Dusen hopes to score one for working man at US 8k Champs
Posted February 27th, 2007 at 12:00 PM by Hariz Siddiqui
Section: News & Results
Karl Dusen isn’t much different from the other former Ivy League students who flock here, degrees in hand, to land a job in New York’s giant financial sector.
After earning his economics degree from Columbia in 2005, he found a job as a financial analyst with A.I.G.’s Global Investment Group. Dressed in a dark suit, white shirt and blue patterned tie while lunching in a midtown restaurant today with a few reporters, he certainly looked as if he was ready to take over Wall Street.
But beneath that dark suit beats the heart of an athlete who is still trying to discover how good he really might be. In 2005 he broke the Columbia University record for 10,000m at the Cardinal invitational, clocking 29:00.45, still his personal best. A journeyman’s time or a sign that he has the potential to go faster?
“I’m still running because I’m continuing to get better,” said Dusen over a plate of cannelloni with a sweet red sauce. He added: “Leaving college I didn’t feel I maxed out my potential.”
After college he joined a local running club, the Brooks Manhattan Track Club, which is made up of about 15 working guys like him. They train nearly every night in Central Park, pounding the roads dimly lit streetlights and doing loops of the famous reservoir running track before crawling into bed so they can do an early morning run before heading to the office. Dusen, who was captain of the Columbia cross country team for two seasons, likes this life and his club. He loves this city.
“I saw an opportunity to continue my life-work-social balance,” he said of his decision to stay in New York after graduation and work full-time while continuing his training. “It surprises a lot of people outside of the city when they hear about it: it’s a great place to train.”
Dusen and his club mates will be facing a significant challenge when they line up for the U.S. Men’s 8-K Championships in Central Park on Saturday, March 17. The event has attracted some of the best runners in the country, including Adam Goucher, Dathan Ritzenhein, Jorge Torres, Abdi Abdirahman and Fernando Cabada. Each has won at least one U.S. open title, and they will be chased by a deep field which race organizers, the New York Road Runners, estimate will number between 50 and 60. Dusen and the Manhattan Track Club have no chance of putting a man on the podium, but that’s not what this race is about for them.
“For me it would be a placement factor,” said the 5′ 10″, 145 lb. Dusen as he picked at his slice of cheesecake. He said he’s looking to beat as many guys as he can, especially “guys with shoe contracts.” He said the race is about “making a name for me and my teammates.”
It’s also about New York City pride. Dusen and the Manhattan Track Club have the home field advantage. They know every turn, dip and hill in Central Park. They know how far ahead the next hill is, and that the course is actually slightly uphill as you approach Engineers’ Gate even though it looks flat. Guys from Boulder have never heard of Engineers’ Gate.
“I just really love the journey,” said Dusen who finished 11th at last Saturday’s U.S. Indoor Championships in the 3000m, the first open national championship race he had ever qualified for. “I have a lot of belief in what I’m doing.”
New York Road Runners president and CEO, Mary Wittenberg, is also a believer:
“He embodies … the post-collegian who aspires to higher levels of running … I think he’s a great example for other men and women with the same goals.”
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A $35,000 purse is on offer at the U.S. Men’s 8-K Championships, plus another $3000 in primes, and a U.S. record bonus of $25,000. The Central Park record is 22:16 by Meb Keflezighi set in 2004; the U.S. record is 22:04 set by Alberto Salazar in Los Altos in 1981.
© 2007 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved. Used with permission.
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Tags: AIG Global Investment Group, Alberto Salazar, brooks, brooks manhattan track club, karl dusen, Mary Wittenberg, new york road runners, nyrr, US 8k championship, USA 8k championship
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