Runner Hobbs Kessler trains body and mind to prepare for Olympic Trials
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — When Hobbs Kessler ran a sub-four-minute mile in high school, he caught the track and field world’s attention.
“Everybody said, ‘Who is this kid?’ Where is he from?'” legendary Michigan track coach Ron Warhurst recalled.
The answer: Warhurst’s backyard — Ann Arbor, Michigan. Kessler started working with Warhurst during the pandemic.
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With multiple state championships under his belt, Kessler made a big decision to skip college and go pro instead, setting his eyes on the Olympics. That was when the road got bumpy: He failed to make the team for the Tokyo Games.
“I was so mentally burnt out from so much exciting stuff happening in the months leading up to it and making some really big life decisions. I was out of bandwidth,” he said.
Not long after, he suffered an injury. They were the kinds of bumps that could break a career unless you have the mental toughness to persevere. That might be Kessler’s biggest strength.
“I’m glad I’ve been through it because I know what to expect now. Ask any person that is injured frequently, it’s almost a skill to carry your fitness through,” he said.
His workouts now train his body, his fitness and his mind.
“Mental toughness is a little more complicated because sometimes mental toughness is having enough confidence that you don’t have to train to where you are throwing up every day or on your knees. You can trust you are getting better over time and not have to kill yourself every day,” Kessler said.
That mindset and his work have him on track to make his first Olympic team. In the last eight months, he won the mile at the World Road Running Championships and finished third in the 1500 at the World Athletics Indoor Championships. In February, he ran the Wanamaker Mile in 3 minutes, 48 seconds — the fourth fastest indoor time ever.
Still, making the U.S. Olympic team won’t be easy. Kessler said he’s up against what may be the deepest pool of talent the U.S. has ever had in the mile. But, he said, he much more mature and confident than he was before the Tokyo trials.
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