RISING STAR OSIKA TO CAP SUCCESSFUL SEASON AT NEW BALANCE FIFTH AVENUE MILE
By Rich Sands, @sands
(c) 2018 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved - Used with permission.

NEW YORK (08-Sep) -- For many elite middle distance runners who are ending their season at Sunday's New Balance Fifth Avenue Mile, the finish line cannot come soon enough after a long year of racing. But for Shannon Osika, the race arrives at the height of a wave of breakthrough late-summer races.

"A lot of people get injured towards the end and can't wait for a break, but I'm feeling really good," Osika told Race Results Weekly on the eve of the eve of the 38th running of the iconic New York Road Runners event. "I could keep running, but it's nice to have that break coming up."

Following a third-pace finish in the 1500 at the USATF Indoor championships in February, Osika suffered a sore left shin and took a conservative approach to training in April, May and June. That low-key period helped extend her season, and the 25-year-old University of Michigan grad didn't reach top form until July, rattling off a quartet of big wins in the mile, two on the road and two on the track. In between, she scored a silver medal at the North American, Central American and Caribbean (NACAC) Championships in Toronto, in her first appearance on the U.S. senior national team.

"I had a little tenderness in my shin, so I was just being cautious," she says of her low-mileage this spring. She arrived at June's USATF Outdoor Championships in Des Moines off training of only about 20-30 miles (32-48 kilometers) per week, but still managed to finish seventh there.

Soon raising her weekly output to the 40-mile (64-kilometer) range, Osika put her strength and speed on display during the domestic mile circuit, winning the GNC Live Well Liberty Mile on July 20, in Pittsburgh, and the Ryan Shay Mile in Michigan on July 28. At the NACAC Championships she clocked 4:06.92, less than a second off the 1500 PR she set in 2017 (4:06.17). She then lowered her mile best to 4:25.47 at the Ed Murphey Mile in Memphis on August 25, and notched another victory this past Wednesday in the Hoka One One Long Island Mile (4:29.91).

Two years ago, as Osika was just turning pro, the Long Island Mile was the site of a breakthrough as significant psychologically as it was statistically. She finished third in what was then a personal best 4:28.45 after running aggressively. "That was the first time that I allowed myself to mess around in front a little bit," she recalled. "I thought, I like that, you're in control and I felt more comfortable there. From then on I allowed myself to take that lead position more."

The strategy has continued to pay benefits, and helped propel Osika to the evenly-paced career best in Memphis and the silver medal in Toronto. And she's ready to put herself in contention against a formidable Fifth Avenue Mile field that includes six-time champion and Olympic bronze medalist Jenny Simpson.

"My mindset is totally different this year than it was a couple of years ago, the last time I raced Fifth Ave," Osika said. "I think I belong towards the front —- not to say I'm gonna beat Jenny Simpson, who's so incredible, but I'm gonna give myself a shot."

Osika's arrival among the top tier of American milers may have been telegraphed 30 years ago. Five years before she was born, her parents, P.J. and Andrea (née Bowman) Osika, both competed in the 1500 at the 1988 Olympic Trials. The couple met at Eastern Michigan University, where one of their coaches was Mike McGuire.

Fast forward a few decades and McGuire is now the associate head coach at Michigan, where he guided Osika to Big Ten titles in the mile and 1500 during her senior season in 2016. Osika continues to train under McGuire, along with fellow Wolverine vets Nicole Sifuentes, Amanda Eccleston, Jamie Morrissey and Jaimie Phelan.

"We call ourselves True Blue Elite," the Nike-sponsored athlete says. "It's nothing official, but we have an Instagram. We've got a great culture there right now. We're all so different, but everyone has qualities that are great assets to the team, so it really works out."

And what specifically does Osika bring to the group's chemistry? "I am the chill one," she said with a laugh. "I try to keep things light, relaxed and humorous."

But she's dead serious when it comes to her competitive goals. "Definitely I'm going to be trying to make teams the next two years," she said of her world championship and Olympic aspirations. "That’s obviously the big one. And just keeping this trend of being aggressive in races and running fast."

The New Balance Fifth Avenue Mile, which covers 20 blocks of the iconic Manhattan street, will air live on NBC on Sunday, Sept. 9 at 12:00 p.m. ET, and will stream live at NBCSports.com, the NBC Sports app, and via NBC Sports Gold.

PHOTO: Shannon Osika after winning the 2018 Hoka Long Island Mile on September 5th (photo by David Monti for Race Results Weekly)