Friday Spotlight: Mayfest
##Note: Our featured athlete will be in and out during this thread. Please continue to ask your questions and make comments and he will get to them as soon as he can! Thanks
Great Friday everyone! We've got ourselves some local lightning today. A recent newcomer to the subreddit, today's Spotlight athlete and the times he's ran might leave you a bit speechless. We've had our fair share of speedsters before but I'm thinking our highlighted runner might be the fastest yet to be featured in this series. Now that I've got your attention, let's shift to finding out who! Ladies and Gentlemen I present to you... u/Mayfest!
Let's do this...
###The Runner:
First Name?
Colby
Age?
22
Where are you from?
Texas
Occupation?
Student
###Running Q&A's:
What are your PR’s?
HM - 1:05:15
15K - 45:45
10k - 29:24
5K - 14:24
3k - 8:27
mile - 4:24
400 - 60.00
What is your distance PR?
22 Miles
What’s your highest recorded weekly mileage?
150 Miles, and before people ask... No this was not prescribed by my coach. Me and my college coach bumped head on the daily, So I would go out late at night and run extra. Sometimes If I didn't think a workout was taxing enough I would do a workout before practice and then go run with the team.
What’s your comfy pace?
Around November and December before an injury occurred all of my recovery runs were between 5:40-5:50. Now I'm running around 5:55-6:05 as I work my mileage back up.
How long have you been running?
Since I was 9, so 13 years.
Tell us why you began running?
I was going through my parents old yearbook and saw pictures of my Dad running and thought I want to do that. My Dad took me to the track the next day and we timed me in a mile and I ran like 8:XX, I was awful.
Most memorable running moment?
My most memorable running moment had to be at the 2015 Southland Conference meet where I ran the 10k. It was a hot 90 degrees, and my teammate and I were up against 2 very top tier runners from Lamar. One being Sam Stabler you ran 13:30(5k) earlier that year and was NCAA #2. My teammate and I lead every lap (they just wanted to sit on us) trying to push the pace as much as we could, with 8 laps to go I noticed a small gap and I shouted "PUSH" to my teammate and we hammered the pace for as long as we could giving us a comfortable lead which lead to a 1-2 finish. It was very exciting because we were not the favorites.
Do you have a running mantra?
"Motivated people find a way"
"Never waste a heart beat"
"Extra effort is the key to success"
"Every day is a great day"
"We go with goal oriented people"
What time of day do you prefer to run?
Morning! - Because I love a post-run breakfast more than anything.
Any big races coming up?
I qualified for the US Championships (April 29th), but I'm not currently 100% so there is a chance I will just pass on the race, save a little money and focus on training.
My next race is a 5k in Dallas where I would like to try to break 15.
What are your short-term running goals?
Right now my goal is to break 50 minutes for a 10 mile tempo... a few weeks ago I ran 5:03 pace for 8 miles so I hope within the next few weeks I will have achieved that goal.
What are your long-term running goals?
I want to qualify for the Marathon Olympic Trials which I think is very possible. But one goal I really want to accomplish that is a little bit of a stretch is to make the US Championships in the 10k. To qualify I would have to run 28:30, which is smoking fast.
What’s one piece of running advice you’d give to the younger version of yourself?
"Don't take any days off from running, If you take the weekends off you will be 104 training days a year! You don't have time to lose!"
What is something you need to work on to become a better runner?
Taking extra time to foam roll/stretch/strength work, I get so crunched for time with having to be at class and studying non stop.
What is your current shoe choice?
Right now I'm wearing Saucony Fastwitch and Kinvara, But a local running store just hooked me up with some Hoka Cliftons which I'll be trying out soon.
Trail? Road? Track? Or Treadmill?
D. All of the above
I like them all, some days I'll run to the track and put down 44 laps at recovery pace (my teammates think I'm crazy) and other days I'll put some headphones in and zone out on a treadmill.
What is your ideal running weather?
A little warm with some rain, I don't know why but there is nothing better than a heavy shower on nice recovery run.
Do you have any social media accounts you’d like to share? [Facebook, Strava, Twitter]
I started a YouTube channel not too long ago, if everyone would go check it out and Subscribe that would be great! We would really appreciate it if you subscribed, it's really motivating when we get feedback from our viewers.
We also have an instagram: nomad_running_society and a facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NomadRunningSociety/ my personal instagram: cmehmen94
###Just For Fun:
What’s your spirit animal?
Probably a platypus, because I'm a little odd. And a Platypus is basically a puppy with a ducks beak... thats pretty cool.
What hobbies and interests do you have besides running?
Currently trying to learn how to sew, My grandma makes all of my running clothes since I'm not sponsored. So I've been in the process of learning, and currently in the process of starting my own company.
You can check that out on Instagram: nomad_running_society
Do you have any hidden talents?
I enjoy computer programming and graphic design... oh and building bikes.
Biggest pet peeve?
When people say "good luck" or "take it easy". One of my friends always tells me "good skill" instead, and why would you ever take it easy.
Dream job! What would it be?
Working at a running store (So if anyone here owns a running store... Hi my name is Colby)
Favorite Quote or Poem?
"Hard work given time, beats talent every time"
What is your favorite movie?
Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy
What is your biggest character flaw?
Sleeping in too much
What songs have you been listening to recently?
All of Fleetwood Mac
What are some of your favorite non-running subreddits?
r/vandwellers r/coffee
Because I live in my van, and coffee is good for you.
###One Last Question:
What is the origin of your username?
Oh man thats a good one....
My last name is "Mehmen" but pronounced Me-Men. My freshman year of college a teammate jokingly called me Mayhem. This nickname stuck for quite awhile but was eventually shortened to "Mays".
Okay so this is the weird part.. I made up the name "Mayfest" as a reference to me at tip top shape. As to say when I'm "Mayfest" I'm basically on the track having a party while everyone is dying. It was also a way I subliminally poked at my coach, because I was doing extra workouts on my own and it was a way of saying...I'm doing something behind the scenes. . So I used to walk into our locker room and write "Mayfest is coming" on the white board every morning, the majority of the team knew what it meant and thought it was funny.
That's it folks! Have a great weekend and enjoy the miles.
####Thanks for reading everyone!
#Please tag u/Mayfest when asking a question in this thread.
Previously Featured Spotlight Runners:
Posted Mar 10, 2017, 1:02 PM UTC