Take Two

A few days ago we offered a glimpse into the endlessly interesting psyches of half of the inaugural ITA NH Team: Brian Gagnon, Ben True and Lex Williams (and you’ll be hearing more from them again soon). This week we’re bringing you the other half (and some photos): David Brent, Toni Salucci and Matt Withrow. Following is a series of questions and answers that seeks to illuminate aspects personal, academic, civic and athletic of these three talented runners.

Why are you excited to be a part of the inaugural ITA NH Team?

David Brent: Post-collegiate professional running is something that I have dreamed about ever since I knew I could be great at this sport. ITA is a very rewarding organization to be a part of. All involvement I have had giving back to a community or helping mentoring youth has always been enjoyable and gratifying.

Toni Salucci: It is easy to lose perspective when training at a professional level, to see running as just a pursuit rather than an art that needs to be shared...to be taught. ITA provides an opportunity to train at the highest level while helping shape our next generation of athletes.

Matt Withrow: I’m excited to be a part of a running group that has a focus outside of themselves.

David Brent mixing it up in the DMR

When was the first time you ran competitively? 

David Brent: Freshman year of high school was the first time I ran competitively. I started running to get in shape for basketball.

Toni Salucci: 5th grade Field Day: the 600-yard dash

Matt Withrow: Pilgrim Pace Race in Elementary School 

Toni Salucci racing for the Big Blue

Which is your favorite race you’ve completed? 

David Brent: Great Lakes Relay

Toni Salucci: Emerald Nuts Midnight Run in Central Park, NY on New Year’s Eve

Matt Withrow: Bremen Sectional 2003

Lex Williams winning the Stanford Invite 10k

What is your most prized competition result?

David Brent: Setting the Eastern Michigan School Record in the Distance Medley Relay and being 8-Time Mid American Conference Champion

Toni Salucci: Winning the Penn Relays Championship of America 4x1500m

Matt Withrow: Going 11k with coach Broe at the US XC Championships in ’05 before he blew my doors off

Lex Williams and his Michigan classmates at an Ann Arbor hospital

What was your favorite undergraduate class? 

David Brent: Mathematical Modeling

Toni Salucci: Introduction to Wines

Matt Withrow: Any US History Class with professor Cooper

David Brent putting pedal to the metal on the XC course

What’s your favorite section of the newspaper?

David Brent: Technology and Weather

Toni Salucci: The crossword puzzle, and the science section on Tuesdays

Matt Withrow: Either the Food section or the Celebrations page of a small town paper

Brian Gagnon and his youth charges at summer camp

What’s your favorite thing to do when not training/competing?

David Brent: Flying airplanes or hanging out at the airport (you can always learn something there)

Toni Salucci: Drink coffee, read and people watch

Matt Withrow: Cook

Toni Salucci at the BU Terrier Classic

What’s the finest example of “grace under pressure” you’ve witnessed in real time (but not necessarily in person)?

David Brent: Captain Chelsey Sullenburger of US Airways flight 1549. He landed his airbus in the Hudson River after having an engine out and saved all 155 passengers on that flight. Talk about a guy that kept his cool under pressure. It takes many years of practice and a vast knowledge base to do what he did and stay calm and confident.

Toni Salucci: At the 2008 Penn Relays I watched as teammate Nicole Edwards of Michigan anchored the DMR, the SMR and the 4x1500m relays, holding off Tennessee’s Sarah Bowman for all three wins.

Matt Withrow: Kenensia Bekele’s at the World XC Championships after losing his fiancée.

In Their Own Words

More than a week has passed since the inaugural ITA NH Team gathered in the Connecticut River's Upper Valley to start their preparations for the 2011 season. And while they've been busy exploring their new training town's trails and roads; getting the lay of the land in Hanover; doing strength workouts, plyometrics and drills (all at Dartmouth College's generously-offered facilities); and even attending to more mundane details like getting internet piped into their living spaces; they've also had some time to sit down and reflect on answers to questions both serious and decidedly unserious. Here are a few excerpts from a Q&A with three of ITA NH's athletes:

What's exciting about being an inaugural member of the ITA NH Team?

Ben True: ITA NH is the perfect opportunity for me to not only cultivate my own athletic dreams, but to help kids in the community create their own dreams and ambitions.

Brian Gagnon: I am really excited to join this team because I believe we have the potential to be one of the best track clubs in the country. We have a great group of guys and a wonderfull staff who as of yet has been nothing but supportive! A big thing that made me choose to come to this group aside from a great team/training environment was the involvement with youth groups and being a positive role model. If I didn't have my older brother Peter to look up to and help me out I wouldnt be where I am today.

Lex Williams: I’m excited to be able to continue competing at a high level and have such a great opportunity to better myself as an athlete while making a positive impact in the community.

When was the first time you ran competitively?

Ben True: As a young whippersnapper in grade school.

Brian Gagnon: Freshman year high school XC. I wouldn't exactly say it was competitive but, hey, you got to start somewhere!

Lex Williams: I started running track and field when I was 7 or 8 through the Hershey’s track and field program.

What’s your favorite pre-competition meal?

Ben True: Bread, lots of bread and honey.

Brian Gagnon: Anything light! But if it's the night before or the night between a prelim and a final, then its definitely Sushi!

Lex Williams: Chicken Parm.

When it comes to working with kids, what pearls of wisdom are you most keen to offer them?

Ben True: Keep it fun.

Brian Gagnon: Not to give up despite what other people say. When I went to college a teacher that I had a lot of respect for told my coach that I was just going to be another kid from Lowell who goes to a big DI school just to fail and be back in Lowell by year's end.

Lex Williams: To have fun with whatever it is that you are doing; that will lead you to find something you are truly passionate about.

Who are your role model(s)/mentor(s)?

Ben True: Anyone who gives 100% of themselves to be able to live out their dreams and follow their passions.

Brian Gagnon: My oldest brother Peter and my college track coach Greg Roy.

Lex Williams: Ron Warhurst. He is the reason I am still running today.

What’s your favorite indulgence?

Ben True: Napping.

Brian Gagnon: A nice greasy burger or if I had a lot of money I would over-indulge in Sushi!

Lex Williams: Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.

Check back soon for another installment of our Q&A with the three other members of the ITA NH Team, plus a few more nuggets of wisdom from Ben, Brian and Lex.

And then there were six!

Just ask anyone: a six-pack is a good thing to have, whether you're talking abdominal muscles or a bevy of cool beverages. And now ITA NH has one, too: a six-pack of athletes, that is, with the commitment of Brian Gagnon this afternoon.

Brian Gagnon at the 2010 Outdoor NCAAs

Brian is a New England native (hometown: Lowell, MA) and a UConn graduate, so he'll fit right in to the New Hampshire way of life. He was a heavily-recruited high school half-miler who didn't disappoint in his college career as a Huskie and has continued his impressive trajectory by posting a PR at 800m this summer: a 1:46.56 at a New Balance Twilight meet this past June, an auto-qualifier for the US Championships.

If you want to learn a bit more about Brian, you can read this profile on the UConn Athletics site. In the meantime, we're thrilled to welcome Brian to the team --and to be able to boast of our newly-acquired six-pack.

All press is good press, right?

While it would be easy for us to write some long blog posts about who we are, what we're doing here in New Hampshire, and why we're doing it (OK, maybe not easy), we'd rather defer to the words of others who have already picked up on the good things afoot here in Hanover, as well as on the talents and virtues of the athletes involved in our program. See below for a sampling of articles and interviews with the major players on the inaugural ITA NH Team.

• Jess Cickay of The Examiner posted an informative article on the ITA NH Team and Head Coach Tim Broe.

• Robert Johnson of Let's Run fame conducted a Training Talk interview with Head Coach Tim Broe a couple of months ago. 

• Duncan Larkin conducted and transcribed a phone interview with Head Coach Tim Broe shortly after Broe's arrival in New Hampshire a couple of weeks ago.

• ITA NH Team Members Lex Williams and David Brent have a history that goes back to their undergraduate student-athlete days at Michigan and EMU, respectively. Here's an article on their dual quest to break the four-minute mile barrier.

• ITA NH Team Member Matt Withrow has been a recognizable talent on the US running scene since high school. In this article he reflects on his prep years, his college career and what's on the horizon.

• ITA NH Team Member Ben True has already faced one difficult decision in his relatively young post-collegiate athletic career: to ski or to run? Happily for us, he's running; but here'a a Running Times look at his dueling talent in the realms of skiing and running.

On your marks, get set...Go!

And they're off! Who are they? They're the inaugural team members of In the Arena's New Hampshire-based elite post-collegiate track team (ITA NH) and their intrepid coach, 2004 Olympian Tim Broe. Four of the five founding members of the team arrived today in Hanover, NH (home to Dartmouth College); and the fifth will arrive a bit later in the week.

The group consists of five superlatively talented young individuals, all of whom have displayed impressive courage and commitment to their athletic aspirations by making the leap to New Hampshire to participate in the team's launch. They are: David Brent, Toni-Lynn Salucci, Ben True, Lex Williams and Matt Withrow. The team may add another athlete or two in the coming weeks; and we'll certainly be telling you more about the five aforementioned athletes in the coming weeks, too.

David Brent (EMU) and Lex Williams (Michigan)

Toni-Lynn Salucci (Cornell)

Ben True (Dartmouth)

Matt Withrow (Wisconsin)

David, Toni, Ben, Lex, Matt, and Coach Tim will be spending the next few weeks adjusting to life in the Upper Valley while they get their autumn running legs under them. They'll also begin laying the groundwork for their community involvement, specifically providing mentoring services to area youths.

Visit this blog for regular updates on the team, its runners, its workouts, and its community work. Thanks --and happy running!