Q&A with Luke Landis; Former Ohio State Distance Runner
QA 1-3
Luke Landis competed for Ohio State in cross country and track and field from 2015 to 2019. He competed in the NCAA Championships in the 5000 meter in 2019. He has a personal best in that event of 14:04.29 and a personal best in the mile of 4:02.69. While at Norwalk high school he ran on the state runner-up 4x800m relay team and qualified for the 3200m as a junior. As a senior he was state runner-up in the 3200m, champion in the 3200m at the Midwest Meet of Champions and 6th place in the 5000m at the New Balance Nationals.
What is the one thing you wish people knew about elite long distance running?
Most days, we like running about as much as the next person, which is to say not all that much. Sure, there are days where running with your buddies is more like hanging out or you feel incredible after a tough workout, but on the days in between it's taxing without much direct benefit. There's just an understanding that if you really want to distinguish yourself, that's what it takes.
What made you want to be a distance runner?
Both of my parents were relatively successful runners themselves and introduced me to the sport when I was young, taking me to fun runs / 5ks as early as first grade. Add to that that many of my extended family members had success (and are still doing so - S/O Reese Landis at New London!) and my interest was piqued. It's also easy to see progress as a direct function of training - train better and maybe you'll run faster. I was hooked.
How did growing up in Norwalk affect you as a distance runner?
Well first off, it's a good thing we didn't have a school-sanctioned middle school soccer team. Can't say for sure but if I would have done that instead of cross country, who knows if I would have stuck with running. When I was in high school though it was an exciting time at Norwalk. It seemed like all of our sports teams were on the upswing, competing well at the state level. I decided I wanted to do the same for cross country & track. We also had a great distance group when I was there - training with Jared Lee, Caden Foos, and Quentin Howell, the other three legs on our 2014 state 4x800m relay, was huge and made practice a ton more fun. As individual as this sport can be, having guys to train hard with makes a huge difference.
What would you say is the greatest accomplishment of your career?
A few days stand out, but I've gotta go with the 2018 Big Ten Indoor Track Championships. I went to Ohio State because they were looking to build a more complete track team (as opposed to more distance focused) and our men's team hadn't won a conference championship for 25 years. At that meet, I anchored the distance medley relay to a fourth place finish and the next day finished sixth in the mile, contributing 8 points to what would end up being a team victory. Winning that title was huge for the team (we'd go on to win Outdoor, too) and that weekend helped me prove to myself that I could be highly competitive even at the collegiate level.
What was it like transitioning from high school in Norwalk to competing for Ohio State?
I was riding a lot of momentum at the end of my senior year and was excited to get to run at the collegiate level, especially for Ohio State. The increase in mileage and intensity of workouts was no surprise, although that still took its toll on my body, but the biggest difference had to be everything we did outside of just running - more structured stretching/recovery, a full weight lifting program, an athletic training staff, nutritionists, sports psychologists, the whole nine. It was overwhelming at first but, like everything else, became second nature before too long. The hardest part for me was understanding that everyone you were running against was likely just as good as you were in high school, if not better. Coming from a smaller town where your best competition might be your teammate, that shock took longer to adjust to. Overall though any transitional friction was offset by great teammates and the continuation of the momentum that got me there.
What advice do you have for high schoolers that want to run at the college level?
First of all: run! Especially when you think other people might not be running. I remember plenty of cold winter runs or days on the treadmill when it seemed (mostly to my mom) that you'd have to be crazy to get a run in. You'll be pleasantly surprised at the kind of progress you can make by just training consistently. One thing that I wish I'd realized earlier though was that racing well is just as, if not more important than, running fast. It's nice/easy to set time goals and feel satisfied after setting a PR, but being able to beat the people you're racing against takes a slightly different skillset and will give you an edge. Plus, if you do that the times will take care of themselves. Logistically, reach out to coaches, get on their radar early, and be persistent if you'd be a good fit (check times of current athletes, commits, etc.).