Rob Watson is a London, Ontario native, an 8:29 Steeplechaser, a 2:16 Marathoner, a tough as nails competitor, and a blogger extraordinaire. Watson is in the midst of making some monumental changes in his running life. We don’t need to address the issue of Watson choosing to leave his Speed River training group in Guelph as he addressed his reasons for moving on quite elegantly on his blog. We spent more time chatting about his favourite YouTube video, how he plans to stay healthy, and what he would be doing if he wasn’t running. Need some comic relief in your daily running life? Keep reading…
Here is an excerpt if you have not read Le Blog Du Rob lately.
“I’m no longer working with DST or the SpeedRiver Crew. Just needed a change. I am going to miss the holy hell outta my dudes in the river though. Some of the best friends a guy could ask for. Whether it be pounding out some miles on the trails, or slamming back some pints at the bar, those bastards are top notch…. I still believe that SpeedRiver is the best club in the country. They have the best athletes in the country and they have some of the best coaches in the country. If anyone asked me where in Canada they should train I would not hesitate to send em’ to the river. But man, sometimes ya just gotta try new things. So that’s that. onward to Rotterdam!”
Runners Feed: What was the most memorable workout you completed while training with Speed River?
I was in Guelph for a long time and I did a lot of workouts. I had a lot of good workouts, and a few bad workouts as well. But the most memorable times were just putting in the miles on easy runs with the dudes. I have lived with Milne for 4 years, we have had some good ones out there. One time he fell twice on one run, that was funny. Another time it was -20 with like 50km/hr winds, that was funny in how much it sucked. Yeah, I’ll really miss my runs with Milne, Reider and Gilly, I have put in hundreds of miles with those guys.
RF: What will be the best part of being coached by your brother, Pete Watson (University of Virginia, XC Coach).
We have a fantastic relationship and I trust him 100%, just excited to try a new thing with a brilliant coach.
RF: Is the Marathon a crapshoot?
In some regards yeah. The Marathon is a very tricky and technical event. All you can do is prepare the best you can and make sure you have all your bases covered. There are a lot of little things that you gotta take care of. And even if you have everything covered you may still have a *&%^ day. It can really be a cold hearted %$#^& of an event.
RF: Will you run the steeplechase if you you do not run 2:11:29 in Rotterdam?
Nope, I’m too old for that nonsense.
RF: On average, how many unique visitors hit le blog du rob every day?
A Few hundred folks stop by each day.
RF: Who do you see yourself training with over the next 4 years?
I’ll be doing a lot of training with Chuck Ragan, Chris Wollard, Brian Fallon etc… Lots of training with dudes from Jersey.
RF: How do you plan on staying healthy?
Well first off no more 180 mile weeks, and I just gotta make sure to stay on the little things and be very proactive when it comes to taking care of little aches and pains.
RF: If you weren’t running, what would you be doing?
I would be in Korea teaching English to Koreans, I have a bunch of buddies who do that. They friggen love it.
Rapid Fire
RF: Skinny Jeans or Relaxed Fit? Skinny
RF: Women: running distraction or enhancement? Enhancement, no doubt.
RF: I would like to grace the cover of this magazine; XXL, it’ll help get me some street cred.
RF: This is my favourite YouTube video: Video for What’s love gotta do with it by Tina Turner.
RF: This is my go-to Karaoke song: What’s love gotta do with it. Tina Turner
True or False
RF: I will run under 2:11:29 in the Rotterdam Marathon.
This question is a trap. I’ll run as hard as I can in Rotterdam.
RF: I would like to be the Canadian Josh Cox.
He is faster than me, prettier than me and loves Jesus way more than me. I’ll just be me.
Need more comic relief, check out Watson’s Entry #60 where he records the dialogue between his legs and his brain after going out too hard.
About the Author: Brandon Laan is a runner, coach, and entrepreneur. He spent his undergraduate days at The University of Western Ontario where he captained the Cross Country Team before fleeing to Hawaii Pacific University for graduate school. He is a Level II Certified USATF coach and holds personal bests of 1:06 and 2:21 in the Half Marathon and Marathon respectively. He also enjoys running to eat, not eating to run…and always will.
