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Scott Bauhs on his way to a sixth-place finish at the 2007 San Jose Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon. (Photo by Margaret Gallagher.)

Interview with Scott Bauhs

Posted on October 21, 2007, Interview conducted October 19, 2007

By Alison Wade

Though Scott Bauhs has been running at a high level since high school, he didn't begin to make national headlines until last spring, when he upset Nicodemus Naimadu to win the NCAA Division II 10,000m title for California State University, Chico. Naimadu, a senior, had never lost a college race longer than a mile prior to that, and was a 10-time NCAA Division II national champion. Later in the meet, Bauhs came back in the 5,000 and though he had the lead in hand on the last lap of the race, he chose to cross the line just behind senior teammate Charlie Serrano, to give Serrano the experience of being a national champion as well. Bauhs finished a close second, .02 of a second behind his teammate, earning his sixth All-American award.

The 21-year-old Danville, California native is redshirting this fall, but he is still making plenty of headlines. He won a competitive 8k race at the Stanford Invitational on September 29, blazing through the course in 23:07. A couple weeks later, on October 14, Bauhs finished sixth overall and was the top U.S. runner at the San Jose Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon in 1:03:04. Bauhs is in his fourth year of school at Chico State and he plans to rejoin his team this spring, and then finish out his final year of NCAA eligibility in the 2008-09 school year.

While representing San Ramon Valley High School, Bauhs set PRs of 4:16 (1,600) and 9:09 (3,200). Since arriving at Chico State, Bauhs has lowered those to 3:45.75 (1,500), 13:40.63 (5,000), and 28:54.55 (10,000), in addition to his 1:03:04 half marathon.

Congratulations on your excellent run at the San Jose Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon. Was your time about what you were expecting? Can you tell us a little bit about how the race unfolded?
Thanks. I had no idea what sort of time to expect, I knew I was in shape but I didn't know how my body would react to the distance.

The race went out at a very relaxed pace for the first mile, which was perfect for me. After that the leaders started making moves and picking up the pace and slowing it down. I went with that for a while but after around 4-5 miles it was too much for me to handle, so I let the leaders go to run my own race. Virtually all of the remaining miles were on my own so I tried to maintain a rhythm. I slowed down a bit around mile 10 or so and hit my first and only mile above 5:00 pace (5:05ish). After that I woke myself back up and finished the race strong, passing a few runners who held on to the early fast surges longer than I did.

What made you decide to run the San Jose Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon?
I was looking for a race longer than 10k to use to test my strength and as a goal to build up to during my redshirt season. I also wanted a race with national/world class competition to compete against. San Jose was exactly what I wanted. The location also helped. I was able to stay at home, in Danville, the night before and I had Charlie [Serrano, who finished 11th at the half in 1:04:21] and Joel [Hamilton who finished 12th in 1:05:00] stay over at my house with me.

Did you do half marathon specific training leading up to the race? Or was your preparation more like your usual cross country training?
For the most part, our cross country training at Chico is perfect for a half marathon. There were a few times where I would do additional repeats or longer workouts than the rest of the team, but it was rare.

What kind of mileage have you been running recently?
My highest week was 100 miles, but most of my weeks were around 90 miles.

What was the logic behind redshirting this year? Is it at all frustrating to be in a position where you can't score for your team and you can't earn prize money?
I redshirted because Chico is in a transition year and our younger runners will benefit a lot from this year of experience. Next year we should return a very solid team with a greater chance of performing well at nationals next year as opposed to this year.

I am not particularly frustrated by not being able to take prize money. The money would be nice, but I should easily be able to make up for it in the future. It was a hard decision to redshirt this year, but I know that while I am not able to score for the team this year, it's for the good of the team in the future.

Who are you training with at the moment? Do you and Charlie Serrano still train together? Do you have people to train with who can challenge you in your workouts?
I still train with Charlie, and our assistant coach Patrick Boivin (9:01 steeple), and the rest of the team. I also do a few goal-specific workouts on my own.

No team wants to give away their secrets of course, but what can you tell us about the Chico State training program that has contributed to your success?
Consistent miles, long runs, and threshold work in the awesome Bidwell Park.

You were good enough in high school to be recruited by some very good Division I schools. What caused you to choose Chico State and the Division II option?
Chico has a very good program and an amazing coach [Gary Towne]. When I came on my recruiting trip, I fell in love with the team. I signed early and I knew that while there were other options out there, I knew that I would fit in with Chico.

What is your major? Are you stretching your undergrad degree out over five years, or will you get an additional degree?
My degree is social science with an emphasis on geography and international relations, which I will be finishing this spring. I will finish a minor in English and another minor that has yet to be decided next year.

Did you do other sports before you took up running? When did you start running, were you a natural, and how serious were you about it in high school?
I played soccer and baseball in elementary school. I started club cross country in fifth grade and club track & field in seventh grade. I was not nearly as successful then as I am now, but I have my fair share of age group medals from local charity runs where I was the only one in my age group.

What was it like to outkick the supposedly unbeatable Nicodemus Naimadu to win the NCAA title last spring? It sounds like you had some impressive crowd support.
It was extremely special. It came as a shock to most people including myself. The crowd there was awesome and it was an incredible way to win my first championship.

You mentioned that your next big race might be the USA Cross Country Championships in February. Are you going to race anywhere else between now and then?
I'm not sure, I don't really like going into big races without a race or two before it to get some bugs out of the system, but with school and training I might not be able to fit it in. My plans are still far from final.

What kinds of goals do you have your sights set on in the upcoming year?
My first and most important goal is getting an auto qualifier for the Olympic Trials, right now I have a 'B' standard [in both the 5,000 and 10,000] and I can tell you from last year's experience that it is very nerve-racking not knowing whether you are actually going to be in the race or not. I would also like to add some more NCAA titles to my resume. Other than that, I would like to take things as they come and continue to improve as much as possible in all aspects of my running.

What do you like to do when you're not running or studying?
I like to hang out with my girlfriend and play with our pets—two geckos and a chinchilla. Outside of that, though, I enjoy snowboarding in the winter, traveling, cycling, and listening to music.

What's something about you that few people know?
I am an Eagle Scout.

Is there anything else you'd like to add?
My brother [Mark Bauhs] is a standout volleyball player at University of the Pacific and my parents are incredibly supportive of our sports. They make it to virtually all of my races and his matches. If they conflict, then one will go to watch him and the other will go to watch me. I probably wouldn't be as successful without them.