University of Georgia Athletics
Quick Chat: Tom Chorny
October 11, 2023 | Cross Country, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
Tom Chorny didn't want to be a runner, not initially. Georgia's cross country coach wanted to be a basketball player. But a persistent cross country coach in high school eventually got him running, and in one way or another the sport has been a huge part of his life ever since.
Chorny was the Director of Track & Field and Cross Country at Miami (Ohio) for eight years before joining the Bulldogs in July. A three-time All-American runner at Indiana in the late 1990s, Chorny won the steeplechase at the U.S. Track and Field Championships in 2001, earning a spot at the World Championships.
During a recent Quick Chat, Chorny talked about his start in the sport, how he got into coaching, his favorite place in the world to run, and much more. Here's some of what he had to say:Â
Frierson: How would you describe yourself as a runner?
Chorny: Very competitive. When I started, I did not want to be a runner. I wanted to play basketball. But I also knew that I wanted to be in the Olympics, so that was a big goal. As a kid, one of my earliest memories was possibly the 1980 Olympics, but definitely 1984 (in Los Angeles).
I always wanted to be an athlete from when I was very little. I played all these other sports — football, basketball, baseball, I wasn't great at the plate but I loved the field — but when I started running, my coach basically hounded me for two years to come out for the team. Week after week, in the summer going into my sophomore year, and I just said "No, no, no." He finally says, "I'll make you a deal. If you come out for practice once and you like it, you join the team. If not, you'll never hear from me again." I was like, OK, that's fair.
I went out and we ran in the dunes of Lake Michigan and I loved it. By the end of that season, I was sixth at my state finals. It was a good year and I really enjoyed it, but when track season came around, I did not want to run track. It was just so boring. I knew cross country was where I wanted to be, so instead of track, I went out for tennis. And my tennis coach said, "You know, Tommy, you did pretty well in cross country, so you should go run track." I ran track, reluctantly.
Frierson: How did you get started doing the steeplechase, which is such a wonderfully weird event?
Chorny: I hated track until I found the steeplechase. As soon as I found the steeple, I knew what I was made for. I didn't even know what the steeple was until college.
I was already on my way to Indiana when I saw the 1995 World Championships on TV. I walked past the screen and literally backpedaled, like, I saw them running and then they just jumped something. I waited, and then they jumped again, and then there's the water jump. I had no idea, but as soon as I saw it, I knew that was my event.
Frierson: Because of the quirky nature of it?
Chorny: Because I hated track — it was just so boring to me to run loops. But in the steeple, there are jumps to break it up. I knew I was athletic, I would always high jump in high school, and I needed something other than boring loops. I loved trail running, and I would just go explore. Some days, I would just set out in a direction just to go see what I could find.
Frierson: Where is your favorite place that you've ever gone for a run?
Chorny: It has to be Park City (Utah). The ridgeline trail above Park City. You can look down onto the valley to the right, look down at all of these hidden, little lakes. Between that and the ridgeline trail in Eugene, Ore., I used to train out there for a while, and I just loved it.
I'm very good on the trails. A lot of people would not want to run with me on a trail day. I just go flying. I probably should have done a lot of trail races, and at some point I was definitely in shape to do a trail marathon.
Frierson: What's something you could eat every day and never get tired of it?
Chorny: Salmon — I love salmon. Any way you want to do it. Another one is pierogi, or perogis. It's a Ukrainian meal, a Polish meal, and my family is Ukrainian. Homemade preferably. It's amazing; good comfort food.
Frierson: When did you know you wanted to get into coaching?
Chorny: Not till late. And for a long time, I questioned whether I did or not.
Throughout my professional career after college, I moved back to Indiana at some point to work with my college coach, Robert Chapman. That was in 2007, and he had just established Team Indiana Elite, which was a post-collegiate team for us. And then he got let go when they brought in a new head coach that same year.
I'd been there about six months when he got let go. ... When he was let go, I started volunteer coaching with the new coach that came it. I was not done running — in my mind I still had two Olympiads to go through, trying to get to the '08 Olympics and then run through 2012. Then I was injury-ridden, Achilles tendonitis, and it was horrible. That's how I got started volunteer coaching, and I was there for six years. ...
It was great, I loved it, and my best year there, we had four of the top 10 steeplers at the NCAAs. ... I left at the end of 2013, I was gone for a year and half, working in a physical therapy office in California, and I just missed it. That's when I thought, I'm going to make a full push at doing the coaching thing.
I got the job at Miami as an assistant, and that first year, the head coach got suspended, and during his suspension, I managed to get the No. 6 recruiting class in the nation that year. And that's what ultimately got me to the head coaching spot. It was a very quick rise, but I also knew that if I was going to get into coaching, I wanted to be a head coach some day. It just happened sooner than I expected. ...
I knew that if I wanted to go into coaching, I wanted to be the best coach and I wanted to be part of the best program. That was one of the main draws to come here, and here we are.
(This Q&A was lightly edited for length and clarity.)
Assistant Sports Communications Director John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files. He's also on Twitter: @FriersonFiles and @ITAHallofFame.
