Pete Julian was hired last month to resurrect the cross country and track programs at Metro State, but he has more to offer the commuter school than his coaching acumen.
He could teach Time Management 101 as well.
In addition to reviving running programs at Metro that have been dormant for two decades, Julian is an elite runner, which is a full-time pursuit for most of his competitors. This week he will be named to the team representing the U.S. in the Bolder Boulder’s International Team Challenge.
Julian, who lives in Boulder, also is spearheading an effort to bring the U.S. cross country championships there in 2007. How does he do it all?
“I surround myself with positive people,” said Julian, who turns 34 on Wednesday. “The only people I surround myself with are people who think that it’s possible. Nothing frustrates me more than people who say, ‘Well, it looks like you’re going to have to give up your running now.’ I can just feel the anger rising. I’m like, ‘Says who?’ Why do I have to give up my own running? Why do I have to give up something that special to me?”
Two more Julian time-management tips: always call people back, because if you make time for them, they will make time for you, and never forget to set aside time for your family.
“If once a week you slow-dance with your wife on the kitchen floor at 10 o’clock at night, she’s going to back you at anything you ever want to do,” Julian said.
Metro State athletic director Joan McDermott said Julian’s ability to multi-task makes him an ideal role model for student-athletes. She likes his spirit, too.
“His excitement, his passion and his experience in the sport will just bring so much to the program, right from the start,” McDermott said. “We are so lucky to have him.”
When he was a boy, Julian’s mother bought him a T-shirt that said, “You can’t soar with the eagles if you’re hanging out with turkeys.” He didn’t understand it then.
“Now that rings true more and more in my life,” Julian said. “The people who hang around me in Boulder, they’re all poor but they’re all huge dreamers. None of them watch TV. From early in the morning to late at night, they’re doing something. It’s everybody going 100 mph towards a goal with blinders on. What I’m doing, they don’t think anything of it.”
A cancer survivor who won a bronze medal in the 10,000 meters at the 1999 Pan Am Games and was a finalist at the 1999 world track championships, Julian believes he can make the Roadrunners a Division II power. Cross country begins next fall, track in 2007.
“So many programs are cutting cross country and track, because it’s the easy way out, but it doesn’t really cost that much,” Julian said. “They’re giving us scholarships. They want us to win. Joan wants Metro State cross country to be able to run for a national title in three or four years.”
Joining Julian on the U.S. Bolder Boulder men’s team will be former Adams State standout Jason Hubbard of Alamosa and Chris Graff of Palo Alto, Calif. The U.S. women’s team – Olympians Deena Kastor, Colleen de Reuck and Jen Rhines – was announced last week.
“I’m ecstatic,” Julian said. “I’ve been warned that, because I’m the Boulder guy, there’s going to be a lot of expectations for me. Whatever. Anytime I can run with the USA singlet on, I’m happy as can be. When it’s 92 degrees and the air is thin as ever, I will be one of the few guys on the (starting) line happy to be there.”
John Meyer can be reached at 303-820-1616 or jmeyer@denverpost.com.
