By Nate Mann
Although Ja’Maun Charles is from Pleasanton, California, training in the rain of Pullman, Washington, prepared him for races like Saturday’s 100 meters at the Pepsi Team Invitational. In fact, he had endured a similar environment at Hayward Field itself, placing third in the poor conditions of Pac-12 Championships’ 100-meter race last year.
In Saturday’s 100 meters, to counter an impressive headwind, meet officials shifted the 100-meter race to the east straightaway. Charles braved the storm alongside 14 others for a competitive 100 meters, finishing second in his heat and second overall, running a near-personal-record of 10.41 seconds, wind-aided. Clark Brown of BYU won the race in 10.34.
Charles appreciated the swap of race location, saying, “Whenever you get a chance to run with the wind, that’s always a plus. Running into the headwind, that’s kind of hard sometimes.”
Learning from the 2017 Pac-12 Championships, Charles took the necessary precautions to avoid weather-caused injuries. “I do a lot longer warmup just because it’s cold and raining, and then I usually try to keep my tights on as long as possible. Your muscles get cold and then you get injury – we’re really trying not to make that happen right now.”
Charles was still affected by the weather, though. Even with the wind behind him, rain clouded the sprinter’s vision. “When the rain’s going in your face … you can’t really see that well and you think, ‘I hope I’m staying in the lane right now.’”
Charles criticized his start for being a little slow, saying his reaction time isn’t where he wants it yet. He understands his potential when benefitting from a strong start: “With some fine tuning, we’ll have it right by the next race. We’re competing for 10ths or 100ths of seconds, so anything will help.”
Charles also competed in Washington State’s 4×100-meter relay, which finished second behind Brigham Young University. But the two second-place finishes might not have been Charles’ favorite aspect of this year’s Pepsi Invitational. His inner track fanboy emerged when he said, “It’s always a plus getting to run on this track, so many fast people run on it. Whenever we get a chance to compete here, I’m always excited. Even in the rain.”
