BY SCOTT
HADDOW
Andrew Ellerton's blood, sweat and tears are on the tracks of
National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I
schools across the United States.
The 23-year-old Sudbury athlete is in his final year with the
University of Michigan Wolverines track and field program and
wants to go out on top.
He has left everything he has in the races trying to earn an
elusive national championship.
Competing in distance events, Ellerton's expertise is in the
800-metre run. It has been his bread-and-butter event since
high school, and it's the title he covets most.
Ellerton has 20 Sudbury high school and Northern Ontario
Secondary School Association (NOSSA) medals to his credit from
his days when he ran for Confederation High in Valley East.
There's also a shiny All-Ontario high school gold medal from
2002 in the 800 metres.
Ellerton wasn't just an impact runner in Ontario. He earned a
gold medal in the 800-m at the 2002 Canadian national
championships and followed with a 14th place finish at the
World Junior Track and Field Championships months later.
Since arriving on the NCAA's top stage in 2003, Ellerton, a
two-time Confederation Athlete of the Year, has made steady
progress and says he's ready to realize his dream of a national
crown against the best collegiate runners in the United
States.
Ellerton has already established himself as one of the best
distance runners in Michigan history.
Ellerton has seven NCAA Track All-American honours to his
credit, placing him third on the list at Michigan, one behind
second place.
Ellerton recently qualified for the 2007 NCAA National Outdoor
Championships in the 800-m by winning the Mideast Regional
Championship with a time of 1:46.84.
This will be his third time at the big dance. Ellerton has two
fifth place finishes, in 2004 and 2005, at the NCAA
championships.
This year's NCAA national championships takes place in
Sacramento, California June 6 to 9.
Ellerton recently took time to slow down and answer questions from Northern Life reporter Scott Haddow concerning his season, track life and what the future holds.
SH: How did Sudbury help you in your running career?
AE: My time in Sudbury was the foundation for my career. It's
where I got my start. I never grew up wanting to be a track
athlete, I wanted to be a hockey player. Track was something I
did because I got to miss a few days of school.
Some of the smaller successes I had earlier in high school
planted the seed in my head that if I actually trained a bit,
maybe I'd do pretty well. In Grade 9 at NOSSA I placed 10th in
the 3000-metres being lapped by (Olympic skier) Devon Kershaw
and I remember thinking that was awesome. If I was the 10th
best hockey player for my age in Northern Ontario, I would have
made the OHL.
 
SH: Winning an NCAA 800-m title. What would it mean to
you?
AE: First and foremost, this year, I want to leave college with
an 800-m NCAA championship. It's tough to describe what leaving
with a NCAA championship would mean to my life. I guess the
most significant impact it would have is financially. It'd look
much better to the shoe companies and I'd have an easier time
getting into better races in Europe. Outside of that I don't
think it'll affect my life very much.
SH: It's your final season at Michigan. What's next for you?
AE: I have to make the step to the next level (pros) this year.
Last year I spent a week and a half in Belgium and ran in a few
'C' league pro meets. I did fairly well but to get in to the
better races I have to be consistently running 1:44 to 1:45.
This summer I need to break into that next level. For pro
running, how it works is you have an agent, they talk to the
different shoe company reps - Nike, Adidas, Reebok - and you go
from there with salary, stipends for travel, shoes and gear,
medical, etc. Your agent also gets you into the meets in Europe
where most of the pro races take place. As far as my options
go, I haven't really looked at any outside of staying in Ann
Arbor and training with the same guys and coach I do right now.
I'm just doing my thing in college and if I run to my
capabilities everything will work itself out.
 
SH: How tough is pro running and how will you tackle
it?
AE: I think the biggest difference with professional running is
I'll have to be on top of my game more consistently.
With the position I've been in, in college, I was able to get away with not being in the best shape and still competing well. At the next level everyone's just as talented if not more so and I won't be able to coast my way through the first couple months of the season. Along with that is a much greater attention to detail. There's a lot more involved than just running and those things become more important - weight training, core exercises, stretching, nutrition and sleep.
They all help with running form and efficiency, injury prevention and speed. They are more important as it becomes harder to improve on times and the races are closer.
SH: What has this sport given you to be grateful for?
AE: Running has opened a lot of doors for me and given me a
chance to see the world. I spent 10 days in Belgium last summer
and will be seeing much more of Europe and the rest of the
world this summer and beyond. Competing for Michigan I've been
to L.A., Atlanta, Boston, Philadelphia, Sacramento, San
Francisco, Louisiana, Phoenix, Austin, Columbus, Minneapolis
and more. I can't think of any other situation where I'd get to
see so many different places. The people have been the other
really great part. A lot of my close friends were on the team.
 
SH: Who has been the biggest influences in your running
career?
AE: (Laurentian and Track North coach) Dick Moss was a huge
influence on my career. He introduced me to the sport and
opened my eyes to the opportunities that were available through
it. He brought me to my first national meets…I ran at the World
Junior Championships under him. I learned training philosophies
that I still hold today. The other big influence has been my
Michigan coach Ron Warhurst and two teammates Nate Brannen and
Nick Willis.
 Ron's been around for a few decades and coached countless Olympians including Canada's most decorated distance runner (Kevin Sullivan, fifth in 1,500-m at Sydney Olympics). The three of them have showed me the professional side of the sport and what it takes to be and excel at that level. It's also allowed me to never be content. When you're as competitive as me and you run with guys almost every day that have achieved more, run faster, you're never satisfied.
SH: Overall, how was your season and school?
AE: My indoor season was very up and down yet I still had my
best indoor season to date, coming second at nationals in 800-m
in 1:48.55…0.15 of a second from the win. I've raced sparingly
outdoors because I plan on having a long summer season with
Canadian championships in July, some races in Europe and
hopefully World Championships in Japan at the end of
August.
I've been pretty much done school. I majored in General Studies
with an economics and business focus. After graduation I plan
on staying in Ann Arbor and running for a few more years. At
some point down the road I'll be looking to get an MBA and find
a new direction with my life.
SH: What's your motivation right now?
AE: I'm done with school now so I don't get scholarship checks
anymore.  I'm running to be able to pay rent in the fall
and buy groceries.
