BOULDER — This is a Summer Olympic year, which means track and field once again gets to take center stage. It is a sport, however, that is run throughout the year, every year. James Davis has made a living in professional track and coaches at Boulder High School. His bid to qualify for the Olympics was recently thwarted, but running is the thing. And for the 32-year-old Davis, who has medaled in the world championships and the Pan American Games, he plans to run as long as his legs keep him swift. He chatted with Denver Post staff writer Chris Dempsey about all things track.
Q: What’s a typical year for you, event-wise?
A: I typically do the full indoor and outdoor season. I’m a 400 (meters), 200 guy. I mostly run the 400, and every once in a while I’ll run the 200 to work on my footspeed. I’ll start my indoor season mid-to-late January through the middle of March. Outdoor starts the first week of April and runs through September, if you can run that far. (He laughs.)
Q: So how many events?
A: It depends on the year. In a world championship year, I’m not going to race as much because I focus on making the world championship team. I race as much as I need to, to get ready to run. So that can consist of four or five races indoors to nine or 10 races outdoors. In nonchampionship years, I’ll pretty much be on a dash for cash. I’ll try to increase my ranking, stuff like that. I’ll run eight to nine races indoor and turn around and run 15 to 20 outside.
Q: You work as well. What’s a training day for you?
A: I’ll wake up at 5:30 in the morning or 6 o’clock at the latest, and work from 6:30 a.m. ’til 2 or 2:30. Then head to the track, do my training session. And then I coach at Boulder, so I’ll coach those kids.
Q: What’s the hardest part?
A: Just balancing everything with your family life, your job, and making sure you don’t lose perspective on what’s important.
Q: Olympics still a goal?
A: There’s always Olympics and world championships and stuff like that, that are a part of the sport. But when I got to the sport, it wasn’t to make the Olympic team or make the world championship team. My whole goal was to be a pro athlete for 10 years. I’m eight years into it. If that includes making the Olympic team, great. If that includes making the world championship team, great.
Q: Do you think many people understand that track is a professional career and not just an Olympic sport?
A: Few people understand that. Unless you’re a part of the sport or know somebody that’s in the sport and see them doing it, it’s not marketed or promoted so that the average person knows about it.
Q: You’re 32. You think you’re giving hope to 30-somethings everywhere?
A: (He laughs.) If they want to look at it that way, yeah.
Q: Because of high-profile drug cases, do you have to defend the sport when you tell people you run track?
A: It’s a matter of how you carry yourself. Everybody knows for a fact that James Davis is clean. It doesn’t matter how fast or how slow I run, that I’m clean. Now, if I go out and have a super-fast time, it may raise some eyebrows due to the amount of drug suspicion that’s out there, but the people that know me and that have known me for years, know that I’m not one to cheat.
Chris Dempsey: 303-954-1279 or cdempsey@denverpost.com
The big five
James Davis is an avid music listener who dabbled in a rap career. Here are his favorite recording artists:
1. T.I.
2. Lil Wayne
3. Busta Rhymes
4. Kanye West
5. Joey Rock
