you don't get a lot of free time, but when you do, what are you doing for fun?

I listen to music a lot. There are a few radio shows that I like a lot. I play music sometimes. Just hang out with some of the guys.

What are the radio shows that you listen to a lot?

I like “This American Life”, “Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!”—I think that's pretty funny.

You just struck a nerve with me. These are NPR shows.

Oh, yeah!

You were at Harvard, in Boston, isn't that near MIT where the Car Talk guys are? Do you like “Car Talk”?

Big “Car Talk” fan! I will correct you a little bit. “Car Talk” is actually in Harvard Square. They have this building, right in the square on the second floor. There's a sign on the window that says “Dewey, Cheetham and Howe Law Offices”.

Where are you from originally?

Chicago. I went to high school at New Trier Township.

If you could have one meal, prepared by anyone, what would you have and who would make it? Chicago—maybe some deep-dish pizza?

(Laughs) I do really, really like pizza...especially Chicago-style. If I could have any meal, prepared by anyone...let's see. Wow, I like seasonal foods. I think I'd have a seasonal, four-course meal prepared by The Situation and The Dalai Lama.

I'm not sure I'm buying that last one, but can you share a crazy running-related story? When I interviewed Dan Chenoweth he mentioned that crazy turkey in Boston that attacks people. Does that ring a bell?

Yes, it does. That turkey was in the business school and hopefully it's graduated by now, off making bank somewhere.

That thing was dangerous, I hear.

(Laughs) Yeah! I've never had a bad encounter with it, though.

We're not going to piggy-back that one, though. You must have something.

OK. So Harvard has this tradition called “Primal Scream”. It's the night before finals start and students streak around Harvard Yard. It's not just some loose affiliation with people showing up and streaking whenever they want. You get there at 11:55 p.m., clothes off at 11:59 p.m. and you're streaking right around midnight. The Harvard cross country team was known for leading the charge in the “Primal Scream”. It's kind of weird because it's not just people streaking. People come out and watch. It's really, very strange. It's the middle of winter and if you're going to watch, at least have the common decency to bring some coats for us or something. It's chilly out there! I did that, then my senior year, I thought it was going to be a tragedy because I had an exam the next morning and had to get my sleep. I convinced my roommate and teammate, Bobby, and my other teammate, Phil, to do this early. We three went at 11 p.m. the night before finals started. That was even stranger, I think. We were just running around, the three of us. People were walking from the library to the dorms. I saw this CVS worker who I recognized, walking to their night shift or whatever. She was pointing and laughing at us.

At you? That's not good when you're naked and in the cold...you don't want that to happen.

Absolutely not. It was at the three of us. We don't want that to happen at all. You expect shock or embarrassment, but when someone is just pointing and laughing...that's just bad for your self-esteem. We took a leisurely few laps around the yard, walked back, and had a good night's sleep.

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