Dave Scott

There are heroes in triathlon, and at the very top there are superheroes. But when he stands up on the dais and begins to talk, and you consider the reaction of those to whom he's speaking, you realize there is only one God in triathlon. And it is Dave Scott.

He is the only one who started out a winner as triathlon first got its legs and stood up as a sport, and remained on or near the top through the eras of long course and short, the inception of governing bodies, and triathlon's entry into the Olympics.

But it's not Dave the athlete we wanted to interview. It's Dave the coach. Prior to this year you wouldn't mistake Dave Scott for one of triathlon's premier coaches, at least by reputation. But all of a sudden, a resurgent Simon Lessing is crediting Dave for a lot of his return to top form. And Mike Lovato—who?—won Ironman Couer d'Alene by a whopping 20 minutes under Dave's tutelage.

SLOWTWITCH: We interviewed Simon Lessing a few weeks ago, and he told us, "I'm working with Dave Scott. Not so many pros work with Dave, and I don't understand why." So, why?

DAVE SCOTT: My reputation... I think people might think I'm going to kill them off. But that's really not what I'm about. I build in a lot of recovery. And that's because when I want them on I want them on. It's not really a hard/easy [Oregon] thing, but I believe in hard work when it's called for. Maybe it's also because I don't really like to market my coaching services. I suppose that works for others, but that's not me.

SLOWTWITCH: Your emphasis on hard sessions being hard, is that why you appear to be more comfortable as an analog coach rather than a digital coach?

DAVE SCOTT: You mean as opposed to online coaching? I suppose so. I've got a few people that I still coach online, but I like to be able to look into their eyeballs.

SLOWTWITCH: We wrote about enclaves last month. Is that what you're after? Is that what you've got?

DAVE SCOTT: I don't follow.

SLOWTWITCH: Well, irrespective of the quality of the coaching, one thing that Brett Sutton, Lance Watson, Col Stewart, and the Kenyan runners today have in common is the enclave—a place where a lot of the very best athletes are grouped together, pushing each other. Just like it historically was for runners in America, in places like Oregon and Lake Tahoe, and San Diego and Boulder for triathlon.

DAVE SCOTT: Yes, I guess that's so. The athletes in my group feed off each other. They joke and jostle, yet they can be extraordinarily competitive during their workouts. I can control that by switching times, changing lanes in the pool. Yes, it's nice to be there during their sessions, because I can see the everyday. The sessions are hard, but also it's a game. Sometimes Simon will say, "Why don't we just do 10 X 200M? But I always make it a game. You've got to keep them hungry.

SLOWTWITCH: Who are the athletes in your program?

DAVE SCOTT: Simon of course, though I don't take credit for his performances this season [although Simon credits Dave]. He is an extraordinary athlete, and already knows how to get to the top. Then there's Mike Lovato, who I do take credit for, because I've been with him for some time and have seen the progress, both physically and in his confidence. There's Amanda Gillam, last year's amateur World Champion and a first-year pro, Desiree Ficker, Monica Caplan—who just finished third at Couer d'Alene— and Bella Comerford. Chris Moffatt. And Joanna Zeiger is coming out here soon, she's been working with me since November.

SLOWTWITCH: I believe I recognize, among the women, a couple long-coursers who were recently with Brett Sutton. I heard from someone close to Bella that her race schedule earlier this year under Brett called for her to race the World Long Course Championships in Ibiza, Spain, then the Lanzarote Ironman a week later, and then Ironman France a week after that. Do you think it's ambitious schedules like this that have driven these women to you?

DAVE SCOTT: You'll have to talk to Bella or Brett about that.

SLOWTWITCH: Fair enough. Okay, let's talk about what sets you apart from other coaches. Yes, there's the personal touch, you like to be there working with your athletes in person. And you work them quite hard on their hard days. Would I find anything particularly unique about a Dave Scott program?

DAVE SCOTT: Probably my emphasis on strength and stretching. I do stretch cords, strength things—the weight room—and flexibility is important to me. A lot of stuff under the heading of injury prevention.

SLOWTWITCH: You mentioned Simon, and how he's had his own routine, which I don't imagine included this type of stuff. And he's pretty stubborn, as we all know. How does he take to this?

DAVE SCOTT: Oh God, he fights like crazy, he's cursing all the time.

SLOWTWITCH: You've got Brad Bevan over as well. He's a former world best, but he's had terrific injury problems over the past few years.

DAVE SCOTT: Brad hasn't been able to run at all for quite some time. He's quite fit, he and Simon go out and punish the CAT I and II group during their group rides. But he's almost out of the running for Athens, because of the points. We'd like to get a race schedule together for him, but until he can run...

SLOWTWITCH: Perhaps your emphasis in injury prevention might work for him.

DAVE SCOTT: He's mainly over just to train with Simon. He and Simon are very compatible training partners, and they trained a lot together in France. We'll see.

SLOWTWITCH: Okay, so here you are in Edmonton last week, the Ironman guy, and your athlete, Simon, is racing draft-legal. How was that for you?

DAVE SCOTT: I'm like Simon, and from the standpoint of a purist I don't like the format. But I can't just go along with Simon on this, because he's got to race it. As far as for me, well, when the U.S. contingent rolls in, the [national] coaches pick up their badges and passes to the coach's corral. Not me, of course. It kind of pisses me off. But Les [McDonald]? For me, he's an old face. We get along fine.

SLOWTWITCH: Perhaps under any other circumstances I'd have said that Simon ought to just bag the whole ITU thing and go straight to Ironman. But both the Worlds next year, in Portugal, and in Athens, the bike courses are extremely hilly. These courses could be great for a strong biker like Simon.

DAVE SCOTT: He's got a great engine in the swim, and in fact he's better in tough conditions, like in Alcatraz. And the tough bike courses suit him. In Edmonton the bike course wasn't challenging. He was in a lead group of six, and he kept trying to make something happen on the bike. But those guys have the tactics down, they know when to just sit. The tactics in Portugal and Athens will be different.

DAVE SCOTT: Since retirement as an active pro athlete, you've had a lot of revenue streams—occasional athlete, invited guest, motivational speaker, pitch man for product companies, product designer, and coach. Is coaching now pushing these other categories aside?

SLOWTWITCH: I've always thought I was a much better coach than athlete. I don't make any money at it, I've worked it out that I make about $3 per hour. I don't take any prize money or sponsor money, that's for the athletes. I've been coaching since I was a sophomore in college, when I started the master's swim team there. It grew from 60 to 250 in three years, and I finally had to give it up only after winning Ironman the first time and realizing I had to devote myself to that. But I've been back at coaching it now for ten years, and I think it's my greatest gift.

SLOWTWITCH: Last question, and I must ask it. Is Kona in your near future?

DAVE SCOTT: I don't see it. Last time around I didn't finish, although I was very fit. It just takes too much to remain up there.

SLOWTWITCH: Why do you need to stay at the top in order to race? Plenty of us have jobs, and families, and so do you. So why not just train age-group miles and race age-group times? Although, you're 49, and you're in Joe Bonness' age group. You might have a bit of a tough time with him.

[Dave Scott is singularly humble 95% of the time. But, for my last question, and without any pause, the coach was elbowed out by The Man...]

DAVE SCOTT: No, I wouldn't.