True began running in elementary school with his local recreation program. At the time, his father was training for the Boston Marathon so running seemed like the "cool thing to do," he said.
"I didn't really start focusing on running specifically until high school," True said. "I basically played everything up until then, but by high school my two big sports were running and Nordic skiing."
His reluctance to choose between running and skiing greatly influenced his decision to go to Dartmouth. Here, he competed on both varsity teams, contributing immensely to both programs' success.
"Every really great runner has a certain amount of physical ability," Dartmouth men's track and cross-country coach Barry Harwick said. "Ben is pretty gifted. He's got a great cardiovascular system, he actually has pretty amazing leg speed for a distance runner as well but I think the separating factor is which people are really willing to commit to things."
As a runner for the Big Green, Ben broke a four-minute mile, the only Dartmouth runner ever to do so, and is the school record holder in the 1500-meter distance medley relay with an anchor leg time of 3:57.7.
"Most kids in high school played multiple sports in multiple seasons, so it was just the normal thing for me, True said. "It was a little different having different teammates during the two seasons. But I made it work and it was a lot of fun."
One of the biggest challenges he faced, however, was catching up to his teammates at the beginning of each new season as he transitioned from one sport to another.
"I was never able to reach the level I feel like I should have because I was balancing both," True said. "I think that now that I've chosen one sport, I don't think I would have been able to make that decision and felt comfortable with it had I not done both sports in college."
Playing both sports ultimately helped True become the runner he is today.
"I think his experience as a nordic skier helped him," women's cross country head coach Mark Coogan said in an email. "Ben may have run faster sooner if he did not ski, but all of the skiing helped him become an aerobic monster."
True joined a post-collegiate running club in Eugene to begin his professional career.
"Ben had a very successful college career," Harwick said. "I think that being able to be a professional athlete and being able to train year-round has enabled him to continue improving in leaps and bounds."
The transition involved a significant amount of work.
"It was definitely an adjustment," True explained. "I have more time and there is more commitment and more pressure to perform well because you're being paid to perform. Sponsors have certain expectations, but the nice thing is you do have more time to recover but you have to be wise how to spend that time."
On a typical week, True runs a little over a hundred miles. On Mondays he runs nine or ten miles, before completing hard track sessions consisting of intervals on the track followed by a shakeout run in the afternoon on Tuesdays. On Wednesdays, he completes a long run, typically around fourteen miles. On Thursdays True will run about an hour in the morning and a half hour in the afternoon. Fridays are another interval day, usually a forty minute tempo run, which means he is running just below threshold pace for a long period of time, followed by a shakeout run in the afternoon. On Saturdays he follows his Tuesday schedule.
"To train at the highest level but still be able to recover is definitely a balancing act," True said. "A lot of people don't understand that recovery is just as big of a piece to the puzzle and going out and getting a work out."
When True is not running, he coaches the cross-country team at Indian River Middle School in Enfield in collaboration with In The Arena.
"We wanted to provide another opportunity for these kids," True said. "Running was a great fit because it's something that everybody can do. We can teach these kids how to lead a more healthy and active lifestyle."
True encourages all young athletes to make sure that they are enjoying what they do, otherwise there is no point in doing it.
"When I graduated Dartmouth and went out to the West coast to join a running club out there, it was because it was supposed to be the best post-collegiate running club there is in the U.S.," True said. "However, I quickly learned that I did not like it out there. I didn't allow myself to have fun running and as a result I performed terribly. I decided to move back to Hanover and immediately I saw improvement."
