Luke Puskedra

Luke Puskedra
Personal information
Nationality American
Born (1990-02-08) February 8, 1990
Ogden, Utah
Residence Eugene, Oregon
Height 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight 167 lb (76 kg)
Sport
Event(s) 5000 meters, 10,000 meters, marathon
College team Oregon
Club Oregon Track Club
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)

Mile: 4:06.60
3000 meters: 7:59.33
5000 meters: 13:31.88
10,000 meters: 27:56.62
Half marathon: 1:01:36

Marathon: 2:10:24

Luke Puskedra (born February 8, 1990) is an American long-distance runner who competes over distances ranging from 10,000 metres to the marathon.

He grew up in Ogden, Utah and attended Judge Memorial Catholic High School before studying business administration at the University of Oregon. He competed for the Oregon Ducks track and field and cross country teams, earned 12 NCAA Division I All-American awards and was a 10,000 meter finalist at the NCAA level four years running from 2009 to 2012.[1]

In 2015 Puskedra won the Vancouver Sun Run.[2]

Running career

High school

Puskedra graduated from Judge Memorial Catholic High School in Salt Lake City, Utah in 2008. He was an eight-time state champion in high school winning Utah state track championships in the 1600 meters and 3200 meters as a sophomore, junior and senior and winning the state cross country championships as a junior and senior.[3] He set all-classifications records his senior year in track at 3200 meters (8:54.40) and 1,600 meters (4:09.40) and cross country (14:54.60).[4][5] He was also the first Utah high school runner to break 9:00 in the 3200 meters. He was the 2007 Nike Cross Southwest Regional champion winning the race in 14:48 breaking the meet record. He went on to place fifth at the 2007 Foot Locker National Cross Country Championships.[6] He ran the fastest high school indoor mile time in the country (4:08.77) in 2008 at the Reebok Boston Indoor Games. On March 16, 2008 at the Nike Indoor Nationals Puskedra ran the sixth fastest high school indoor two mile time in U.S. history winning the race in a time of 8:49.58.[7][8][9][10] In 2008 as a senior he placed second in both the mile (4:06.60) and two mile (8:47.06) at the Nike Outdoor National meet.[11] He placed tenth in the two mile at the 2008 Prefontaine Classic in a time of 8:46.41.[12] As a junior he finished fourth in the Penn Relays high school boys mile in 4:25.11. Puskedra was a three-time Utah Boys Gatorade Athlete of the Year recipient (2006–07 and 2007-08 in track and 2007 in cross country).[13][14] He was the 2007-08 Salt Lake Tribune Athlete of Year (all sports) and a USA Today All-American at one and two miles.

High school bests:[15]

  • 800 m - 1:58.37
  • Mile - 4:06.60
  • 1600 m - 4:09.29
  • Two mile - 8:46.41
  • 3200 m - 8:54.40

Collegiate

Puskedra was recruited to University of Oregon where coach Andy Powell[16] had him specialize in various long distances spanning from the 3 KM to 10 KM. He placed fourth overall in the men's 10,000 meter final at the 2012 NCAA DI Outdoor T&F Championships.

Post-collegiate

After graduating from Oregon, Puskedra signed a professional contract with Nike and joined the Nike Oregon Project. There he was coached by Alberto Salazar, and the training regimen was very similar to the college program as Salazar was largely influential in Powell's training philosophy at the University of Oregon.[16]

However, at the end of 2014, his contract with Nike expired, and Puskedra did not anticipate continuing a professional career in running. He moved with his wife to South Africa and gained 23 pounds from his race weight in the course of a month.[17] In spite of the time elapsed from his graduation, college coach Andy Powell remained in contact with Puskedra and gradually convinced him to return to running.[17]

Puskedra and his wife returned to the United States, where he trained briefly for a marathon debut at the 2014 New York City Marathon. In his marathon debut, he ran 2:28:54, but given his half marathon personal record it was widely seen as a disappointing result.[17] Although discouraged by his experience in New York City, he proceeded to train for the 2015 Grandma's Marathon, where he ran a significantly faster result of 2:15:27.[17]

After 2016 US Olympic Marathon Trials, Puskedra switched from Nike to ASICS following Team Hall's apparels unification. But he later reverted to Nike, due to connect with Evan Jager and Sam Crouser.

In January 2018, Luke Puskedra joined the Oregon Track Club.

Competition record

Marathon

Year Competition Venue Position Notes
Representing the  United States
2014 New York City Marathon New York, New York 36th 2:28:54[18]
2015 Grandma's Marathon Duluth, Minnesota 6th 2:15:27[19]
Chicago Marathon Chicago, Illinois 5th 2:10:24[20]
2016 US Olympic Trials Marathon Los Angeles 4th 2:14:12
2017 Chicago Marathon Chicago, Illinois 20th 2:17:53

Half marathon

Year Competition Venue Position Notes
Representing the  United States
2012 Houston Half Marathon Houston, Texas 4th 1:01:36[21]
World Half Marathon Championships Kavarna, Bulgaria 17th 1:02:46[22]
2015 Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon Portland, Oregon 1st 1:05:10[23]
2016 Houston Half Marathon Houston, Texas 4th 1:01:29[24]
2018 Houston Half Marathon Houston, Texas 34th 1:03:40

USA National Championships

Road

Year Competition Venue Position Event Notes
2012 USA 20 km Championships New Haven, Connecticut 2nd 20 km 58:48[25]
2014 USA Half Marathon Championships Houston, Texas 6th half marathon 1:01:48[26]
USA 20 km Championships New Haven, Connecticut 3rd 20 km 1:01:32[27]
2015 USA 15 km Championships Jacksonville, Florida 18th 15 km 46:25[28]
USA 20 km Championships New Haven, Connecticut 4th 20 km 59:30[29]
2016 US Olympic Trials Los Angeles, California 4th marathon 2:14:12[30]
2018 USA 20 km Championships New Haven, Connecticut 14th 20 km 1:03:31

Track and field

Year Competition Venue Position Event Notes
2012 U.S. Olympic Trials Eugene, Oregon 8th 10,000 m 27:56.62[31]
2013 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships Des Moines, Iowa 9th 10,000 m 29:27.28[32]

NCAA championships

Outdoor track and field

Year Competition Venue Position Event Notes
Representing Oregon
2009 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships Fayetteville, Arkansas 11th 10,000 m 29:20.18[33]
2010 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships Eugene, Oregon 14th 10,000 m 29:27.13[34]
2011 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships Des Moines, Iowa 6th 10,000 m 28:33.47[35]
2012 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships Des Moines, Iowa 4th 10,000 m 28:24.24[36]

Indoor track and field

Year Competition Venue Position Event Notes
Representing Oregon
2009 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships College Station, Texas 6th 5000 m 13:50.82
2010 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships Fayetteville, Arkansas 9th 5000 m 13.57.98
14th 3000 m 8:22.47
2011 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships College Station, Texas 14th 5000 m 14:02.26

Cross country

Year Competition Venue Position Notes
Representing Oregon
2008 NCAA Cross Country Championships Terre Haute, Indiana 5th 29.27.8[37]
2009 NCAA Cross Country Championships Terre Haute, Indiana 21st 30:01.9[38]
2010 NCAA Cross Country Championships Terre Haute, Indiana 3rd 29.38.0[39]
2011 NCAA Cross Country Championships Terre Haute, Indiana 6th 29:09.3[40]

Personal bests

Surface Event Time Date Location
Outdoor track 1500 m3:53.79March 21, 2009Eugene, Oregon
Mile4:06.60June 18, 2008Greensboro, North Carolina
3000 m7:59.33May 3, 2013Eugene, Oregon
2 miles8:46.41June 8, 2008Eugene, Oregon
5000 m13:31.88May 17, 2013Los Angeles, California
10,000 m27:56:62June 22, 2012Eugene, Oregon
Indoor track Mile4:08.77January 26, 2008Boston, Massachusetts
3000 m8:00.69February 30, 2010College Station, Texas
2 mile8:07.41January 25, 2014Landover, Maryland
5000 m13:50.82March 13, 2009College Station, Texas
Road 10 km28:53April 19, 2015Vancouver, British Columbia
12 km35:47May 3, 2015Spokane, Washington
15 km46:25March 15, 2015Jacksonville, Florida
20 km58:48September 3, 2012New Haven, Connecticut
Half marathon1:01:36January 15, 2012Houston, Texas
Marathon2:10:24October 11, 2015Chicago, Illinois

References

  1. ↑ Luke Puskedra Oregon Ducks profile. Oregon Ducks. Retrieved on 2015-10-16.
  2. ↑ Gary Kingston. Vancouver Sun: "They're Tough": Vancouver Winner Worried About Kenyan Runners. April 20, 2015.
  3. ↑ High school boys track: Track stars run to glory Judge's Luke Puskedra dominates in distances. Retrieved on November 2, 2015
  4. ↑ 2008 Utah Boys State Track and Field Results. Retrieved on November 1, 2015
  5. ↑ Utah State Cross Country Championships results. Retrieved on November 2, 2015
  6. ↑ 2007 Foot Locker National Cross Country Championships results. Retrieved on November 2, 2015
  7. ↑ King of the Mountain: An Interview with Utah's Luke Puskedra. Retrieved on November 2, 2015
  8. ↑ 2008 Nike Indoor Nationals results. Retrieved on November 2, 2015
  9. ↑ Luke Puskedra Going for High School Two Mile Record. Retrieved on November 2, 1015
  10. ↑ Boys' Track Top Performers. Retrieved on November 2, 2015
  11. ↑ 2008 Nike Outdoor Nationals results. Retrieved November 2, 2015
  12. ↑ 2008 Prefontaine Classic two mile results. Retrieved on November 2, 2015
  13. ↑ Utah Boys' Track Athlete of the Year. Retrieved on November 1, 2015
  14. ↑ Judge's Puskedra Earns National Award. Retrieved on November 1, 2015
  15. ↑ Luke Puskedra Athletic profile. Retrieved on November 2, 2015
  16. 1 2 Scott Douglas (February 1, 2013). "Luke Puskedra Joins Nike Oregon Project". Retrieved November 15, 2015.
  17. 1 2 3 4 Peter Gambaccini (October 7, 2015). "After Briefly Quitting Running, Former Oregon Project Member Heads to Chicago Marathon". Retrieved November 15, 2015.
  18. ↑ 2014 New York City Marathon men's overall results. Retrieved on October 16, 2015
  19. ↑ 2015 Grandma's Marathon men's overall results. Retrieved on October 16, 2015
  20. ↑ 2015 Chicago Marathon men's overall results. Retrieved on October 16, 2015
  21. ↑ 2012 Houston Half Marathon msn's overall results. Retrieved on October 16, 2015
  22. ↑ http://www.usatf.org/News/Team-USA-men-fourth,-women-fifth-at-IAAF-World-Hal.aspx?feed=news. Retrieved on October 15, 2016
  23. ↑ 2015 Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon results. Retrieved on October 16, 2015
  24. ↑ On Final Day of Qualifying, Houston and Arizona Swell Olympic Trials Ranks. Retrieved on January 10, 2018
  25. ↑ 2012 USA 20K Championships. Retrieved on October 17, 2015
  26. ↑ 2014 USA Half Marathon Championships results. Retrieved on October 16, 2015
  27. ↑ 2014 USA 20K Championships results. Retrieved on October 17, 2015
  28. ↑ 2015 USA 15 km Championships results. Retrieved on October 17, 2015
  29. ↑ 2015 USA 20K Championships results. Retrieved on October 16, 2015
  30. ↑ 2016 US Olympic Team Trials - Marathon results Archived 2016-02-16 at the Wayback Machine.. Retrieved on February 14, 2016
  31. ↑ 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials results. Retrieved on October 15, 2016
  32. ↑ 2013 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships results. Retrieved on October 16, 2015
  33. ↑ 2009 NCAA Men's Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships results. Retrieved on October 16, 2015
  34. ↑ 2010 NCAA Men's Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships results. Retrieved on October 16, 2015
  35. ↑ 2011 NCAA Men's Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships results. Retrieved on October 16, 2015
  36. ↑ 2012 NCAA Men's Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships results. Retrieved on October 16, 2015
  37. ↑ http://www.trackandfieldnews.com/index.php/archivemenu/33-archive/319-ncaa-xc-2008-men. Track and Field News. Retrieved on October 16, 2015
  38. ↑ http://www.trackandfieldnews.com/index.php/archivemenu/33-archive/320-ncaa-xc-2009-men. Track and Field. Retrieved on October 16, 2015
  39. ↑ http://www.trackandfieldnews.com/index.php/archivemenu/33-archive/487-ncaa-xc-2010-men. Track and Field News. Retrieved on October 16, 2015
  40. ↑ http://www.trackandfieldnews.com/index.php/archivemenu/26-news/948-ncaa-xc-2011-men-indiana. Track and Field News. Retrieved on October 16, 2015
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