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03/23/2017 12:00 AMChris Zablocki manages to fit a lot into a day. Chris, an Essex native, runs a dozen marathons a year, and he competes in various half-marathons, triathlons, and road races, as well. He’s also qualified for the U.S. Olympic Trials in the marathon by recording a time of less than two hours and 18 minutes. While Chris’s training regimen requires serious commitment, his life isn’t solely focused on running; he’s also in medical school with 28 weeks left before he finishes his licensing exams.
So between the work he puts in training and studying for his future career, Chris doesn’t have that much spare time on his hands, although he doesn’t envy those who do.
“I don’t have time for much, but it’s exciting being able to do something like this,” says Chris. “Anybody can just go out to the bar and grab a drink, but it’s so rewarding to compete at the top of races like these.”
Chris isn’t kidding when he says that he competes “at the top of races.” Out of the 41 marathons he’s run in since 2012, Chris has placed in the top five 32 times, including 16 first-place finishes. If you look at the full gamut of distances in the races he competes in, then Chris’s résumé becomes even more impressive.
All of this success has earned Chris a sponsorship with Newton Running, a running shoe and apparel company based out of Boulder, Colorado. Chris was excited when he got the sponsorship, especially since it yielded him some quality footwear to assist him at his races.
“Some of the top guys get a salary and all, but I’m happy to just get the shoes,” Chris says. “If you have the best shoes, then you can get top prizes at races.”
Chris attended Xavier High School in Middletown, where he ran for both the track and cross country programs. Chris competed at three State Championships during his high school career. In 2004, Chris earned All-Southern Connecticut Conference honors in track. The next year, he was an All-SCC runner for both track and cross country.
“My parents sent me to Xavier because they had a really good running team. I didn’t really like school too much, but the running helped me get through it,” Chris says. “After doing some training or running for a while, I’m glad to just sit there and listen to a teacher.”
After graduating from Xavier, Chris went to Dartmouth College, where he continued his career as a long-distance runner. At Dartmouth, Chris earned All-Region recognition at the NCAA Northeast Regional Race, qualified for the NCAA East Regional Meet in the steeplechase, and ultimately qualified for the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches’ Association Division I All-Academic Track and Field Team. Since graduating from Dartmouth in 2010, Chris has been competing in road races and marathons whenever he can. In order to consistently finish at the top of the pack, Chris needs to stay in the best possible running shape.
“I try to stay consistent all year long and keep up with my training. Getting into shape after being out of shape is the worst, so I just try to keep up,” Chris says. “I do about 12 marathons a year and some other shorter races, and I try to do a training run six days a week. I mix up the training runs, so some days I take it a bit easier than others, but I’m always running.”
Because Chris is always ready, he can scope out the races he really wants to run in an attempt to have a better shot at taking home some prize money. It’s not just a matter of making money for Chris. It gets pretty expensive traveling to some of the places he competes in, and so every bit helps.
“Some of the races cover the entry fee, food and hotel, and they give a travel stipend,” says Chris. “Other times they don’t offer that, but if they have a prize that I think I can win that will cover the trip, then I’ll put it on a card and pay for it that way.”
While that might sound like a bit of a gamble, Chris has earned enough to compete all around the world. He’s run in England, Switzerland, Spain, Ireland, Wales, Scotland, Poland, and several islands in the Caribbean. In turn, Chris has been able to not just see the world, but feel the world as his feet touch foreign soil. This has led to some pretty spectacular experiences for Chris, including when he ran his personal-best time of 2:15:39 at his favorite marathon in Valencia, Spain.
“It has good weather, and it’s a fast course. Also, the competition is amazing,” he says. “The finish of the race, there’s a section of modern Spanish architecture around these man-made pools, and the final stretch is on a platform that’s a foot or two over the pools. It’s quite a sight to see.”
Of course, it’s not all sight-seeing and jet-setting for Chris. There is the matter of actually running the marathon, and that’s an extremely difficult task for even the fittest of bodies. So while he’s off in another country, Chris has to prepare to compete on both a mental and physical level. The mental preparation can be especially challenging.
“The thing is, you don’t want to think too much about a race. If you’re doing it right, it’s going to be pretty painful, and so if you think about it, you can easily psych yourself out,” says Chris. “So I just try to give the competition as good as I’ve got. Then they give their best and I try to give even more back.”
In the end, it doesn’t matter what land Chris ventures off to—he always calls Essex his home.
“I’ve lived all over the world and I still think Essex has some of the nicest places to go for a run,” says Chris. “And all the high schools have really nice tracks. My favorite courses are the Canfield trails and the Valley Railroad tracks that bring you out to the preserve. Also, River Road is good if there’s too much snow on the trails.”
So for anyone who has aspirations of traveling the world with only the shoes on your feet, Chris offers some sound advice.
“Running is a sport that if you want to improve, you just have to stay consistent, put in lots of miles, and run tough,” he says.