Tyner Breaks Through at NCAA Indoors

Justin Tyner is what you might call a "late bloomer." The Baxter native and graduate of Brainerd High School, surprised himself at this year's NCAA Indoor Championships by finishing third in the 5000 meters as a junior at the Air Force Academy. A 4:24 miler in high school, Tyner's highest finish was tenth in the MSHSL State Cross Country Meet. One clue to his potential, however, was the fact that he made the US team in the biathlon in 2007.

DtB contributor Jim Ferstle asked Tyner (pictured) about his recent successes.

Down the Backstretch: You’ve been improving every year and this year you’ve entered the elite level with your third place finish at NCAA indoors and 13:41 time. Tell us a bit about NCAA Indoors. Did you have any clue that things were going to go that well? What were your goals going into the race? How did the race unfold? What were your thoughts afterward?

Justin Tyner: The big jumps that I experienced this season are really the product of the work I have been putting in the last two years. Doing well at the Division I level is something that talent alone can’t give anyone. My whole collegiate career has been a steady progression, being more and more successful every passing season.

The first signs of a big jump were in the cross country season last fall when I came in fifth at the Mountain Region Championships. I had a great couple weeks of training over Christmas break which set me up well for the indoor season that unfolded. I remember that right before break my coach Juli Benson told me that I would be ready to run in the 13:30’s, that just sounded ridiculous to me at the time given that my fastest 5k at that point was a 14:11. But I felt good and was crushing workouts left and right.

I opened up my season with an 800 at our home track which ended up being a 1:56. Next I did a 1K/mile double at the University of Nebraska a couple of weeks later with times of 1:27 and 4:07. My first 5K was at the Husky invite, I laid down a 14:00. Then at the Mountain West Conference championships is where I got my qualifying mark that got me into NCAA’s with an altitude converted time of 13:52.

Going into the national meet I wanted to do well; All-American was my main goal. My coach told me that a good race would be top eight, great would be top five, and I was capable of top three. In my mind that was fairly bold, but I wasn’t going to limit myself. I started in the back of the pack from the gun, in about twelfth place. We came through the first lap in 32 seconds, and it felt fast, so I told myself that it would be fine. Every lap I would look at my coach who was standing at the start of the home stretch, and every lap she would signal that I was in perfect position, and to be patient.

Ten laps in I remember being very uncomfortable, and fighting back thoughts of giving up. But fortunately I suppressed those thoughts like I had so many times before in workouts. The leaders kept surging so the field, which was single file for the most part, would stretch out, then come back together as the chase pack would fight to stay connected. Since the race had gone out so fast, people started fading around lap 19, just like I had counted on, which is when my coach finally told me to start going around people.

I finally was in fourth with three laps to go behind New Mexico’s Chris Barnicle. By that point I was so excited, all I wanted to do was finish as well as I could. I went around Chris with a lap to go and finished third a few seconds behind the favorites Sam Chelanga, and David McNeill. I was honestly astonished, and super excited. My time blew me away, I believed that I was capable of running such a time, but to actually realize that goal, was truly amazing.

DtB: Being in the service and in pilot training, I imagine that sports take a back seat to your school work and military prep. Do you run year round? How much time do you get to devote to athletics?

JT: To answer this I should explain what exactly it is that I am doing. I am a junior at the U.S. Air Force Academy, which is a four year college program, fully funded by the U.S. Air Force, every student has a full academic scholarship. Every graduate has a minimum commitment of five years of active duty service after graduation. Upon graduation every student is commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Air Force. Pilot training is something that comes after that. So right now I am just a student, going through a rigorous academic and military curriculum. All student athletes have classes only in the morning, so after lunch we have an hour of military training then we go to practice. So with the scheduled practice time, it is just a matter of getting things done in the time that I have outside of practice. I do run year round, with a two week break at the end of the outdoor season, and a week break after cross country in the fall. I get several hours to devote to running every day, so a fairly normal amount compared to most Division I programs.

DtB: You were on the world junior biathlon team in 2007. I would gather that means you did cross county skiing as well in high school. Can you tell us a bit about that and your biathlon experiences? Do you still do any of that in the military competitions?

JT: I did cross country ski in high school, in fact skiing is what got me into running. I started in seventh grade and many of my friends on the team also did cross country running, so I started that in eighth grade. Essentially what I did in high school was train for running in the fall and spring, and biathlon and skiing in the winter and summer, though I did get my miles in during the summer as well.

I loved skiing, it is definitely very different from running. My sophomore year I started working with Bill Meyer, who is a biathlon coach who lives in Nisswa, he helped me tremendously with my ability to ski, and really train at a whole new level. I trained hard for all three years that I competed in biathlon, and I love the sport.

My career culminated in my making the U.S. youth world team, which competed at the Junior World Biathlon Championships in January of 2007. It was a fantastic experience, and it was foundational in that it helped me learn to deal with performing under pressure, and in adverse conditions against extremely stiff competition. We had to deal with a time change, altitude, dynamic snow conditions, different food, as well as a fast paced race schedule.

I don’t recall exactly how I placed at the races, not high enough to remember at any rate. I have not competed in either cross country skiing, or biathlon since high school. At the college level you really have to be committed to one sport, and track is what I have chosen.

DtB: You have two younger teammates-Jim Walmsley and Jon Rock—who seem to be close to you in ability. Has their presence on the team helped to push you to a new level? How much have they contributed to your recent success?

JT: Jim and Jon are both very talented runners. I have learned a lot from both of them. There is definitely something to be said for having guys that I can train with contributing to my recent success. All three of us do almost the exact same training, I would probably go crazy if I had to do everything by myself.

It would not surprise me at all if/when those guys both break any/all of the records that I set. The Air Force distance running program is entering a new era, it is really exciting to see how good this team is getting, and Jim and Jon are a huge part of that.

DtB: Your media guide bio has an entry that notes your nickname is “Snuggles.” Can we get you to tell us a bit about that?

JT: Ha ha, yes, I am very commonly known around campus as “Snuggles.” This is because the men’s Cross Country team has a tradition of handing out nicknames to the incoming freshmen. My second week of practice, a guy, who was a junior at the time, known as “Seabass” turned to me and said “you look like the Snuggle’s bear, I’m calling you Snuggles,” and it stuck.

DtB: Your progress through the pilot training would suggest that your future is there. Any thoughts on continuing running or will your competitive career end with your eligibility for the Air Force team?

JT: I am not at pilot training yet, my class actually finds out pretty soon what our jobs are going to be in the Air Force. I put in for pilot, but if I find out that is what they assigned me to, I may give it up so I can enter a program called WCAP. WCAP (World Class Athlete Program) is something that offers elite athletes in the Air Force the opportunity to train for the Olympics. It is a very selective program, and they don’t like to give it to people that are slotted to be pilots. I will be out of NCAA eligibility when I graduate, so I will not be able to run for the Air Force Academy, though I am hoping to compete post-collegiately for the U.S. Air Force.

DtB: What motivated you to go into the military? To train to be a pilot?

JT: I’m not really sure what made me want to be in the military. Since I was 12 years old I wanted to go to the Air Force Academy. I joined Civil Air Patrol, and learned as much as I could about military life and structure, and got my first flying experience. For as long as I can remember I was infatuated with airplanes. My favorite toys when I was a child were airplanes. I would draw airplanes, and design paper airplanes. I would read about them, and study pictures of them. I was pretty obsessed. As I got older and closer to actually coming to the academy. I recognized the magnitude of the challenge that I wanted to overcome. And that is what it became about my last year in high school, and my first year here, was overcoming that challenge.

DtB: What role does running play in your life? Just something you’re good at? Something you enjoy? Stress relief? An outlet for competitive instincts?

JT: Running is all of the above to me and more. Running keeps me busy on top of my jam packed schedule, though while it is stress added, it is also very much a stress reliever. Some days I hate running, others I love it.

Most of the time it is just routine though. I do what I have to for the next race. And racing is really what I love about the sport. In my mind racing is the purest form of athletic competition; it is an innate sense that faster is better, and whoever is fastest is best. As children we all liked to race to the water fountain, or to the car to get the front seat. That sense of competition has never left me, I love the feeling of pushing my body as hard as I can in an effort to finish first. But more than that, running is a gift from God, something that He has blessed me with, that I can do and enjoy with all of my heart and give back to Him.

Photo courtesy of Air Force Academy.