Interview with Mo Trafeh USA 15k Champion

Sunny: First off, Congratulations on your amazing performances at both the Gate River Run and the NYC Half Marathon. You ran two really impressive times of 42:58 for 15k at the River Run and 1:00:39 for the half at NYC.

Mo: Thank You.

Sunny: Everyone on the forums have been talking about how you don't have a sponsor and how you have been buying your own shoes through the internet. Hows the search for a sponsor coming?

Mo: It's been going pretty well. Before I got a sponsor though I had to sign with an agent. I have recently signed with Elite Sports Management International and we are currently in negotiations with Nike. Hopefully we will have something signed within the next few weeks.

Sunny: That's awesome news congratulations. We've talked about you two big performances, what's next?

Mo: I'm going to try and run a quick 5000m in late May or early June. I would like to run in between 13:15 and 13:20. I think if all goes well I'll be in sub 13:20 shape in the next few weeks.

Sunny: Wow, thats pretty fast. Is there a secret workout that you do that'll get you there?

Mo: There's really no secret workouts. I think it's important to take my easy days easy and get in a good mixture of tempo and track work throughout the week. There is no one workout that'll do it all. I can tell you the workout I did before the River Run if you want.

Sunny: That'd be great.

Mo: I ran 3000-2000-1000 times 2. The rest was 3 minutes between the 3k and 2k, 2:30 between the 2k and 1k, and 2 minutes between the sets. My first set was 8:20-3k, 5:29-2k and 2:42-1k. I then came back with a 8:11-3k, 5:25-2k and 2:35-1k.

Sunny: That is a great workout, no wonder you did so well at the River Run.

Sunny: In high school you were a star, do you have any advice you can give to the up and coming runners?

Mo: The best advice I can give is that when you are looking for a college don't jump on the first one that looks good. Take a lot of visits and make sure you keep your options open. I would say my biggest regret is not leaving my options open.

Sunny: That's really good advice, I like the honesty.

Sunny: Mo, you've been in Jacksonville a lot these last few weeks. Any plans on turning it into a permanent training place?

Mo: It won't be a permanent training spot, but I will be coming down every once in a while to break the altitude cycle. When you run at altitude you body breaks down so coming to Jacksonville every now and then will allow me to recover and get some quality workouts in.

Sunny: We definitely look forward to seeing you when you come back.

Sunny: Well Mo, thank you so much for all of your time and thanks for coming in for the interview. Good luck with your upcoming races, we definitely will be looking for the results.

Mo: Anytime guys, thank you for having me.

Taken from www.jaxrun.com

-Darrin