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The steeplechase is an event in track and field that combines long distance running, hurdling and craziness. They are also expected to jump directly into a water-filled pit with career ending injuries looming in the distance. Athletes are expected to do so without missing a stride.
Not many people would take part in such a grueling athletic spectacle, but the University of Idaho has two athletes who each recently decided to take the challenge.
Steve Potratz, a sophomore from Moscow, and Matt Racine, a junior from Boise, typically limit themselves to races like the 1,500, 5,000, and 10,000 meters, but weak conference competition has put the two athletes in a position to score the team points and try something new.
“It kind of mixes things up a little,” Potratz said. “Normally we just run around in circles on a track but this throws new challenges in the race and makes it a little more exciting.”
Both Potratz and Racine ran the 3,000-meter steeplechase in the Pelluer Invitational last week for the first time, taking third and fourth respectively.
“From the team standpoint, there were gaps to fill and that had (Idaho coach Wayne) Phipps looking at all the distance runners,” Racine said. “One day he just set hurdles up inside and all the distance runners had to jump them.”
The Western Athletic Conference returns only two athletes from the top eight in last year’s competition. Tony Rojas, a senior from Fresno State, ran a lifetime best 10 minutes, 31 seconds. His time is nearly 45 seconds slower than Potratz’s personal best performance which opens up big point possibilities for the team.
Phipps said that the steeplechase is unique when compared to events like the 110-meter hurdles because there is no stride.
“You just try to land with one foot in the water and then keep going as best you can,” Phipps said.
In a world where media can be viewed at the click of a mouse, one can see the “train wreck” wipe outs caused by a misplaced step when approaching the hurdle or maybe a sneaky forearm from a competitor as both athletes try to clear the hurdle at the same time. Wipe outs that can potentially end a career.
“I really don’t think about it,” Racine said. “I just pretty much go for it. I speed up and jump at the right time but there have been a couple of close calls.”
Potratz takes a different approach to the possibility that he could end up going face first into the water after a failed jump.
“I’ve pretty much accepted the fact that I’m going to eat it sometime or another,” Potratz said.
The athletes don’t hold themselves to strict routines or superstitions like hundreds or thousands of athletes around the world do. Instead they say the best cure for the jitters is joking around with each other before a race to keep relaxed.
“I used to listen to music before the race, but I’d go overboard and psyche myself out and then I’d have a bad race,” Potratz said. “I was trying to pump myself up for the race, but it just turned me into a bundle of nerves.”
The one tradition the two do try to maintain is what they describe as being “old school.”
“If there is any pre-race ritual we hold to, it’s bashing forearms,” Potratz said. “Like the baseball players used to do, we just joke around.”
The two athletes, who have had success in the more traditional running events, say there was only one time they’ve questioned what they were doing running the steeplechase.
“The one day I questioned what I was doing the most was when the water pit was frozen,” Racine said. “We had to break the ice and then jump in. I was just like, really? But it’s kind of like that with distance anyway. The 10K is 25 laps. Who wants to do that?”
The two have specific eating habits before a race.
“If we’re traveling and there is a chipotle nearby, I’ll eat chipotle every time,” Racine said.
Potratz tries to stay more traditional, but is not opposed to Racine’s idea of a good pre-race meal.
“I try to get whole-wheat pasta and deer meat. It’s my favorite,” Potratz said. “But if there is a chipotle nearby that is definitely where I go.”
Racine will be competing in the steeplechase this week at the Mt. Sac Relays while Potratz may hold himself out of competition to rest.
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