WHY I’VE SET
THE CRAZY
GOAL OF
QUALIFYING
FOR THE
OLYMPICS—
WHILE WORKING
FULL-TIME
NAME| JOSHUA CARLOS AGE| 25
FROM| LA CRESCENTA, CALIFORNIA
JOB| ADJUNCT PROFESSOR AND ASSISTANT COACH
RUNNER’S WORLD+ MEMBER SINCE| MARCH 2019WHEN I SAY I have been running all my life, I
mean it almost literally. My father started a
youth track and cross-country organization in
1990 called the Los Angeles Falcons, just before
my older sister was born. I copied everything
Stacy did, whether she approved or not. So nat-
urally, when she was old enough to join (age 5),
I began my running career (age 3). I wasn’t fast,
fatiguing after only 50 meters. I wish I could
say I was fast by the time I was old enough to
join the team. I was not. But that didn’t matter,
because I was focused on beating my shadow.
As I got older, I began noticing that I was
always finishing in the back. I started to envy
my faster and stronger teammates. Thankfully,
rather than deterring me from running, it made
me want to persevere and prove to myself that
I could keep up. It wasn’t until about the age
of 12, when I finally started growing out of
my baby fat, that I started to show promise.
Puberty was in my favor. Times started drop-
ping, confidence was boosting, and my passion
for running was deepening.
Then in 2008, I qualified for my first USATF
Junior Olympics in the 1500 meters. I stillremember everything—the heat, the packed
stands, the starting line. A month later I watched
my first Summer Olympic Games. I thought, I
want to be there. Cue inspirational music.
The road to Olympic glory is not easy, but any-
thing worth doing never is. I am self-coached,
using knowledge acquired from my bachelor’s in
kinesiology and master’s in exercise physiology.
I have had to balance my training with school,
teaching, coaching, a community-based exercise
program I coordinate called 3 WINS Fitness,
and, more recently, a German Shepherd puppy
named Nala. Stress is not unfamiliar to me.
My lifestyle may not be conducive to optimal
performance, but I am determined to make it
work. To balance out the high-stakes Olympic
dream, I also made a “lower”-stakes goal of
running at least 1 mile (to represent my favorite
race distance) in every state. So far, I’ve run in
16, from New Mexico to Virginia, and clocked a
4:01 for 1500 meters, only 26 seconds from the
qualifying standard for the Trials.
I still have a way to go, but that’s the point of
having goals! To motivate and give you a sense
of singular purpose.Why I Run / I will
always attribute
the start of my
running career
to my sister. But
I continue to run
because of all the
positive changes
that come with
it, leaving me
feeling amazing,
inside and out.
Most importantly,
it has taught me
to have grit in all
that I do.Where I Run/
Away from cars as
best I can. I love
running trails that
are not very tech-
nical. My annual
trip to Mammoth,
California, is prob-
ably my favorite
time of year,
when I can enjoy
the serenity of a
solitary trail run. A
time I can home in
on the completerunning experi-
ence. Breathing
rhythms, arm
swing, leg turn-
over, contraction
and relaxation
of muscles, air
passing over the
skin. Just me, my
thoughts, and the
beauty of the run.What I Run /
Garmin Fenix 5S
Plus with Garmin
HRM-Run. A
dynamic duo! As
an Exercise Physi-
ologist I love ana-
lyzing my data! I
calculate my own
heart-rate zones,
look at trends in
running paces
and HR varia-
bility, and look
up local coffee
shops (caffeine
for mobilizing
free fatty acids).
Yeah, the Fenix
can do that, too!38 RUNNERSWORLD.COM PHOTOGRAPH BY SAM McGUIRE