The Running Researcher

By John Walsh

Materials science researcher John Lewandowski, PhD, is a competitor, and his competitiveness can be seen on the track.

In 2013 and 2017, Lewandowski, who is 60, participated in the National Senior Games, first in Cleveland and then in Birmingham, Ala. Last year, he ran fast enough in the 800- and 1500-meter races to earn Masters All-American status while placing 6th and 4th, respectively. He also participated in the 200- and 400-meter races, placing 22nd and 12th, respectively. In 2013, he placed 4th in the 5K, as well as 10th in the 400, 6th in the 800 and 5th in the 1,500, where he also earned Masters All-American status. Not bad for a college professor with a demanding schedule of research, teaching and advising. Lewandowski is the Arthur P. Armington Professor of Engineering II, the Director of Advanced Manufacturing and the Mechanical Reliability Center, and a professor in the materials science and engineering department at Case School of Engineering. He has mentored over 100 graduate students (MS, PhD) and 50 postdoctoral researchers and visiting scholars at CWRU. Publications and presentations with his mentees run into the hundreds.

Through it all, Lewandowski had a sport keeping him physically and mentally sharp.

Lewandowski’s history of competitive running dates to high school, when he started with sprints, gradually moving up to middle-distance competition, including relays while in college at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, where he competed against CWRU runners.

After earning his PhD at CMU in 1984 (he earned an ME in 1981 and BS in 1979 there), he traveled to Cambridge, England, for his postdoctoral work. He ran for Churchill College, Cambridge University, where runners can compete on any level. When he returned to Churchill College as an Overseas Fellow

for a sabbatical in 2003-04, he ran then, too. Four runners he trained with in England participated in the Olympics in Beijing in 2008, and two competed in the London Olympics in 2012.

“I like the competitive nature of running,” he says. “You show up at a specific time and place. It’s black and white. And it’s all up to you to train.”

In 1986, Lewandowski came to CWRU to conduct research and teach, tabling his running for years because he was busy working and helping his wife, Amy, raise their two boys, the first of whom was born in 1990. (John Robert, BS ’12, MEM ’13, is a PhD student at MIT, and the other, Mark Edward, BS ’16, is earning a master’s at CWRU.) Even though Lewandowski wasn’t running regularly, he stayed in good shape.

After taking a break from running competitively for a while, Lewandowski became more directly involved in the sport by participating in track meets and joining the Cleveland Southeast Runners Club in 1999. He also developed his own training regimen throughout the years and competed annually in both the Hermes Road Race Series and the Ohio Challenge Series. Road races ranged in distance from 1 mile to 5K and 10K, as well as a few half marathons.

In 2012, he qualified for the 2013 National Senior Games on the CWRU track.

“I saw the Senior Games were coming to Cleveland, and the guys I ran with said, ‘Let’s do it,’” he says. “I had pulled my hamstring a couple weeks before, so had to be careful with my regimen and training. On Saturdays, I’d run six to eight miles, and on Sundays I’d run 10 to 12 miles on roads and trails. I did a track workout Tuesday, a hill workout Thursday and biked the rest of the days.”

For the 2017 National Senior Games, Lewandowski trained intensely. His training included weight lifting, yoga and core exercises at the One to One Fitness center on the CWRU campus.

“That really made a difference and helped prevent injuries,” he says.

Lewandowski rode six miles on his bike to and from work and home and rode through winter as long as it wasn’t snowing. On Tuesdays, he did a track workout on the CWRU Bill Sudeck Track and ran with other runners. On the weekends, he ran longer distances with other runners, too.

“I felt the aches and pains of doing too much sometimes,” he says. “Achilles tendonitis struck before the games in Birmingham.”

In terms of his diet, Lewandowski had to remain hydrated, so he didn’t drink alcohol and limited his intake of soda. He ate a lot of fruits and vegetables, as well as peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. He refrained from fried food. His caloric intake increased as he burned many calories.

The track and running competition of the National Senior Games, which occur biennially (the next one is in Albuquerque, NM, June 13-26, 2019), typically spans one week, but his events lasted only three days.

“There’s amazing talent that competes in these games,” he says, adding that the athletes compete in five-year age brackets. ‘It’s very inspiring. The number of competitive people at that age is impressive. Many are recovering from some injury, some from major illnesses. Truly inspiring.”

John Lewandowski, center, is running strong midway through the 800-meter final at the 2017 National Senior Games in Birmingham, Ala. He finished 6th.