Dage Minors Stepping Up Training In UK
[Written by Stephen Wright]
Dage Minors, Bermuda’s top middle-distance runner, said he is reaping the rewards of immersing himself in his sport while training at the Cardiff Metropolitan University in Wales.
Minors is grooving himself into form under his childhood running idol, James Thie, who won the Front Street Mile elite men’s race in 2003 and 2004.
The 28-year-old has competed twice since arriving in the Welsh capital two months ago, finishing tenth in the men’s A race at the Ayo Falola Dream Mile in London in 4min 7.96sec last month.
File photo
He also placed 43rd overall at the TTP Cambridge Half Marathon last weekend in 1:10:05, placing him sixteenth in the 25-29 age category.
“Focusing solely on my running has been beneficial – I’m feeling the progress,” Minors told Bernews. “I’m just training and sleeping!
“I’m just going to see how fast I can run, how much I can push my body, and how far I can climb the rankings.”
Minors, who joined forces with Thie in September, receiving virtual coaching initially, said he is enjoying a new lease of life training alongside his coach’s stable of runners at the Team Thie Elite Running Club.
“I’m training in a slightly more relaxed environment,” said Minors, who split amicably from his previous coach Zach Emerson at Franklin Pierce University in New Hampshire.
“It’s a new mindset, new approach, and a new voice. It’s helped motivate me.”
On the horizon for Minors is representing Bermuda at the North American, Central American and Caribbean Senior Championships in San Salvador, El Salvador, in June and qualifying in the 1,500 metres for the Olympic Games in Paris in July and August.
“The Olympics is on my mind, and I have a path to qualify,” he said. “However, there are things I must do before I can really think about it.”
Minors will head home in April to compete at the USATF Bermuda Grand Prix at the Flora Duffy Stadium before returning to the UK to continue his push for the Paris.
“Hopefully, I can continue to get better and run fast early in the spring,” he added. “Hopefully, the Olympics is a legitimate shout for me.”
