Scott Bauhs, a 25 year old Adidas athlete from California, is a graduate from Chico state where he rewrote their record books as his running blossomed under Chico coach Gary Towne. Bauhs owns a sub-4 mile, NCAA DII 5k and 10k records, and three NCAA National Championships. Scott began his professional career in 2008 in Mammoth where he now trains under coach Terrence Mahon.  Neely Spence caught up with Scott after his blistering half marathon in Houston last weekend.  He paused for a minute to talk about the path that has lead him to this point and his desire to pole vault in 2012. (You can read his blog about the race http://www.flotrack.org/blog/40838)

PR’s

1500-3:41.34

Mile-3:59.81

3k-7:50.27

5k-13:28.92

10k-27:48.06

Half-1:01:30

HRC-First, I have to bring up the fact that you are a fellow DII runner (Chico State, in CA). I remember watching you dominate NCAAs in the snow at Slippery Rock my freshman year, and the week after that marked the beginning of your pro career. How did DII prepare you for your pro career?

SB-Early in my time at Chico, Running in DII allowed me to develop slowly while still being very competitive. From my freshman year onwards I was one of the most competitive athletes in our conference and region and I (along with my teammates) were able to focus on peaking at Nationals because qualifying wasn’t much of an issue.

Once I got to the point that I was one of the best athletes in DII, I was able to put myself out there and race DI runners and Pro athletes, but I was able to do it at my choosing. I ran a half marathon and I qualified for the World Cross-Country championships while still in college, things I might not have been able to do at a bigger D1 school or a school with an Indoor program. I was still able to run big PRs at Mt SAC and Stanford but I didn’t have to worry about a big time conference meet or regionals.

Of course there were great advantages to Chico in particular. The coach, Gary Towne is one of the best coaches in the country. He guides his runners through a simple and effective formula that encourages hard work and leads to success. Besides that, the worst weather we had was rain so we were able to run outdoors 365 days a year in the wonderful Bidwell Park. We were able to drive to any meet in California which happens to be where all of the best distance races are anyway so I never had to skip Mt. SAC or Stanford because of travel or budget issues. Also, we didn’t have an indoor program so I was able to focus and be ready to run very fast when the outdoor season came around.

 

HRC-You still had a season to go, (our situations are eerily similar), what was the deciding factor for you to turn pro early and pursue your athletic career on the next level?

SB-I was actually a year older than you, I went pro after 4 ½ years at Chico. I had already finished my degree and was just taking classes to fill my time and stay eligible. I knew I wanted to join the Mammoth Track Club and get started trying to accomplish bigger goals than winning more college titles or improving on my school records.

I sort of envisioned myself making the World Championship team that year and thought that transitioning to a big time professional group would be the way to do it. It turns out the transition was harder than I thought it would be and I wasn’t even close to making the World team that year. Even though that particular year didn’t end up turning out the way I would have liked, I did get a head start on transitioning to the Mammoth Program which did put me on the World Championship team in Daegu and I believe will lead me to some great accomplishments in the near future.

 

HRC-How did the agent/contract/sponsorship/coach/club search go for you? What were some of the deciding factors that helped your decision making?

SB-Choosing Mammoth Track Club was pretty easy for me. I was familiar with Mammoth from my High School’s Cross-Country camps. Choosing my agent Dan Lilot was also quite easy, I had heard great things about him.  He went to UC Davis which used to be Chico’s rival school before they went DI. He found me a contract with adidas which worked well for me since I was already wearing a fair amount of adidas shoes in college.

 

HRC-With over three years of experience on the pro level, what is some wisdom you have gained that you wish to share with others?

SB-Racing the best runners in the World is hard, but it is also easy to make it harder than it has to be. Try to forget about the prize money and bonus structures and contracts and world championships and Olympics and just try to be the best runner you can be. Everything else will take care of itself.

 

HRC-You have fast mile, 5k, and 10k times, but you just ran a great half-marathon in Houston (3rd in 61:30). Have you been transitioning to longer races and do you see full marathons in your future?

SB-I have been slowly preparing for the Marathon. I joined Mammoth Track Club with the Marathon in mind, Terrence is the best coach there is. That said, my long runs have been a work in progress. I have always been good at the 3k-5k workouts but somehow my best races have been 10ks and Half Marathons. It will be a fun adventure that I am looking forward to.

 

HRC-Can you share a little about your weekly mileage/favorite workouts/and longest run?

SB-My longest week ever was 115 miles and my longest run ever was 22 miles. I probably average 90-100 miles a week through the entire season and I have run a lot of 18-20 mile runs.

My favorite workouts are any workouts that go well. Last year I ran a good 3 mile, 2 mile, 1 mile cut down in 14 min, 9 min, 4:10. I’ve also run some great speed maintenance workouts like 3k worth of 300m in 45 seconds with 200m recovery in 40 seconds after something like a 9 minute 3k and a 5:30 2k.

 

HRC-Do you incorporate cross-training/core/strength work into your daily routines?

SB-We do core/strength work 6 days a week. We don’t do much aerobic cross-training unless we are injured and I haven’t been injured through my whole time at Mammoth.

 

HRC-How do the training venues of Mammoth Track Club enhance your training?

SB-Mammoth Lakes is at 8000 feet of altitude. Running up there is challenging and beautiful. We do a decent amount of training at 4500 feet to get away from the snow and to get the High-Low training effect.

We also do a lot of training in San Diego. There is an Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista which is an amazing facility with everything we need in a very close proximity. There are also quite a few good places to run tempo runs and long runs in the San Diego area.

 

HRC-What are your goals for 2012 and beyond?

SB-In general my goal is just to get better at running every year. Last year I made the World Championship team, making the Olympic team would be a nice step forward. If I can continue to improve I am sure that I will have a very fulfilling and successful career.

 

HRC-If you could be good at any other event in track and field, what do you wish it would be?

SB-The thrill seeker in me has always been very intrigued by the pole-vault. Seeing the athletic capabilities of the world-class pole-vaulters at the Olympic training is awe inspiring and something I certainly don’t possess.