Dunbar's Brian Bell burst onto the national scene at the NBNI championships anchoring his Dunbar team to a new Scholastic record in the SMR and then coming back and winning the 800m over a very talented field. He's flamboyant and enthusiastic and has a passion for the 800 that is tempered only by his coaches and his faith. Our interview provides an insight into who Brian Bell truly is and how he has become one of Ohio's foremost middle distance runners.
OhioMileSplit: Congratulations to you and your teammates for your 800m win at the NBNI and for the teams win in setting a New Scholastic record in the SMR. In particular, you (and your teammates had a remarkable two weeks of performances beginning with your OATCCC State Indoor championship and culminating with the NBNI.
OATCCC
1st -- 800m 1:53.73
4x800 Anchor 1st 7:58.35 (Anthony Peebles, Aaron Dozier, Ja'Vonté Brown, Brian Bell)
4x400 Anchor 1st 3:22.96 (Juan Scott, Ja'Vonté Brown, Aaron Dozier, Brian Bell)
NBNI
1st- 800m 1:51.08
SMR Anchor 1st 3:24.16 (Terryon Willis, Juan Scott, Ja'Vonté Brown, Brian Bell)
Let's start first with the 800m OATCCC Indoor Championships win. You were ranked OH #1 and were the defending Champion having won in 2014 with a 1:57.19. You had a dominating indoor season in the 800. Going into the meet, what were your expectations? Describe that run to us?
OATCCC D2/3 800m Video
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OhioMileSplit: Let's take a look at NBNI.
You and your teammates had never run a SMR (Sprint Medley Relay) before. You are all seniors and individually are all experienced runners. Terryon Willis was 3rd in the OATCCC Championships in the 200 with a 22.31. Juan Scott was 3rd in the 60mH in 7.93 and ran on the winning 4x4 with you. Ja'Vonté Brown was 3rd in the 400 with a 49.99 and ran on the winning 4x4 and 4x8's with you. What were the teams and you expectations going into that race? Describe that race to us? Watching Ja'Vonte in the last 200, about 8m back of the leader, what were your thoughts as you waited for the baton? When you received the baton, still about 8m back of Cheltenham what were your thoughts. Were you aware of their anchor John Lewis of Cheltenham, US #1 ranked in the 800m indoors? You caught Lewis in the first 180 of the race and tucked in behind him. How were you feeling at the 400? You passed Lewis with 200 to go and built a 3-5m lead going down the backstretch. What were your thoughts when you passed him and as you were going down the backstretch on the last lap? You took a quick glance behind with about 50 m to go. What were your thoughts as you came down the last 50m and crossed the finish line with a new Scholastic record?
Brian: Again, our expectations as a team were very high. Head Coach Sidney Booker told us we were going to win and do something special if we trusted our conditioning, trusted God and followed directions. After scouting on video the top three teams the week before, the coaches told each of us exactly what and how to run for the win. Looking back on it they were right on point. I remember things they said like avoid traffic, stay focused and have faith because our program has been on the national stage before. Just before the race started, we did our traditional huddle and I gave the team prayer, but what made that prayer so special and I will never forget, is that I was just asking for God to fulfill our destiny and let us compete to the best of our abilities and let him diminish our pain, and that any glory we achieved we would give him the praise. Just before the race our captain, Juan Scott, said make them know who we are and told me to run so fast on the anchor leg that they would have to put me in the fast heat of the 800 the next day. Needless to say that got me hyped! It got very emotional and I was actually crying before the race.
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The race itself was like everything was in slow motion. I mean, for High School, it's one of the thebiggest stages in America and for a moment it was like I was in a dreamy state of mind, I was thinking to myself we're just some young men from the west side of Dayton, Ohio running in the big Apple in front of the world. This is incredible! Before I knew it, I saw Ja'Vonté, who was running on a badly injured foot he got from falling in the 4x2 thirty minutes earlier and never told the coaches he was hurt, closing the gap to about seven meters. I knew he was running on guts and heart. When he gave me the baton, I swear it felt like he passed on the whole city of Dayton, Ohio to me. I thought to myself we have a chance. I remembered Coach Booker after the race said he was concerned when I made my move with 250 meters left thinking it was too soon, but I just felt good and like I had a ton of gas left and I trusted my conditioning and instincts, so I started using my Brizzy B move. That's what we call my kick. I did know that John Lewis had the fastest 800 meter time in the nation, but the scouting report said he runs even splits after his first 200 meters and when I got close to him it felt easy. I hadn't spent much energy and I was feeling good. At the same time, I was thinking to myself this pace was just a bit too slow. I actually wanted to make a move earlier, but my position coach, Coach Powell, had said don't make a move until 250 meters, so I stayed with the game plan. I only glanced back going down the homestretch because I figured John Lewis or another anchor leg were going to start their kick at any time, but they never did. My glancing back was not an act of disrespect towards him, nor was I trying to taunt the field. When I realized no one was gonna catch me, I started praying while running "Lord please let this be a national record. Our coaches deserve it." After the race, the meet director told Coach Booker because of my fast 1:49 split that they were moving me into the fast heat of the 800 meters. Needless to say I was in awe of the news as it was just like my teammates had predicted. For hours after the race, everyone stopped us and we got the rock star treatment; girls from all over trying to take pictures with us and national interviews. I still can't believe that we are the national champs baby, its' an awesome feeling knowing that our name will forever be in the books. Legend life, that's my slogan.
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OhioMileSplit: In the 800, you had originally been in the 2nd of the three heats. Based upon your sub-1:50 split in the SMR, the Meet Director put you in the final heat. What were you thoughts about this and what were your expectations going into the 800?
OhioMileSplit: What was your race strategy in the 800? You took the lead quickly and led through the first 400, with Terrell Jackson just behind you. With around 250 to go Jackson passed you and led going into the last lap. When he passed you, what were your thoughts? You passed him back just out of the first curve on the last lap and pushed to the finish. Again, what were your thoughts as you came down the last 50m?
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Brian: Like I said before, the strategy was really simple. I had studied the other top runners with my position coach, and the bottom line was to TRUST MY CONDITIONING & ABILITY. I had respect for all the runners on the track and even shook their hands before and at the end of the race. Our concern was to not make silly mistakes like going out to hard. I think I just ran a tactical and smart race. One of my other good coaches, Coach Larry Lyons, always tells us at practice "USE YOUR STRIDE. ALL YOU GOTTA DO IS RUN" and that was playing in the back of my mind as I passed Jackson. Coming down the home stretch with 50 meters to go I was thinking to myself, "wow no one is going with me, I can see the finish line. It's gonna happen." I am so blessed to be in this position to win another national title. I really can't put it in words. I know some people may get tired of me saying "I'm national champ," but they have no clue where I come from and what I've been thru and how many times I've been told I'll never amount to anything because of where I am from and attend school. I just can't believe all this is real. Dreams really do come true. This interview is just another living testimony.
OhioMileSplit: As I look at your resume, it appears that your concentration has been on the 800m.
You ran Cross Country all four years of your HS career and primarily the 1600 and 800. You first broke the 1:55 mark with a 1:54.26, placing 4th indoors in February of 2014 at the UK High School Invitational. Your win in the 2014 OATCCC Championships was a moderate 1:57.19. Outdoor you were 2nd to Ryan Adams of CVCA in the D2 800 with a 1:53.54. You ran 27th at NBON with a 1:54.84. Since that time you have not lost in an 800. At what point in your career did your perspective on what you could achieve change? When do you think that you began to realize your potential?
Brian: People don't believe it when I tell them that when I first got to high school I was not that interested in running cross country or track. At the start of my freshmen year, I didn't attend my neighborhood school, which is Dunbar. I attended another school in the city, Ponitz CTC High School. I had no real visions of being or becoming a track star. After a series of events my freshmen year, I left Ponitz at the end of the first semester. I attended Longfellow High School then and at the start of the fourth quarter, I enrolled into my neighborhood high school, Dunbar, and I'm happy I did. I began to take track seriously, but not so much cross country. Dunbar at the time was loaded with great sprinters and quarter milers. That is what pushed me into the 800 & 1600 meters. My teammate at the time, was Michael Ohiembor. He's a star at Akron University right now. At Dunbar, he was a 1:53 guy himself. He told me I could be special if I stuck with middle distance, so I began to train with him. You can say, in one sense, that he passed the 800 torch to me. In 2014 Outdoors, I ran some good times, but I was very inconsistent and I lost focus, missing some important training time because I was traveling to compete in poetry & speech contests around the country. My coaches warned me that Ryan Adams of CVCA would be ready to redeem himself from when I beat him at OATCCC 2014 Indoor Championships and that he had been training very hard to prepare to see me outdoors and they were right. I respect him as a runner. He's a great competitor. But it was my poor performance at 2014 NBON on the SMR (Sprint Medley Relay) letting my teammates down that acted as my real wake up call. I think they actually gave me the baton in the top 3 but I died the last 200 and had no kick. I remember on the long van ride back to Ohio from North Carolina that I was on the phone with my Mom and telling her that I was heart-broken, literally crying with tears falling down my face, as I explained how I let my teammates down and had the worst race of my career at nationals. She just told me "son don't worry about it. You guys had a great season and won your State Championship with a lot of juniors." She told me to "remember this feeling and do all you can to never encounter it again." After that conversation with my Mom, I now eat, sleep and breathe track, especially the 800 meters. You can say the 1600 is a distance second. In college, I'm looking forward to performing in both the 800 & 1500 meters and if I'm blessed enough, to turn pro someday.
OhioMileSplit:
As one of the State's leading middle distance runners, how do you view yourself now and as you look back to your freshman year?
Brian: Let's just say my freshmen year was a very painful experience and I hope to never repeat any elements of it ever again! Now I am more knowledgeable and focused about my educational goals, races and training. Maturity has helped a lot, and I now respect the hard work it takes to be successful. I tell freshmen all the time to choose your friends wisely and stay focused. I really understand now that there is a lesson to learn from every race that is much greater than winning or losing and that hard work really does pay off.
OhioMileSplit: When did you first start running? What did you run?
Brian: As a child my Mom and I use to race just for fun. She was a good runner at Fairview high school in Dayton, and she ran with Edwin C. Moses. Then in elementary school, I would always win races in gym class and on field day for fun and bragging rights. As a youth, I never ran summer track or competed in any AAU races, but I didn't lose many races in my neighborhood. My middle school gym teacher, Mr. Milord, told me I had a special talent for running but at that time I didn't really know what that meant. I just wanted to be a famous writer and rapper.
OhioMileSplit: Why did you choose the 800 and when was that decision made?
Brian: In Middle School, I was actually a sprinter, but I watched the 800m and 1600m races one day and I told my coach "It looks like those guys are running slow. I can beat them." So the next meet my coach put me in the 800m and I won and finished my 8th grade season undefeated and I won the city championship. I was small at the time. My freshmen year I was about 5'6 now. I'm 6'2 now. Again, at the start of my sophomore year I wanted to run the 400, but Coach Booker sent me to the Middle distance coach, Coach Alfred Powell. I was somewhat disappointed at first because I thought I would miss out on making the prestigious Dunbar 4x4 relay team. Everybody on our track team wants to be on the 4x4 relay. They made a deal with me; they said if I could run 1:58 splits on the 4x8 or in the open 800, that they would let me occasionally run on the 4x4 relay.
OhioMileSplit: You have not lost a 1600 since last year at this same time. You recently ran a PR 4:27.32 at Tippecanoe High School Invitational. What do you think your potential is in the 1600?
Brian: Honestly, I feel that if I were to seriously train for the 1600 and with the right competition, I could run at least 4:15 or a bit faster. My Coaches believe I have the talent to go sub 4:10. This season, I'm running both the 1600 & 3200 to help maintain conditioning and establish more mental toughness. Since we don't go to meets with a lot of fast times in the 1600, I mainly just push myself winning with average times on paper.
OhioMileSplit: Let's talk a little about your training. Ohio winters are not the best. The Dayton weather is a little more moderate than Central and Northern Ohio. Were you able to train outdoors or were you forced indoors? What was a typical week of training for you, in particular as you got ready for OATCCC's? You had a nice strength base coming off of XC season, but what type of speed work were you able to do?
Brian: This year the winter weather in Dayton was brutal. Un-like in 2014 when we were able to stay outside until January. Due to bad weather we lost eight days of training because school was closed. This year we never made it out doors, so no hills or long interval work. The longest hallway in our school is only 65 meters, so our coaches come up with some very clever workouts. Our workouts are typical, but they are highly effective. We start every session with one of our team favorite chants... "You can't talk your way to a championship.....you have to work your way way to a championship!"
Most people think I work out with the quarter mile sprinters at least once a week, but I don't. I don't want to over share, so I'll just give you a little of what our middle distance crew does at times during the week in the winter.
Sunday - An easy 60 minute run, sometimes longer. Mostly after church we all get together. I am not a big fan of Sunday runs, but I'm improving.
Monday - Study table. Then we watch our races from the meet before & take mental notes. Then all the seniors team up with their freshmen or sophomore mentors. Then we work on speed and endurance type stuff. How much depends on if we met our goal from the week before. Because we don't have long hallways, we run the stop watch Fartlek @ 60%. Sometimes higher. We also run stairs and when I say we run stairs......MAN DO WE RUN STAIRS!
Tuesday - Start with extra stretching, Coach Booker has us to listen to our bodies, identify what, if anything hurts, notice what feels good like your legs, hamstrings, lower back, etc. I find this to be very helpful. Then we do repeats of some kind with equal rest @ 70 to 85%. The distance varies from week to week. Every other Tuesdays, like clockwork to maintain or energy systems, we cross train with jump ropes, weights, stationary bikes and we do hard shadow boxing. Great Cardio type stuff.
Wednesday - Study table. Easy day with no leg stuff. Just core. Push-ups & sit ups with an easy upper body circuit in the weight room. Nothing to stressful. Sometimes we take a written test dealing with track measurements, definitions, rules and Dunbar track history like naming the first state track & field champion from the 1948 team.
Thursday - We start with turning in our weekly eligibility sheets. Then we start our top secret workouts that last for 45 minutes. I can only share the minor details with you or it would no longer be top secret. We do some short repeats, surge, acceleration & explosive drills, review breathing techniques, mental toughness drills, mobility drills, starts, avoidance drills, how to get out of a box, worst case scenario stuff etc.
Friday - Get our running assignments, strategies & uniform gear. Leg & back massage if needed.
Saturday - Race day.....run for fun!
OhioMileSplit: How would you describe yourself as a runner? What motivates Brian?
Brian: That's sorta hard for me to say. I guess for the most part, I would describe myself as a relaxed, but competitive runner, I can be aggressive when I need to be and I let the "Brizzy B" in me come out. My sophomore year, I was a little shy, believe it or not, to mix it up with the leaders, but last year Coach Powell taught me how to take charge of a race if the tempo wasn't right. God, poetry, good hip hop music and some of my personal life challenges from my childhood keep me motivated, especially when people doubt my ability. The other things that keep me grounded and motivated are my, parents, teammates and especially my coaches. Coaches Booker and Powell refuse to pamper me. They don't allow me or any of us to play the star card. Coach Booker is famous for saying "I'll kick you off this team" and I've seen him kick off stars for breaking the rules and there's no coming back.
OhioMileSplit: The 800, in my opinion is one of the toughest events on the track. The current Jesse Owens Stadium record is 1:50.77 set in 2008 by Cory Leslie of Sandusky Perkins. The All Time Ohio record was set in 2001 by Marc Sylvester of St. Ignatius, in a time of 1:48.93. You have run 1:51.08. What are your thoughts on these records? What are your goals and expectations now for this outdoor season? Is sub 1:50 reachable?
Marc Sylvester of St. Ignatius winning the 2001 Adidas National championship in a time of 1:48.76.
Brian: First, I agree with you 100%. The 800 meters in my opinion is the toughest race on the track because it takes a toll on you both mentally & physically. When I ran 1:51.08, for me, it just happened, like my coaches said it would. I felt strong and was able to run relaxed . Everyone knows sub 1:50 is the magic mark. In Ohio this year, there are at least three other 800 runners capable of running sub 1:51. In my opinion, they are Tim Hoodlebrink (Eastwood), Michael Vitucci (St. X) & Ryan Adams (CVCA). They all have a real shot at running amazing 800 times. I have to race two of them this year. And yes, if I stay healthy, I believe 1:48.93 is reachable. I can't lie, at times I dream about it, but I know I can't become obsessed with it. I already beat Brandon Kidder's record for the All-Time indoor 800m time for Ohio and now he is a star at Penn State, so why not try to beat Mark Sylvester's time. Who wouldn't want to be known as the best ever. I jokingly tell my coaches that I want to be so good that Dunbar will someday retire my #21 jersey. In our team meetings, Coach Booker always tells us "it's not about any of you breaking records because it is about the team first." I know and believe if I continue to put in the hard work, put the program first and stay humble all those records will come to me. My training is geared towards reaching a fast time in June not April or May, but if it happens before then, that's cool too, but it's not my goal to go super fast right now. Besides, there's so many things that could go wrong and that are outside of my control, most of all weather. My expectations for his outdoor season are to help lead our team to another Dayton City league title (this year would make 21 straight for our coaches), another D2 Ohio state title, win whatever races my coach puts me in at State. Then go to NBON and redeem myself in the SMR. Most of all I just want to make my family, school and community proud of me and enjoy the entire experience while I can and I can't leave out the fact that God gets all the glory.
OhioMileSplit: Thank you Brian. I appreciate your time and we are looking forward to watching you this Spring.