Episode 135 - David Krummenacker; 2x NCAA Champion, 3x US 800 Champion, 2003 Indoor World Champion

This week I had the pleasure to talk with David Krummenacker. He graduated from Las Cruces High School, ran for Georgia Tech, and went on to have a great professional career. He was a two time NCAA Indoor 800 meter Champion, a three time US 800 Champion, and a World Indoor 800 Champion. He holds an 800m best of 1:43.92 and a 1500m best of 3:31.91.

 

We talk about how he got into running, via basketball and even one of his first cross country races when a young phenom from El Paso just blew everyone away. We talk about him going to Georgia Tech and his professional career. He talks about his mileage and being a middle distance guy that could hang in the middle of a cross country race and out kick some guys.

 

We also talk about the current running scene a bit. David talks about being passionate and using running and what he learned training to feed into other aspects of his life. He talks about how running helped lead him to the work he is currently doing. We also talk about some of the people he met in Albuquerque between his time at Georgia Tech and moving to Arizona for training.

 

It was a shorter conversation that I look forward to continuing. There's a lot of ground that we didn't touch on, but I really enjoyed getting to know someone that I personally looked up to as a runner. I remember watching some of his races as I was starting to fall in love with the sport and being so inspired that someone from New Mexico was out there doing it at that level. With the Olympic Trials currently on and the Paris Olympics coming up, I love that a new generation of New Mexicans have athletes from our state that they can look at to inspire them as well.

 

With the heat, the fires, and the flooding going on in the state, it's easy to be down. It's heartwarming then to see organizations like Organ Mountain Outfitters, Bosque Running Shop, and many others raising money for the people affected. So look to the positives, get out before the heat hits, stay hydrated, and keep running, New Mexico.