STARKVILLE — To peer inside the mind of Mississippi State’s Brandon McBride is to study an honor student and a soft-spoken business major who is exceptionally talented on the track.
It’s a great place to start because the mind also is where races sometimes are won and lost.
McBride, the defending NCAA Outdoors national champion in the 800 meters, has lost once in the event since 2013. That loss, at the Southeastern Conference Championships last month in Starkville, was indicative of what McBride has to guard against as he aims to defend his title.
“As long as his head is right and his mental approach is where it should be, he should win nearly every race he runs. He’s that talented,” MSU track and field coach Steve Dudley said of the junior from Windsor, Ontario. “But when he’s out front in some races, something in his head tells him to relax and not push it as far as he may need to push it. When that happens, he gets into trouble. We are an aggressive team, and we need him to stay aggressive all the time. He does that, nobody can beat him.”
In 2004, McBride led from the start in his victories at the NCAA Indoor Championships in February and again at the NCC Outdoor Championships in June. This season, he was two-for-two in the 800 before finishing second in Starkville.
But Dudley wants McBride to do more than set the pace at the at the NCAA meet in Eugene, Oregon. He wants him to set the right pace. McBride will try to do that at 5:54 p.m. today when he competes in the semifinals. His time of 1 minute, 45.97 seconds at the NCAA East Preliminaries in Jacksonville, Florida, helped him secure the No. 1 spot in the event.
“When he goes out and gets to the 400-meter mark in 52, 52.5 seconds, he eliminates half the field,” Dudley said. “Most of the 800-meter guys in this country can’t maintain the pace necessary to keep up with him the whole way if he’s running that fast. But when he bogs down and he’s at 55 seconds through there, then he lets half the field in the race. At that point, anybody can win it. That’s what we’ve been working on.”
For McBride, the second-place finish at the SEC Championships was humbling. It also was eye-opening.
“It helped me focus in a little better,” McBride said. “A lot of times, you are running against yourself, your personal records and all of that. If you turn in a good time, you are happy. But we are competitors. We’d rather finish first than second, so SEC really helped me hone in on what I have to do to really focus on my race strategy.”
Culture shock
If McBride seems a little different, a little off the beaten path from the typical college athlete, it’s because he is.
The Canadian who grew up playing basketball, soccer, and running track is laid back away from competition, able to blend in to every-day life in Starkville. It wasn’t always that way.
Four years ago, he was a skinny kid from Windsor, Ontario, who had been to Mississippi once — on his official visit — before enrolling at MSU.
“The first couple of months was complete culture shock,” McBride said. “I speak different, I dress different. People look at me like I’m an alien sometimes. But I’m comfortable.”
How did McBride wind up in Mississippi? He listened to his parents.
When McBride was in high school, Dudley traveled to Windsor and sat down with the sprinter and his parents. A relationship blossomed at that meeting that played a big role in the creation of a national championship.
“My parents are really big on academics. Coach Dudley approached them the right way,” McBride said. “It was a bond, like love at first sight almost. Coach Dudley promised them I would grow as a person as well as an athlete, and he really came through on his promise. My parents are extremely happy.”
Once McBride arrived in Starkville, he matured and grew as a student, person, and a runner. He did it, for the most part, away from the spotlight.
Last February, though, McBride blew away the field in Indianapolis, Indiana, to win his first national title. Three months later, he repeated the feat.
“Last year, I feel like it was much easier,” McBride said. “I was kind of in the background. No one knew of me. I could kind of fade into the background, and if I didn’t race well, it wasn’t a big deal. Now as a champion, everything I do is scrutinized.”
Pressure cooker
Nearing the end of his junior campaign, McBride has a chance at history, as he can repeat as national champion and help the Bulldogs as they seek their highest finish at nationals.
Asked if carrying the title of national champion has brought too much pressure, McBride shook his head.
“I just want to execute my race strategy,” McBride said. “That’s really the key. If I do that, the results will take care of themselves.”
His coach will be watching.
“No one puts more pressure on Brandon than he does,” Dudley said. “He knows what it takes to win, and he puts in the work to get the most out of his talent. That’s all you can ask of a guy.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brandon Walker on Twitter @BWonStateBeat
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