Joe Klecker

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Joe Klecker
Personal information
NationalityAmerican
Born (1996-11-16) November 16, 1996 (age 25)
Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States
Alma materUniversity of Colorado
Height6'0"
Sport
SportTrack, cross country
Event(s)1500 meters, mile, 5K, 10K
College teamColorado Buffaloes
Club
Turned pro2020
Coached byDathan Ritzenhein
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)
Updated on February 15, 2021.

Joe Klecker (born November 16, 1996) is an American distance runner. He finished 2nd in the NCAA DI XC Championships in 2019 and turned pro with On Running, coached by Dathan Ritzenhein in 2020. Klecker holds PRs of 3:37.55 for 1500m, 7:39.18 for 3000m, 13:06.67 for 5000m, and 27:23.44 for 10000m, all of which were set in his Professional Career.[2]

Klecker attended Hopkins High School in Minnetonka, Minnesota. He graduated in 2015 and attended the University of Colorado in the Fall. At Colorado, he was a 9-time All-American in all 3 running sports including 2 runner-up finishes. He is currently the school's record holder in the indoor 5000m.[3]

Family[]

Joe is the son of Barney and Janis Klecker, both professional marathoners (winners of Grandma's Marathon[4] and Twin Cities Marathon[5] in Minnesota) and both US national record holders, in the 50-mile and 50K run, respectively.[6]

Running career[]

High school and recruitment[]

Klecker had a successful high school career, leading to two individual state championships his senior year. He was also named the Gatorade Minnesota Boys Track & Field Athlete of the Year during his senior year. Klecker set a 1600m state record of 4:06.54. He considered Minnesota, Furman, Georgetown and Tulsa before choosing Colorado.[3]

Collegiate[]

Klecker chose to redshirt his Freshman season of Cross Country but competed in indoor and outdoor track, setting PRs of 3:44.55 for 1500m, 7:59.77 for 3000m, and 13:44.23 for 5000m. The 5000m time was good enough to qualify him for the West Preliminary round, the outdoor qualifier for the NCAA DI Championships.

Klecker picked up his first all-american honors at the 2016 NCAA DI XC Championships, placing 28th. He ran track PRs of 7:51.43 for 3000m, 13:42.64 for 5000m, and 3:41.69. Klecker placed 4th at the 2017 NCAA DI Indoor Track and Field Championship in the 3000m, and 7th in the Outdoor Championships for 5000m.

Klecker won the NCAA Mountain region championships and placed 2nd at the Pac-12 Championship for Cross country. Klecker did not repeat his all-american status his Junior year of cross country, placing 67th at the championship race. He did not race indoor or outdoor track for Colorado the following winter and spring. Klecker ran a PR in the 5000m in June 2018, with a time of 13:30.09.

In 2018, Klecker repeated as the Mountain Region Champion, and placed 8th in the NCAA XC Championships, his first time in the top 10. On February 23, 2019, he ran 3:58.51 in the Mile in Seattle, WA. In doing so, he became the 538th American to break 4 minutes in the Mile.[7] He finished 2nd in the NCAA Indoor 5000m to Morgan McDonald and 3rd in the 3000m to McDonald and Grant Fisher. He did not race in the outdoor championships due to a mid-season injury.

During his 2019 XC campaign, Klecker won the Pac-12 Championships. At the NCAA Championships, he finished 2nd to Edwin Kurgat, leading Colorado to a 3rd place team finish.[8] Klecker went on to run a 3000m personal record of 7:47.57, but the indoor championships were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the entire outdoor season.[7]

Turning Pro[]

In August 2020, Klecker became a professional runner for On Athletics Club, a newly formed group mostly composed of recent collegiate runners including Oliver Hoare and Alicia Monson. The group is coached by Dathan Ritzenhein.[9]

Professional career[]

Under Ritzenhein, Klecker ran personal bests of 3:37.55 for 1500m, 13:28.98 for 5000m and 27:35.57[10] during the second half of 2020.

On February 6, 2021, Klecker opened his season at the Prickly Pear Invitational in Phoenix, AZ. He placed fourth to Bowerman Track Club teammates Marc Scott, Grant Fisher, and Sean McGorty. Klecker's time of 7:39.18 was a personal record and his first time under 7:40. One week later, he competed in the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix in New York, NY. He finished 2nd to Justyn Knight in the 2-mile with a time of 8:14.20. His 3000m split en-route was 7:44.91, good for an indoor personal best.[2] On March 6, 2021, he ran a 22 second personal best of 13:06.67 for 5000m at the Sound Running Invite in California. This performance earned him fourth place (again behind Bowerman teammates Fisher, Scott, and McGorty) in the race and made him the 18th fastest American ever over the distance.[11]

Klecker made his first Olympic team on June 18 at the U.S. Olympic Trials. He finished 3rd in the 10,000m in 27:54.90 with a last lap of 54.54 behind Bowerman athletes Woody Kincaid and Grant Fisher. He became the first U.S. athlete of the On Running professional group to make the Olympic team. At the Olympic Games, Klecker finished 16th in the men's 10,000m final with a time of 28:14.18. After the Olympics, he set a personal best of 8:11.55 in the 2 Mile at the Prefontaine Classic[2] and finished 11th at the Fifth Avenue Mile.[12]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i IAAF. "IAAF: Joe KLECKER - Athlete Profile". Retrieved September 21, 2018.
  2. ^ a b c "Joe KLECKER | Profile". worldathletics.org.
  3. ^ a b "Joe Klecker - Track and Field". University of Colorado Athletics.
  4. ^ Grandma's Marathon 2019 Media Guide (PDF). Duluth, Minnesota: Grandma's Marathon. June 22, 2019. Retrieved June 28, 2021.
  5. ^ Ken Young; Andy Milroy, eds. (March 1, 2021). "Twin Cities Marathon". Mattole Valley, California: Association of Road Racing Statisticians. Archived from the original on May 9, 2019. Retrieved June 28, 2021.
  6. ^ "American Open Road Records". Indianapolis, Indiana: United States of America Track and Field. July 30, 2019. Archived from the original on June 28, 2021. Retrieved June 28, 2021.
  7. ^ a b "The U.S. Sub-4:00 Miler's Club (Chronologically)". May 6, 2019.
  8. ^ "TFRRS | NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships Track & Field Meet Results". www.tfrrs.org.
  9. ^ "On Gets Into Pro Running In Big Way - Forms Group Featuring Joe Klecker, Dathan Ritzenhein To Coach". LetsRun.com. August 3, 2020.
  10. ^ "Track Scoreboard". finishedresults.trackscoreboard.com. Retrieved April 16, 2021.
  11. ^ "5000 Metres - men - senior - outdoor". www.worldathletics.org. Retrieved April 16, 2021.
  12. ^ "New York Road Runners Official Race Results". results.nyrr.org. Retrieved 2021-10-19.
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