For runners like Geoff Lambert ‘08, school and conference records, as well as personal best times, provide them with quantifiable evidence of their improvements over time – however small they actually are.
“Two hundredths of a second,” said the cross country and track and field runner. “That’s not a lot, but it’s enough.
Lambert’s time of 1:52.70 in the 800-meter run last Friday at the Depauw Indoor Last Change Qualifier was not only the second fastest time in all of Division III indoor track this season, it broke the school and conference record set by Lambert last year – a time of 1:52.72. This was more than enough to propel Lambert into the NCAA National Championship meet this Friday and Saturday at Ohio Northern University.
“I came across the line at DePauw Friday night and I looked up,” Lambert said, “and they have a big scoreboard and it said it right on there. I threw up a big smile and got a hug from Coach Bush. That was a real good moment – I’m happy that happened.”
For Lambert, however, a trip to nationals is almost a routine. This will be his fifth trip to Track and Field Nationals. “I’ve gone twice indoor [track and field] and twice outdoor [track and field],” Lambert said. “It’s kind of traumatizing the first time because you’re not used to it, but I’ve gotten used to it.”
Lambert, who was barely edged out at Nationals last year, will get a second change against the man who beat him last year, Jimmy O’Brian of Ohio Northern. For both O’Brien and Lambert, this year may prove to be the more difficult than last years at Rose-Hulman.
“This weekend is a fast 800,” Lambert said. “It’s a lot faster than last year. I got a little better than last year, but it’s going to be a lot different. I know Friday night in the preliminaries no one is going to hold anything back, so you’re going to have to basically run it like a final. Right now it’s really all I’m thinking about – running well Friday night and making the final.”
With multiple conference championships and five consecutive trips to both indoor and outdoor track and field nationals, it is important to understand how Lambert became so prolific. He attributes most of his success to one person.
“Roger Busch came on campus my sophomore year,” Lambert said. “He’s a big reason for everything that has happened. I owe him a great debt for what he did for me.”
“He’s done everything he could do as a coach for me and has just changed and influenced my running career for the better,” he continued. “I don’t think I would have been near what I have done the past few years if he hadn’t come back to campus.”
Busch, a 1996 graduate of Wabash, began as an assistant coach for both cross country and track. He is now the head cross country coach and the distance coach for the track team. According to Lambert, when Busch came, the cross country team transformed dramatically.
“The whole mentality of the team changed when he came,” Lambert said. “The training changed – we started running every day. I’ve run every day for 2.5 years because he told me that was what it took to be good. The work ethic and mentality that he brought definitely helped change the team for the better.”
“All the guys that were here [before Busch] were serious, and we thought we were working hard, but when he showed up he taught us what it actually meant to work hard and get better,” Lambert continued. “His coming definitely changed everyone for the better and got the program back on track.”
For Lambert, the victory at DePauw and upcoming trip to Nationals represented a major highlight in a running season hampered with injury.
“I didn’t have the greatest winter,” Lambert said. “I was hurt coming out of cross country, and my mileage was way down. I didn’t start to the work out regimen until I got back on campus. I was definitely behind where I was a year before.”
“Coach Busch and my training partner Hugh Jackson got me through some of the hard workouts at the beginning,” he continued. “Luckily I was able to get my health better.”
“Running 1:52 and breaking the school record is definitely something I needed to do,” he added. “It says loads about the guys I train with and the type of training I do and the mindset Coach Busch had. He told me in January ‘Don’t worry; you’ll be where you need to be in March.’ So we all just believed and worked hard.”
Getting prepared for a race is sometimes difficult, according to Lambert. However, working through the routine is an important step to getting ready for a race.
“The night before,” Lambert said, “I like to eat pizza, watch a movie, and just kind of relax and get a good night’s sleep. We usually warm up about 45 minutes before – I usually listen to Metallica songs to get fired up, although this season I’ve gone to Audioslave and Rage Against the Machine.”
“After that I just get loose and stretch out and by that point I’ve got some butterflies,” he continued. “A little nervous energy’s good.”
“I’ll get through all of that – then just run fast,” he added, “Run real fast.”