Chorny has his eyes on Olympic Games

Sat, May 24, 2008    to del.icio.us

Tom Chorny has run some big races over his athletic career.

The two-time state champion in the 3,200-meter run at Fruitport High School, Chorny, now 31, has qualified for the past eight U.S. Championships in the steeplechase event and has participated in the past two Olympic trials.

This weekend, as he eyes another Olympic trial in late June, the Fruitport native has another goal in mind: Setting the course record in the 5K run at today's Fruitport Old Fashioned Days road race.

"The Old Fashioned Days run is always fun, especially coming back to Fruitport. It's the one place that still feels like home," said Chorny, who ran competitively at Indiana University and now serves as a volunteer assistant coach for the Hoosiers.

Chorny first competed in the Old Fashioned Day run years ago, and has won the 5K event multiple times and the 10K run once. This year, he hopes to break long-time record in the 5K of 15 minutes flat.

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"One year, I ran a 15:05, but I didn't even know what the record was," he said. "It's something they've talked about for years, that it's from somebody out of town, and they'd like a Fruitport guy to have it. It should be within my reach."

If his back holds up, that is. Chorny has been battling a sore back, and part of the reason he's back in West Michigan is to visit Dr. Greg Ling, an area chiropractor.

"I woke up one day and my back was out of place. I had a couple people look at it, and it's slowly getting better, but it's still not completely relieved. Something's still pretty tight," Chorny said. "Dr. Ling is someone I'd definitely travel to see."

After this weekend, Chrony will refocus his efforts on qualifying for the Olympic trials, which will be held June 27 through July 6 in Eugene, Ore. The top 24 steeplechase runners in the nation are invited to the trails. Chorny currently ranks 23rd.

"I have to run faster," he said. "Chances are, somebody over the next couple of weeks is probably going to bump me. I race in Indianapolis on the 31st of this month, and I have a couple more races."

The luster of the Olympic trials have worn off for Chorny. Now he's excited to do something special.

"It's nice to be in the race, but I want to make the Olympic team," he said.

Coaching at Indiana gives him a team to train with, but Chorny doesn't have a sponsor, so it's difficult for him to put in the training he needs while still paying the bills.

"It's tough to keep going," he said. "But coaching at Indiana will help me if I want to coach down the road."

The steeplechase is a 3,000-meter obstacle race. Competitors encounter a total of 28 barriers on the course (basically a 36-inch-high hurdle), in addition to seven water jumps. Unlike typical hurdles, steeplechase hurdles do not fall over when hit. Some runners actually step on top of them. Four barriers are spaced around the track on level ground, and a fifth barrier is the water jump, which consists of a barrier followed by a pit of water 12 feet long that slopes upward from a maximum depth of 27 ? inches deep. The longer a runner jumps, the shallower the water he or she lands in.