Former BYU track star living a dream

A former BYU track star has been training in Utah County for two years, dreaming of the Olympics.

At this year's trials, Josh McAdams made that dream come true, clinching the third spot on the men's U.S. Track Team in the 3,000-meter steeplechase.

Josh McAdams is such a nice guy, his excitement is contagious. He's not your typical long distance runner -- tall, skinny -- he's got big leg muscles, and his coach says that's one of the reasons he's so good at what he does.

Josh McAdams trains hard. He says, "I'll run Monday through Saturday, put in 90 miles a week, 15 miles a day. His coach of over five years, Ed Eyestone, also coaches BYU's Cross-Country Team. Eyestone believes McAdams was built for the steeplechase. He says, "He's not your typically emaciated skinny distance runner. He's more of a solid, stronger build."

And he's good enough to qualify for the Beijing Olympics. McAdams clinched the third spot on the U.S. team in July, in Eugene, Ore. McAdams says, "I'm trilled. This is a dream come true."

But the dream didn't come easy. Sure, McAdams was an all-State wrestler at his Ohio high school, he also ran track.

Then, he left the country for two years. "Went on my mission to Thailand and loved the Thai food too much and came back 20 pounds overweight," McAdams says. That was 2002, when he knocked on Eyestone's door. Eyestone says, "He was kind of this gob of goo when he came back and said he wanted to be on the team."

McAdams recalls, "I didn't have a scholarship, didn't have a locker, but coach said the cream rises to the top."

Eyestone says, "Early on, the guys on the team called him "Thunder Thighs" cause his legs were so big and "The Hobbit" cause he was kind of squatty."

He was eventually introduced to the hurdles. McAdams says, "He had better technique then anyone who had been running it, and I had a couple of all-Americans on the team at the time." And then he was introduced to the steeplechase. Coach Eyestone says, "The steeplechase is a combination of endurance, technique and ability, and he's been able to put those three together to make him one of the world's top steeplechasers."

The 3,000-meter steeplechase is just under two miles, and it's got five immovable barriers per lap, followed by a 12-foot water jump. "I think the fans enjoy it because there is that danger involved in falling in a water jump or falling over the barrier," McAdams says.

When McAdams isn't training, he's studying. This past fall he was accepted into medical school in Tennessee. But after he won the U.S. National Championships in 2007 in the steeplechase, he decided to go for the Olympics. He says, "One of the hardest things I did was to call up the optometry school and said, ‘Listen, I have a dream to be an optometrist, but I have a bigger dream right now of going to this Olympics.'"

McAdams reapplied. He'll start medical school after this Olympics. He'll also be a dad. He and his wife, Whitney, are expecting their first child in October. But don't think this is the last Olympics for McAdams, the 2012 games are his next dream.

McAdams runs Saturday morning. Weber State's Lindsey Anderson races tomorrow. The women's final is Sunday, and the men's final comes Monday.

You can follow McAdams through his blog by logging on to www.joshmcadams.blogspot.com.

E-mail: abutterfield@ksl.com

Related topics