Duane Solomon Says He Has 'Unfinished Business' 

By Todd Grasley for DyeStat

The last time Duane Solomon ran in a competitive race was more than two years ago.

The second-fastest 800-meter runner in U.S. history (1:42.82) intended to have a big day at the Mt. SAC Relays in 2017. The field contained standouts Erik Sowinski and Clayton Murphy.

However, his body didn't cooperate.

“I sustained a strain in my quad and hip muscle and I just couldn’t get it healed up in time,” he said. “My goal was to hopefully be able to run through it. After my warm-up and doing some strides, I knew that I could not run the race pain-free and be competitive, so I had to pull out minutes before the gun went off.”

As a prep at Cabrillo (Long Beach), Solomon won California's state championship in the 800 and earned the Gatorade Athlete of the Year before heading to Southern Cal. He had been racing competitively since 2005 and never gave his body the break it needed. He finished third at the 2008 NCAA Championships and by 2010 had made his third international team.

In 2012, Solomon finished third at the Olympic Trials and punched his ticket to the London Games. He ran to a fourth-place finish and the second-fastest time ever run by an American.

In 2013, he set a U.S. 600-meter record indoors at the Glasgow International Match and followed that up with a win at the 2013 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in the 800. He finished sixth at the IAAF World Championships in Moscow.

Balancing Act

One of Solomon's proudest moments came off the track, in December 2013. He became a father. His first-born, Liam, came into the world. And it lit a fire under Solomon to not just be a role model, but also a provider to his young family.

“We all know that nothing in the sport of track and field comes easy, and the only way to survive in this sport is to win or run fast and that's exactly what I did,” he said.

Solomon was a member of the bronze medal 4x800 relay team at the IAAF World Relays and then went on to win the 2014 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in 1:44.30.

In 2015, he returned to the IAAF World Relays and helped the 4x800 relay squad win gold.

Solomon got married in 2017 and a new son, Lukas, was on the way. He missed much of Liam’s early years with training and traveling and didn’t want to do the same with his youngest. He decided to lay low and not travel as much in order to spend more time at home. 

“This was good and bad,” he explained. “The good was that I was able to spend time with my loved ones and watch my little ones grow. The bad was that I would just train, train, train and sometimes overtrain to the point where little injuries would come up. My curse was training myself too hard while not racing.”

Coaching Change

Solomon's career reached its highest highs when was coached and mentored by Johnny Gray, the American record holder in the 800. When Gray took a job as the assistant coach at the University of Central Florida, Solomon packed his bags and traveled across country with him. They worked side by side since 2010.

In 2017, Gray left UCF and it was a time of reflection, and change, for Solomon.

What would his next move be? Was track and field a sport he still wanted to pursue?

“It almost got to the point to where I was happy with what I had accomplished in the sport,” Solomon said. "I found little joy in the sport after doing the same thing day in and day out. It started to really feel like a job and something I wasn't enjoying like I used too.”

Without the drive and enjoyment of the sport, Solomon decided to take a step back and prioritize what was important. He realized he couldn’t be great in the sport without giving it his full effort. He had to figure out how to replace a coach he grew and blossomed under for so many years.

One Last Shot

Solomon went back and forth over whether to mount a comeback or just be a family man. Ultimately, he wasn't ready to retire. Even in his injury-riddled years of 2015 and 2016, Solomon was still highly competitive with consistent times around 1:45, which he attributes to muscle memory and experience.

At 34 years old, Solomon is pressing on.

“I believe I have unfinished business in the sport and my running legs are still relatively young considering I didn't have my breakout until 2012,” Solomon said. “I know I have more in the tank and I can still compete with the best. I am coming in unsponsored, but sponsored or not, for me it is not about the money, but the love and passion of the sport.”

On the training front, Solomon said he is making progress in a program that is more strength- and distance-based, which suits his background.

“I enjoy this new training program, because I can run strong, but not always hard,” he said. “I am at the age where I have to listen to my body more and pick and choose when I will have killer days and when I need to recover.”

Solomon’s new coach is a familiar face: Ryan Lowe. Solomon was an assistant coach for Lowe’s Lake Nona High FL teams. While working with the young athletes, Solomon found himself getting attached to the kids and their development. 

“I loved giving the advice that I received and just being an open book for all of my athletes,” he said.

It also forged trust with Lowe, who now writes his workouts.

“He understands the sport and the body and he has had everything planned out for me months in advance before we started training,” Solomon said. “He has everything written and planned out all the way up until the World Championships. I love that he is so organized and in tune with everything.”

Solomon knows he has a long ways to go, but his fitness is coming around again. He believes he is in 1:47 shape right now, and is OK with that. 

“I am pleased with where I am, and I am using this year as a build up into 2020,” he said. "I truly believe by July, August, I will be back in the 1:44 range again, but I intend to take my time with the fitness and let everything come naturally and organically.”

He won’t debut in his marquee event. Instead, Solomon will run the 400 meters this weekend at the University of Central Florida to test the leg turnover since he and Lowe have not started speed work yet. Both are curious to see what type of 400-meter speed he has after only one month of training.

“I am just looking forward to getting the feel of racing again and this is the perfect place to do it,” he said. “After this meet, I do not have another meet lined up, officially, but will decide after the outcome of this weekend. Florida Relays was on the schedule, but I need to give myself more time to prepare before jumping into a meet like that.”

Call it a comeback, or a last hurrah. Solomon’s ultimate goal is to retire with no regrets.

“I want other athletes to watch me at these upcoming seasons and know that it's never over unless you want it to be over,” Solomon said. “Just get out there and compete and hopefully this can ignite the flame in someone else who may have been thinking of hanging it up like I did.”

Solomon On London 2012

“Being the second-fastest American all-time is an honor, but I also know eventually that will change as new talent rises in the U.S,” he said. “That Olympic race was everything for me, because I was not supposed to make the team. I was not supposed to run 1:43. I  was not supposed to make the final. But yet I did it all and finished fourth in the Olympic Games running a massive PB.

“It was a time I never considered possible that year. It will always be a special race for me because of the competition I raced that day. Every single person in that race deserved to be in that final. I literally lined up with the eight best runners I believe of that decade. It will be hard to find another high quality 800 field like that ever again, with every runner, including David Rudisha, in their running prime.”