Tyler McCandless

Name: Tyler McCandless
Resides in: State College, PA and Bath, PA
Years running: 9
Websites: Twitter, Penn State Athlete Profile page, Athleticore.com (running log)

What is the strangest/funniest thing that has happened to you on a run?
Strangest thing to happen to me during a race was during the Big Ten Outdoor Track and Field Championships in the 10k at Ohio State last year. Like most championship meets, the race went out very slow. All of a sudden at 3k into the race two guys from Minnesota surged. At this same time (it was about 9pm), an NCAA Softball game ended nearby and sent off fireworks. The smoke from the fireworks covered the track so bad that spectators in the stands could not see us clearly on the far side. There is a pretty cool video of the race on flotrack that shows the smoke at about 10 minutes into the race. http://www.flotrack.org/videos/play/180811

What is your biggest running accomplishment and why?
In high school I won the PIAA District XI championship 3200meter in a district record 9:13.01. In college, I’ve finished sixth at the 2010 Big Ten Indoor Championships in 14:21 and also finished sixth at the 2009 Outdoor Big Ten Indoor Championships in the 10k. Personal best 10k was run last March at Stanford in 29:48. In a redshirt year (did not compete for Penn State Track so that I would have a 5th year of eligibility), I won the Lehigh Valley Half Marathon in 1:07:25 and this past fall I finished 26th at the US 10 mile championships in 50:17. All of these running accomplishments were a culmination of days, weeks, months, and years of consistent, quality miles. Putting the miles in every day can be very difficult at times, but these are the races that make a 17 mile long run in the snow with wind chill temperatures below 0F very worth it!

Favorite race distance?
On the track, I love racing the 10k. On the roads, I really like the ten mile to half-marathon distance.

Best piece of running advice you’ve ever received?
“John Candy is always at the starting line.” One of my assistant coaches, Artie Gilks told me a story about a Superbowl football team (I believe it was Steve Young and the 49ers…but I could be wrong) who was in the final minute of the game and had to drive 80 yards for a touchdown. In the huddle, the rest of the team was stressed out and saying it was impossible to get down the field that fast. Steve Young points to the stands and says, “hey guys isn’t that John Candy?” It was – and the point Steve Young was trying to make was to stay relaxed, have fun, and nothing is as serious as his teammates were making it out to be. They drove down the field and scored to win the Superbowl. So, Artie’s message is simple…you’ve done the miles, the workouts, and prepared the best you can for the race. Just relax, have fun, and compete and it will go well. Stressing and being tense is not going to produce the game winning touchdown, a new PR, or a win.

Current running goals?
This is my last season of track and field for the Nittany Lions, so I would like to put my name on the top ten all-time list (29:36 is tenth). Other season goals are to finish in the top three at the Big Ten Outdoor championships in the 10k and qualify for finals at NCAAs also in the 10k.

Best race experience?
Two best race experiences: First was winning the Lehigh Valley Half Marathon. The race is extremely well organized, everyone is so supportive, and the course is beautiful. I still cannot speak highly enough about all of the volunteers who put on such a great race. The second was the 2008 NCAA regional championships in cross country. I finished 12th individually to earn all-region. After waiting several minutes (which seemed like several hours) for the results, we found out that we (Penn State) finished 2nd and automatically qualified for the NCAA championships – the first time since 1994 that PSU qualified for NCAAs. After finding out we jumped on each other, then ran our cool down singing our fight song and celebrating.