Rory Linkletter - Year One
"We really sort of all hit it off with the same views on how we could impact the running community."
Rory Linkletter was apart of the biggest NCAA Distance rivalry of the past decade, Birmingham Young University (BYU) versus Northern Arizona University (NAU). Linkletter represented the BYU Cougars before signing professionally with Hoka One One and Northern Arizona Elite (NAZ). He would sign in the summer of 2019 after a strong college career where he ran 13:36(5km) and 28:12(10km), finishing second twice as a team at Cross Country Nationals, and being 3 time all-American (top 7). Those numbers got him a sponsorship, now Linkletter would have to prove himself all over at the next level.
Transitioning from collegiate to professional running Linkletter would have to adapt to the similarities and differences of the sport at the next level. Track and field is a sport with many people doing it for the pure joy and happiness that it brings to them everyday. In his first year of professional running, Linkletter says, “Similarities are that I still wake up everyday excited for the opportunity to get better. I’ve always approached running like it’s my job.” This excitement to run everyday that Rory Linkletter had in high school and college, has not changed since joining NAZ. Professional and college running do not only have similarities, they have many differences. These differences though do not have to be negative, Linkletter says, “Differences are that I don’t have the structure of school, training has intensified, and I find new ways to occupy my time.” Adapting to the changes in daily routine and habits are a big part of what makes a runner successful at the professional level. Linkletter having to adapt to the new lifestyle of professional running is filling his time with multiple different activities.
Now that he is running professionally, he has more downtime to do as he chooses without having to attend classes for school. He would start off by filling this extra time with coaching high school track and cross country during the fall of 2019. Coaching from a different part of the country, Linkletter says, “I stayed in touch with that team remotely, I was writing their workouts throughout the fall but my college teammate Marcus Dickson has taken over. I like the challenge and rewards of coaching, I’ll continue doing it online.” With his college teammate taking over as the coach, he plans to continue filling some of his extra time with online coaching. With less time occupied with coaching, Rory Linkletter would decide to take up podcasting with his new teammates, Matthew Baxter and Nick Hauger. Linkletter discusses how the idea came about, saying, “We really sort of all hit it off with the same views on how we could impact the running community.” Having the ability to impact the world of running through his voice on Running Rivals (his podcast), Linkletter feels this is a great way to fill his free time. Even though Linkletter has free time to fill, his main priority is still his training and racing.
With the added pressure of being a professional runner and the responsibilities that this comes with, Linkletter must perform. Like many sports, injuries are prevalent to athletes, and Linkletter would suffer one early into his professional career. Dealing with injuries is tough, Linkletter says, “I sprained my ankle pretty [Bad] back in February and it was an uphill battle to feel normal again. I have put together about 8 weeks of really solid training at this point though, I’ve done some big runs and mileage.” Having to deal with his sprained ankle would lead to him missing some races and not performing up to par as he would have hoped for. After recovering from his injury, Linkletter has been able to start working out and building his fitness back up to the elite caliber needed for professional running. In Linkletter’s first year he would experiment with many different events ranging from the 5000 metres, up to the marathon. He has not decided where he would like to focus on as his main event and does not plan to for the foreseeable future, saying, “The plan is to continue racing distances between 5000m and Marathon. I’d like to run a marathon this fall with all that’s happened with Olympic postponement and the virus.” Having the ability to run multiple events is defiantly a benefit for Linkletter as he will be able to have multiple chances at a time to make national teams for Canada. With the rest of his first year cut short, he was not able to prove to the public his fitness that he built up after his injury.
With year one now ending, Rory Linkletter experienced all the different challenges and opportunities that come with being a professional athlete in his first year. He has been able to learn from new experiences including self-promotion, daily routines, and many others. Rory Linkletter can look to the future after his first year of new challenges and opportunities for success.
Source: Direct Message from Rory Linkletter to Evan Smith. (April 2020)
Photo Getty Images.
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