Chatting With Kansas' Next Great Miler⏱
Clay Shively is the best miler Kansas has seen in nearly 60 years
It’s been 118 days since the last newsletter went out, and that’s 111 days too long. I wish I had a straightforward answer for you that makes a lot of sense, but I don’t think I do. Honestly, it was a combination of a lot of things.
As you might know, I was in Austin, TX during the fall, interning at FloTrack and MileSplit. During those few months, my full-time job was to write and cover track & field, and honestly the last thing I wanted to do after work was to absorb and create additional content. Before, I would primarily get my dose of the sport after work hours, so I looked forward to it, especially because it was Kansas based and stuff I was passionate about. My new role (which was incredible) had me consuming content 24/7, and I just needed a break.
Truthfully, I was burnt out. For a while, I was able to power through and use the cross country season as motivation, but once state came and went, I was exhausted. In December, I moved back up to Kansas City and things have been relatively hectic since. The holidays, combined with moving for the third time in six months took a lot out of me, only prolonging my lack of motivation to fully jump back into it.
You may have noticed, but there has been some content here and there, and I’m trying to get myself fully back into it and produce on the level that we have before. I don’t want to make any firm promises on how often The Lead Pack will hit your mailboxes, but I’d like to get back into a weekly basis, and will hopefully be back to that once the outdoor season get rolling.
However, even though I dropped the ball over the last few months, I’ve got to give a huge shoutout to the other half of KSXCT&F, my dad. He’s been continuing to actively post as many results he possibly can on X, as well as re-posting anything and everything that concerns Kansas track & field, so I owe him a big thank you!
In the meantime, while you wait for me to get my own stuff together, hopefully you enjoy a chat I was able to have with Trinity Academy senior, Clay Shively, who is on the cusp of history.
It’s wild to think that Shively is already a senior. I feel like it was just yesterday he out-kicked Ben Shryock as a sophomore at the Shawnee Mission North Relays to run a 4:10, seemingly out of nowhere.
Little did we know, we were seeing just the beginning of the greatest miler the state had seen since the legendary Jim Ryun. Shively has re-wrote the record books, raised the standard, and elevated the competition around him in any race he’s toed the line.
I went through the last few years of his career and tallied a list of what I think were the biggest performances of his historic career, especially those that in my eyes, paved the way for where he’s at now. There are multiple that could have made the list, but these were the 13 that stood out to me.
In the midst of competing and traveling to the Northeast for competition during his senior year, Clay was kind enough to take some time and bring us up to speed with how his last few months have been.
What all factored into the decision on scratching from NXN? Was there any part of you that wanted to run on the injury or were you always planning on putting your track season first?
The NXN situation was pretty disappointing. I had started to feel a little injury in my perennial tendon around the time of NXR. The race didn’t go quite how I wanted it to and I didn’t feel great. The plan was to rest up until it was time to head to Portland, but about a week out from the race I had to make a decision so they could determine the situation with the alternate. I was tempted to go ahead and run on the injury, but didn’t want to risk any longer-term injury that would affect my track season.
Can you walk me through that season debut at NWMS? You just took control and looked pretty comfortable throughout its entirety. What were your initial thoughts?
It wasn’t until the second or third week of December that I was able to start working into training again due to the injury. Therefore, I knew I was a little behind fitness wise. From the start of the season, the plan was to run the New Balance Grand Prix international mile. I wanted to get a rust buster in before heading to Boston and NWMS was a great opportunity for that. I was able to treat it mostly as a workout, starting at 70’s for the first 1200 then cutting it down to end up running 9:03.
How did the NIL with New Balance happen, and how has the experience been being one of the few high schoolers in the sport to have that opportunity?
I am very grateful for the opportunity to partner with New Balance. NIL is becoming a large part of athletics both in high school and college; New Balance is doing a fantastic job of supporting athletes in this way. I think they are a fantastic company who are doing great things for the running scene, which is why I was happy to partner with them.
As you’ve gotten faster, you’ve garnered a lot of national attention and praise. How has it been balancing being in the national spotlight while also focusing on training?
It’s definitely something that can easily become a distraction if I’m not careful. In training, I don’t think about it much since I’m mostly concerned about doing what needs to be done to take my running career to the next level. Recognition also brings about some great things such as an NIL deal and opportunities to run some awesome races, in that way I am grateful for it.
All season, your future teammates have been crushing it at NAU. How excited are you to head to Flagstaff and become a part of the program?
Watching the guys at NAU kill it this season has been super fun and is getting me even more excited. Coach Smith is one of the best coaches in the world and I love watching the way his athletes have been succeeding in a variety of distances, especially with some of them being milers. The fact that I will be able to train under him alongside the best guys in the country is one of the greatest opportunities I could ask for.
You made your mile debut at the New Balance Grand Prix a few weeks back. What was your strategy heading in and were you pleased with the results? Is there anything you would have done different drying the race looking back on it?
The Grand Prix was overall a positive experience. Last year, or really anytime before my injury I would have been very confident in my ability to win that race. However, due to my set backs, I really just wanted to go in and see where I was at. I also wanted to focus on growing my tactical racing abilities on an indoor track.
The pain set in a little earlier than I would have liked in the race, it was only about 3 laps in before I was really feeling it, looking back I wish I would have leaned into that pain a little more rather than shying away from it. However, considering that I ran an indoor PR and also made good tactical decisions throughout the race, I was able to walk away fairly pleased with my performance.
Last weekend you set a big indoor PB and lowered your state record. You were so close to breaking 4:00. Similar to the NB Grand Prix, did the race go according to plan? How do you feel about it almost a week removed?
Having the opportunity to race at BU was something I was super stoked about. However, nothing really went according to plan that day. I was feeling good physically and excited to race, however leading up to the race there were some complications with check-in. Essentially, something went wrong, I wasn’t on the heat sheet and I was told I couldn’t race. This was super frustrating and had me mentally all over the place. Thankfully, I found out I made it into heat 7 but only about 20 minutes before the gun went off. A rushed 15 minute warmup was not ideal compared to my usual hour-long race preparation. In this time I really had to draw from God for any ounce of peace and strength. When the gun went off I was just thinking one thing, “SEND IT.” I did everything I could to stay in the race and even push the pace at one point. Considering the events that took place, I couldn’t be happier with four flat. I thank God for all of it, since mentally, it was one of the hardest experiences I’ve had in this sport.
What’s next for Clay Shively? Are you planning on chasing any state records or planning to travel for some big meets during outdoor? What are your goals before your time as a Knight is up?
The main goal is to just enjoy these final months with my incredible teammates and coaches at a school which I love. We don’t have the whole schedule locked in at this time, but I definitely plan to make some attempts at getting my name on a couple records. There is some incredible talent in the nation right now, so I look forward to every chance to compete against some of the top guys.
What’s been the best part of being a part of the Trinity Academy dynasty? How has the experience been being able to make history with your closest friends? How big of a role have your coaches, teammates and support system played in getting to where you are now?
Without my teammates, coaches, and support system I don’t think I would have run more than a couple cross country races my freshman year. From a coaching standpoint, having older, wiser coaches see potential in me from early on is one of the greatest things I could ask for. They help me believe in myself, and have taken me to a higher level of running than I would’ve ever thought possible. Contrary to most elite high school athletes, I am never alone in workouts. I have some absolute beasts for teammates who push me every single day. I also couldn’t be more thankful for my parents and mentors who have poured into me spiritually and emotionally while empowering me to chase my goals.
Overall, being a part of the Trinity Academy dynasty has taught me to make running about more than just myself. We are given these abilities to worship God, and to push ourselves beyond what we thought was possible. As excited as I am for the next season of my life at NAU, it’s extremely bittersweet to leave a program that has given me so much.
As we have just a few months left of the ‘Clay Shively era’, make sure to soak it in and enjoy the generational talent as long as we’ve got him.
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