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Penn Relays on Saturday, April 26, 2014 Credit: Analyn Delos Santos , Analyn Delos Santos

At the 2014 Penn Relays, now-junior Thomas Awad posted an astounding 3:58.34 mile time. That was after months of arduous training for the event.

At the Armory Invitational on Saturday, he almost broke a four-minute mile again. But this time, it was only his first individual indoor race of the season.

Last weekend in New York City, Awad clocked in at 4:00.20 in the mile, besting Penn’s indoor mile record held by current Assistant Athletic Director for Compliance, Denis Elton Cochran-Fikes. In 1973, Cochran-Fikes set the then-record at 4:02, a mark that stood for 42 years.

In his first individual race of the season, Awad finished first out of three student-athletes and defeated a few professional runners. He wasn’t surprised that he managed to break the record, but he said it wasn’t one of his specific goals.

“The record wasn’t really on my mind, it’s just something that comes with running fast,” he said.

Awad, along with many other distance runners, had abstained from individual indoor competition prior to the race at Armory.

Meanwhile, coach Steve Dolan was not expecting such a high-caliber performance from Awad this early in the indoor season.

“Well, that was sort of the surprising thing,” he said. “He hasn’t done a lot of quality workouts to indicate that he’s ready to run a four-minute mile.

Even [so], in my mind, I knew he’d run well.”

Prior to the Armory Invitational, Awad spent December and parts of January recovering from a strenuous cross country season, where his achievements included serving as team captain, receiving All-America honors, qualifying for NCAA Cross Country Championships, receiving first-team All-Ivy honors and being crowned 2014 individual Heps Champion.

“We took some time after cross country to gather ourselves a little bit, [had] a tune-up for everyone [at Lehigh],” Awad said. “And then we started racing hard this weekend.”

With Dolan preaching the importance of building a foundation of fitness and strength early in the indoor season, Awad focused on developing a base during December and January, before taking on a heightened training regimen.

“I’m just trying to gradually up my level of intensity,” he said. “So this year, I’m doubling (running twice a day) more often. So for cross [country], I was doubling two or three times a week, and now I’m doubling just as often but now with cross-training.”

Dolan understands the importance of the long run and preserving his runners while they gain strength.

“I like to think that we should be getting faster each week in the weeks to come, and hopefully onto a great outdoor season,” he said.

When asked about what makes Awad such a successful runner, Dolan pointed to his intangibles.

“Well, there are special runners out there, that really rise during competitions and pressure situations,” he said. “And it seems like he’s one of those runners.”

Most of Penn’s other distance runners will compete this weekend, but Awad will next compete in two weeks, where he hopes to register an NCAA-qualifying time in a 3,000-meter race.

With such an impressive performance from Awad this early in the indoor season, it is easy to get excited about his prospects for the indoor and outdoor seasons. There is almost a month left until indoor Heps, and outdoor season begins in late March. With a mile time of 4:00.20 already on the board, it will be an exciting spring, and only time will tell what heights he has reached by this year’s Penn Relays.

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