When Billy Convey competed back in 1982 the meet was sponsored by "Kinney". Convey who starred for Ransom Everglades and went onto compete at the University of Virginia finished second in the regional and 16th at the national meet. He reflects on that race, how it kick started his recruiting, and what he's been up to in the year's since. (Photo courtesy Billy Convey)
Flrunners.com: What do you remember about running at the Kinney South Regional (which today is the Foot Locker South Regional)?
Billy Convey: I only ran once, in '82 I believe that was the 2nd or 3rd year of what was then "Kinney Nationals". Footlocker took over as a sponsor later. Looking back, I probably would've been in the mix for the 8th (last qualifying) spot my Jr. year, but I wasn't even aware of the meet. I was a much stronger runner my senior year though. I finished 2nd in the South Regional to Brian Jaeger, who had qualified the previous year and was already established as a national caliber runner. There were at least two other Miami kids my senior year, Julio Valdes, and Manny Gonzalez that had the quality to make it to Nationals, but didn't run the Regional meet. Florida was incredibly deep that year. It really makes you appreciate the opportunity Doug Butler gives kids throughout the state by putting together Footlocker buses. It's a hard trip for South Florida kids to make by themselves.
FLR: What was your race strategy going into the meet?
BC: I went to the race in Charlotte with my coach, Geoff Pietsch, who was also a great friend. It was really a big deal to me because it was the first time racing outside of Florida, and I think the first time Geoff had coached a kid with national aspirations. Ransom had just won it's first state meet and this was the cherry on top of that. On Friday it was cold, in the 30's, and the course had taken a lot of water. I remember jogging it the day before and completely falling in love. Other than the water it seemed like an ideal course, and back when I was running, there was really nothing like it all in Florida. Back then, the course had concrete spillways in two places around the lake like they do at Chain of Lakes, and they had a decent amount of water in them because of the rain.
The course was significantly narrower back in 82, so I knew that I wanted to be in contention at the end of the long straightaway because passing would be difficult. I believe we went out a little under 4:40, which considering it was soft and wet, was quite fast. I don't think the field of runners was quite as deep or as many, so it was probably a little easier to establish position before the fence without going out in '60-'62 or something the first 400-- which seems to happen a lot now. Even though it is wider on the path, my advice to anyone today would be to get into the top 20 by the time you make the first turn. I also think the hill was steeper on the way up when we ran it, and I don't remember it being so steep in sections on the way down. (I've raced it a couple times in the Masters race the last few years). My advice to runners on the hill would be to run within themselves on the way up, and let it go on the way down (don't brake too much). I managed to take a lead and break free from Brian coming around the lake, but he was too much of a finisher and caught and left me in the last 800. We separated quite a bit from the field but they came back on me after Brian zipped by me. Still, 2nd felt awfully good.
FLR: With your second place finish you advanced to the national meet which at the time was in Orlando where you placed 16th. Looking back on that race, what do you remember?
BC: I didn't have a great race at Nationals (in Orlando) but I had a fantastic time with all the kids. Even when it was Kinney, the experience was first class and like nothing I had ever experienced. I was inexperienced running in a meet of that caliber and was a little overly ambitious at Nationals.When John Carlotti took the first mile out in 4:24, I was right behind him. The next two miles were just a surreal blur of trying to survive and recover, but there was nothing in my tank at all. I knew (because I counted) my position in the field, and knew that top 15 made all-american, and I counted every guy that past me as I drifted back to 16th place. I threw-up after the race from exhaustion-- which had never had never happened to me before. I can't describe the misery of that last mile knowing I could't let up because it was Nationals, and there were coaches there I really wanted to impress, but I was in oxygen debt after that first mile that I never recovered from. I was bitterly disappointed in my place and knew that I could've run much smarter and finished much better. Stupidly, I figured if I was the 2nd best in my region, I should finish no worse than 8th. Thankfully, I ran much smarter in the spring when I had the chance to run post season meets in track. Things were different then without the internet, you really had not much to go on concerning the quality of the other runners. If I were running today, I would know a lot about all of them, and how they liked to run and what they were capable of.
FLR: How did this meet help propel your running career after high school?
BC: I wasn't heavily recruited prior to this race. I don't think I had taken any visits, but I had contacted coaches of my own initiative. After qualifying, every program I was interested in was willing to fly me in for an official visit. Stanford, Princeton, Yale and Virginia all flew me in. Those visits were the best part of having success.
I encourage any kid good enough to get recruiting trips to take them.
FLR: You decided to attend UVA. Talk about your time there.
I went to the University of Virginia and had a fantastic first year. I qualified for the NCAA Championship in cross country, and ran 3:45 for 1500. I got hurt in the Fall of my sophomore season and missed a year of training (IT band syndrome led to bursitis in my hip). I never really had more than 6 months of continuous health after that.
FLR: What are you up to these days?
BC: Still fighting injuries, but I love the sport. Its so much easier to be a fan now. I was blessed to see my son run at U-Penn this fall and break 25 minutes for 8k-- which was a big milestone. Penn made it to nationals, but Kurt was 9th man and didn't run. I'm also a practicing attorney and occasionally help with local runners here in So. Fla. I'm also a co-founder and still President of FLYRA-- which I am very proud to see has grown every year and is a legitimate Middle School Championship. I live in Davie with my wife Maria who is also a fan of the sport and likes to run herself.
