As Justin Smith crossed the finish line in the 2016 Eugene Half Marathon, he knew that this would be his last race in Eugene, a place where he came to play baseball, but will leave with a burning desire to continue running.
The half-marathon alone is not a sufficient weekly dose of competitive running for Smith. Prior to the Eugene Half-Marathon on Sunday, May 1, he competed Thursday in the 1,500-meter run and 3,000-kilometer race at the Titan Twilight—and the Flapjack 5K on Saturday. He then proceeded to get a personal record of 1 hour, 24 minutes, 50 seconds in the half-marathon.
Three years ago, after graduating from Orland High School in northern California, Smith had committed to playing baseball at Lane Community College. Although he had a passion for running and had run varsity on his high school team, Smith thought that he was better at baseball.
That plan, however, took a turn when he met a couple during an early night conditioning run on Pre’s Trail in August 2013, just weeks before his baseball workouts were set to begin.
That couple just so happened to be Harry Marra, coach of decathlon world record holder Ashton Eaton, and Marra’s wife. Not knowing who Marra was, Smith was simply concerned for an older gentleman’s safety at the late hour.
After stopping his run to walk Marra and his wife to their car, Smith learned of Marra’s 30 years of experience coaching some of the best multi-event athletes in the world. Their conversations left him questioning his future in athletics.
“I felt like it was a sign,” Smith said. “Of all the people I could have met on Pre’s trail at 9 o’clock at night, and I meet a super famous track coach. I felt like it was some sort of sign to say that maybe I should just keep running.”
And that’s exactly what Smith decided to do. He still went to Lane, but stopped baseball completely to focus on running and finishing his Associate of Art Oregon Transfer degree. This past year, he went to the University of Oregon and ran for the Oregon Running Club.
“Justin is one of the greatest teammates,” fellow Oregon Running Club athlete Jake Willard said. “When I first met him in fall, we immediately connected. We run about the same times, so we trained together and became close.”
During this track season, Smith has cut his 800-meter time down by 16 seconds and his 1,500-meter by 27 seconds.
“Justin’s added another sort-of excited, buoyant, interested personality to our group,” Oregon Running Club coach Tom Heinenen said. “He’s shown people that by training and being diligent, you can improve. He’s done that and really taken advantage of the level of competition that we have.”
Smith’s dedication and drive to succeed that Willard and Heinenen have witnessed first-hand, has shown in his running endeavors this past week.
“I had a really busy running week,” Smith said. “So I was happy that I still had some legs left in me.”
Because of all of Smith’s success, he has committed to running for Central Methodist University in Missouri next year. If it weren’t for the chance encounter with Marra that summer night in 2013, Smith would never have been given this opportunity.
Although Eugene Marathon was Smith’s final race in Eugene before he leaves for Missouri, that doesn’t mean it will be his last race ever in Eugene. Smith hopes to one day be a track coach and potentially move back to the city dedicated to the sport he loves: TrackTown USA.
“The marathon was a lot of fun,” Smith said. “It’s my last couple weeks in Eugene, so it is a good little going away party.”
