One step at a time, on a run to the Olympics

For the past five years, Joe Lemay '89 has been one of the best distance runners in the United States at distances from 10,000 meters to the marathon. In 1996, he was second at the Olympic Trials in the 10,000 meters, but failed to make it to Atlanta because he missed the qualifying standard. This year at the California International Marathon, Lemay achieved the 2000 Olympic "A" standard of 2:14 with a personal best of 2:13:55. If he places in the top three at the trials in Pittsburgh, Pa., on May 7, Lemay will qualify for the Olympic team. He recently spoke with 'Prince' Staff Writer Michael Grabell.

'Prince': What do you think your chances are to make the Olympic team this year?

Lemay: "Runner's World" picked me at four-to-one, but it's hard to say. I'd say pretty good, better than average. The marathon is a real crap shoot sometimes. You never know if you're going to have a good day come race day.

P: How do you train to prepare for the event?

L: I run about 140 to 150 miles per week. Once a week I run 20 to 22 miles, and I run twice a day for the rest of the week. Once a week I do a three-mile pickup or go to the track and run 6 by 1 mile in the mid-4:40s.

P: How do you balance the demands of training, your career and your family?

L: I guess I'm pretty busy. Every morning I'm up by 6 a.m. and run from 6:30 until a quarter-to-eight. That's 10 to 12 miles for my morning run, and then I run another hour after work. That doesn't leave a lot of time for other things. But I'm cutting back to 100 miles as the race nears, so it should be getting easier.

P: With American record-holder David Morris in the race, do you think you still have a shot at winning?

L: I still have a shot at it. Just because David Morris is the American record-holder doesn't mean he's going to run all that well at the Olympic trials. He is the favorite, but it's anybody's race really.

P: What is your opinion about world-record holder Khalid Khannouchi and how he is trying to become an American citizen?

L: It would be helpful to have him in the race because if he's in the race, people will definitely run under 2:14. If he gets his citizenship, he will win. He's so much better that he'll probably win even if he has a bad day. In general, though, I'm not a big fan of the United States buying talent. I'd rather have a guy who got his citizenship on his own than have America recruit the best talent in the world just so they can win a medal in the Olympics.

P: What was life like at Princeton when you were here? Were you in a club?

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L: I was in TI. I was also on the track team and was an aerospace engineering major. I imagine it's the same as now, but back then [TI was] all male, which means they were probably a little rowdier. I wasn't one of the TI guys who was there until 2 to 3 a.m. every night. When I'd stop by, people were surprised to see me.

P: Why did you choose TI?

L: I was thinking of bickering Tower, but I really didn't like a lot of the people there. Everything I knew about TI was positive.

P: What was the track program like when you were here?

L: Larry Ellis was the coach, and he was the head coach of the 1984 Olympic team. He was a good coach and very good at seeing what runners needed. The distance runners weren't that good. For a while, it seemed like I was the only guy doing good things. The track program was one of the reasons I chose Princeton. The trails for running in Princeton were a great place to train.

P: In the biography on your Website, you mention you were kicked out of the Air Force ROTC for a "lack of leadership potential." What happened?

L: I was in the Air Force ROTC for two years. Basically, I flunked boot camp. I just got started off on the wrong foot and never was able to pull myself out of it. The first week, one of my pens leaked on my shirt, and I got all these demerits. I sort of went into a tailspin from there.

P: You got married this past September. How is that going?

L: I'm married to a woman by the name of Ellen McCurtin. We met at a track meet in New York City. She's an ultra-marathoner, which is someone who runs anything more than a marathon — like 50 K or 100 K.

P: And you also recently got a pig named Skunky?

L: My wife Ellen did some volunteer work at a farm near our home in Danbury, [Conn.]. They didn't want this particular pig any more. Ellen loves pigs. That's her thing now. We have a dog fence around our yard so we had a good place to keep him. It's been pretty fun having a pig. It is actually illegal to have a pig where I live. I believe you have to have five acres of land to own a pig, and we have two acres.

P: I read the cow jokes on your Website. What is your fascination with these jokes?

L: That's from high school. Somebody else told me a couple of cow jokes — like "What's a cow's favorite class? Cow-culus." They were pretty easy to make, so I started thinking of my own. My favorite is "What do you call a cow with long legs? — Joe Le-moo." I told them at Princeton, and people started calling me "Lemoo."