Craig Leon, a former Ohio cross country runner, is one of the best marathon runners in the United States in part to his relationship with coach Mitch Bentley.
As the story from long-time Ohio assistant coach Mitch Bentley goes, at the 2002 Ohio State Track and Field Championships, a young Craig Leon, now 31 and one of the best American marathon runners, approached Ohio head coach Clay Calkins about walking on to the cross country team in the fall.
Bentley said it was common for students to come up to coaches and ask this at the meets, but few of them ever went through with it and actually showed up on the first day.
The first day of practice for the Bobcats arrived and so did Leon.
"He was full of self confidence," Bentley said. "He looked a lot younger. A lot of people thought he was still in high school. But, there's an old expression, 'Small guys can run big.' "
Leon became one of Ohio's top seven runners his freshman year despite being a "late bloomer," Bentley said.
Bentley said even though Leon was "physically immature" at first, he was blessed with genetics that kept him from getting injured, had a love for running and his mental maturity outweighed his physical immaturity.
"He acted 25 years-old at 19," Bentley said.
Bentley praised Leon's work ethic, saying he knew how to balance his social life with his goals — an aspect many runners in the past failed.
As Leon's career progressed, he moved up the ladder of Ohio's top seven runners.
The coming-out-party for Leon was his sophomore year at the Hillsdale Relays, Bentley said, where Leon beat his personal best by 20 seconds in the 5k event with a time of 14:40.
By 2006, Leon's would-be senior year, he and Ohio's coaching staff began to think strategically about his future. Bentley said Leon already knew he was going to grad school, so he decided to redshirt.
Another factor in the decision was Leon's progression. Bentley said Leon's progression was upward but steady, so he decided the year would be best spent training and running unattached from the Bobcats. Leon would go on to win the All-Ohio Open unattached.
Leon's actual final year with the program featured his hard work paying off, as he won the Ohio Invitational, came in second individually at the Mid-American Conference Championships and qualified for NCAA's.
From there, Leon maintained a close relationship with Bentley, Bentley said, talking to Leon everyday when Leon worked for the Ohio Athletics and continuing to talk often the first year Leon officially went professional.
As both of their lives got busier, the communication was less often, but Leon still leaned on Bentley for advice. Bentley said Leon almost decided to turn down his spot in the Pan American Games in July of this year, but Bentley convinced him that he had to take his chance to "fly the colors."
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Leon ended up finishing fifth in the marathon event at the Pan American Games, held in Toronto, and finished eighth in the TCS New York City Marathon just over three months later.
Leon failed to qualify for the 2012 Olympics, but he will have plenty more opportunities, Bentley said. Distance runners have a unique longevity in their careers and Leon could try to qualify for the next three Olympics, Bentley said.
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