Mark Junkerman
Interview on Cool Running
Don Allison
June 16, 1999

Former UCLA all-American Mark Junkerman and his wife Chris, also a standout runner, have turned up in the Boston area in the past year, and it hasn't taken them long to immerse themselves into the New England running scene. Cool Running's Don Allison talked recently with Mark.

CR: How did you end up in the Boston area?

MJ: Chris and I were living in Durango, CO before coming to Boston. I had lived in the town of 14,000 for the prior six years. Southwest Colorado is one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen, but it is very hard to make a living. Chris and I met in December 1998 and got married the following March. After realizing that we both wanted to concentrate on our running we decided that we needed to move closer to the competition. We contemplated both the West coast, were I went to UCLA, and the East coast, were Chris attended WPI and Yale. Boston won!

CR: What is your impression of the running scene here so far? How does it differ from California?

MJ: New England has an awesome road racing scene! There is a national class race at least every month...all within driving distance. New England is definitely the hotbed of club competition in the entire nation. California has many road races, but not up to the quality we have here.

CR: I know you have expressed an interest in getting into ultras and ran the USA 50-km earlier this year. How did that race go? Was it what you expected? Will you run other ultras? 50-mile? 100-km? 100-mile?

MJ: I am currently training for a fall marathon. My goal is to run this distance at next year's Olympic trials. My run at the USA 50k was just part of my training. My coach believes in long training runs and thought I would compete well. It was difficult for me as I missed two weeks due to tendinitis right before the race. Ultra running is so different from anything I've ever done. I will run some ultras in the future, but the focus now is the marathon.

CR: What is your running background: college, PRs, best races, etc?

MJ: Best races: 1984 US Junior National 1st place in the 1500m; US team: Junior Pan Am Games; 1985 Set the American Junior Record for 10k roads 29:15; 1987 2nd NCAA Div. 3000m Steeple Chase; US team: World University Games; 1988 2nd US Indoor Nationals 3000m; 8th US Olympic Trials 3000m Steeple Chase.

PRs: 1500m: 3:41.78; Mile: 4:00.25; 3000m: 7:54.6 (indoor); 3000m steeple 8:32; 2: mile 8:31; 5000m: 13:48; 10000m: 28:54 (road).

CR: What is your training typically like? How do you fit the training in?

MJ: Right now I am doing some base work for the marathon. My weekly mileage is currently 85 to 100 and moving toward 120 per week. The week has three main workouts: 40 x 400, a twenty minute tempo, and a long run. That's the easy part, the hard part is fitting it in! Work takes up about 56 hours per week...some days we are up at 6:30 for a run before work and don't arrive home until 11:00 p.m. after our track workout.

CR: I think you work at Marathon Sports? How is that going? Do you find the customers pretty knowledgeable?

MJ: I have a great time at Marathon Sports. It is a great atmosphere. I love being around people who love the sport the way I do. I'm working in the new location in Brookline, so we are introducing most customers to running shoes for the first time.

CR: What advice would you give to a runner looking to buy running shoes?

MJ: Buy your running shoes from a running shoe store! Like other sports it is important to have the right equipment. Remember, you're buying your shoes for there function, not fashion.

CR: What was your impression of the Boston Marathon?

MJ: The Boston Marathon is like no other race I've been involved with. The crowds were amazing, but it is not a place to run a fast time unless your are super fit and in the elite wave. Everyone else has to sit around outside for a long 4 hours. It is definitely a race I would like to be apart of in the future!

CR: Have you joined a running club? Will you run in NE Championship races?

MJ: I am a member of CMS. I will be running some NE Championship races, but I am not very race ready right now. In the fall, if all goes well I should be ready for some competitions.

Tuesday, May 20, 2008 04:33 PM