By Linden Moore
Charles Jock hadn’t run the 400-meter dash since his college. The last time the San Diego native ran the 400 was when he ran for UC Irvine in 2010 and became the fifth-fastest runner in school history with a personal record. He ran it again Friday night at the Oregon Twilight Meet, using the race to practice faster speeds after a few off weeks.
“I haven’t gotten much speed work in the past few weeks, so it’s getting the legs started and ready for the 800s,” Jock said.
Jock maintained a steady pace from the start, and the OTC Elite runner finished in 47.58 finish time, coming short of his PR of 46.9. Second place went to Jake Mihelich of Linfield College in 47.80.
“I could’ve executed better but I’m not mad,” Jock said. “The 400 is all about speed, so we’ll take it from there.”
Jock’s victory marks a turning point for his upcoming season, to get back on a healthy streak after suffering from recent injuries.
“The problem for the last three years was my hamstring and abdominal strains,” Jock said. “It was trying to keep myself healthy, which was hard for me to do the last few years.”
Jock took it upon himself to change his lifestyle, starting with his diet and proper hydration.
“This whole fall and winter has been about making sure I stay healthy,” he said. “I’ve renovated my diet by eating a lot healthier and staying properly hydrated for workouts. I’m legitimately addicted to Oreos.”
Jock got a chance to implement his new strategy during OTC’s annual trip to train at altitude in Albuquerque. Each day consisted of a hard workout, forcing the athletes to focus on adjusting their bodies to extreme conditions.
“Albuquerque’s higher so we did some quality stuff. It was train, come back, shower, eat and nap. There’s nothing to do there,” he said.
At the end of the day, Jock saw his performance as an outlet to fine-tune his skills for later in the season while steadily improving his times.
“It was about crossing the t’s and dotting the i’s, and all these things add up to good performances,” he said.
Mihelich, however, was disappointed with his performance.
“I felt that I should’ve won to be honest, I can run faster,” Mihelich said. “If I started my kicker a little sooner, I could’ve caught him. But all respect to him; he had a great race.”
