New blog from STC Elite’s Austin Bahner
The 2015 season was a great year for me. It included a trip to Boston, MA where I placed 2nd at the USA Indoor National Championships, a trip to the University of Arkansas where I placed 2nd in the Decathlon, which then landed me a spot on Team USA for a Decathlon competition held in Ottawa, Canada called the Capital Cup. The most impressive, as well as my favorite part of the season, was traveling a second time for Team USA to Toronto, Canada for the biggest meet of my career; the Pan American Games where I placed 8th among some of the greatest athletes in the world.
As of right now, I am currently taking an active-recovery based break from Track and Field in general. In the next few weeks, I will begin light general body conditioning circuits to prepare myself for general Fall conditioning beginning in mid-October. From there, I will transition to light event work and a full weight lifting schedule along with my training workouts. As far as the start to my 2016 season goes, I will be training through the indoor season with the main focus being on outdoor. However, both the USA Indoor National Championships and World Indoor Championships will be held in Portland, Oregon this year. In the outdoor season, I will be competing to qualify for the USA Olympic Trials to earn a spot on the Olympic Team.
With that being said, it will be a long and somewhat expensive journey. That is why I have set up a funding campaign through gofundme in order to attain these goals and dreams of mine. I have set up a goal of $10,000 in order to cover the expenses that are necessary to have the best opportunities possible. Some of these expenses include meet costs, airfare, hotel, rental car and gas. Other costs will go toward shoes, spikes, apparel and therapeutic needs to keep me injury free. The allotted goal amount has come from those specific costs and more. The following is a link to my gofundme account – http://www.gofundme.com/BahnerToRio2016 
STC Elite update – Cotter runs 3:58 mile, Bahner 8th at Pan Am’s
It’s been a big week for a couple of STC Elite athletes as they continue to compete in international competitions around the world.
The big news this week was Tomas Cotter running 3:58.50 in the Mile at the Morton Games in Dublin, Ireland. Cotter had run some good races this summer in Europe but this was definitely his best. He is the 51st Irish man to break the four minute barrier and was the top athlete from his country in this race.
From Cotter, “I knew it was possible but to be the first Irish man and beat some of the world’s best was incredible!”
He has the Irish Championships in two weeks and is working on getting in a couple other fast European races now that he has a fast time in the Mile. He will probably run the 1500m and 3000m steeplechase.
Here is the link to the race video – the Mile begins at 2:04:55
STC Elite athlete Austin Bahner has also had a busy summer capped by an eighth place finish in the Pan Am Games Decathlon. He scored 7451 points, just two behind seventh and 49 behind sixth place. It was his second international competition of the summer representing the USA as he has now made four different national teams in his career.
Congrats to Tomas and Austin for their terrific performances!
Austin Bahner — Q&A — Post Collegiate T&F and Pan-Am Games
STC Elite team member Austin Bahner is nearing the end of his first post-collegiate season and just got named to Team USA for the Pan Am Games in Toronto, Canada, July 20-26.
We got Austin’s opinion on several topics with this Q&A. Enjoy!
How has your first year of post collegiate track gone?
Overall, I am very pleased with how my first has gone. As always, there are ups and there are downs, especially dealing with the Multi-events. My biggest issue in the past has probably been injuries, and I have stayed relatively healthy and in shape the entire season. Other than that, I have been quite consistent in most area’s of the multi, while I have gained a couple of personal bests. I finished second at USA Indoor Nationals and qualified for two USA Teams in the outdoor season which is a huge confidence boost going into next year.
What have been some of the biggest challenges?
The biggest challenge I have faced would have to be the motivation. At this time of the season, I have been on my own the majority of the time so it is important that I stay motivated to keep up my training and continue to work toward my goals.
What are your goals for the upcoming Pan Am Games?
I know that there will be a lot of great competitors at this meet so I am going to do my best to stay in reach of the top and take it one event at a time. I am shooting for a great score that will potentially qualify me into the 2016 Olympic Trials.
What are your goals as you look forward to 2016?
The biggest thing for me is staying healthy throughout the season, most importantly the outdoor season. USA Indoor Nationals will be held in Portland, Oregon next year, which athletes will be competing for a spot on the Indoor World Championships team. For the Outdoor season, the Olympic Trials will be held in Eugene, Oregon where athletes will compete for a spot in the Olympics. My ultimate goal is to hit the standard for next year to go to the trials and compete for one of those spots.
What do you do for support to be able to continue to train for your goals?
My biggest support comes from my parents. They have been there for me more than I could have imagined. Outside of them, I have many great support groups. Shocker Track Club has provided help through expenses for gear and some travel. Asics America provided a great donation of gear. I work as a Volunteer Assistant at Wichita State in order to continue my training with the group of multis. I have also reached out to friends and family for small donations for some of my bigger trips that I normally would not be able to afford like this past year’s Indoor Nationals that was held in Boston, MA. I am very appreciative of everyone and everything I have received over this past season.
What advice can you give someone who wants to continue track after college?
My first piece of advice would have to be patience. Not everything is going to go the way you want whether it be injuries, your training, your marks/scores, etc. Its all about overcoming those obstacles and trusting yourself and your training. Also, have some sort of structure or organization to your training. I still follow the team’s workouts with some modifications due to a longer and later season.
Thank you to Austin for the interview. Good luck in Toronto! Go USA!!!