Who is Coach Choo?

Coach Choo is Charlie Justice.  At an early age he earned the nickname of Choo-Choo (from a famous football player named Charlie “Choo-Choo” Justice.  He is a versatile individual who has always been involved in athletics.  Currently he manages the IT Help Desk at East Carolina University, but has spent years as a coach, teacher and has always been a runner.  His time spent coaching earned him the nickname of “Coach Choo”.  Coach Choo and his wife Sharon have worked for years to promote running in Eastern North Carolina.

The Runner:
Choo first began running in 1975.  Always the littlest in his class he discovered he had a talent for running.  He was an above average runner at Southwest Onslow HS in Jacksonville NC, setting school records in several events.   Choo attended East Carolina University on a football scholarship, not because he playing ability but because of his work as an athletic trainer and equipment manager.  At the time ECU did not have a cross country team and the track team focused solely on sprinting. He spent his undergraduate years working with the ECU football team, which limited his time to train and compete on local road racing circuits. 

Upon graduation he resumed competitive running, racing for Team Athletic World, North Carolina Road Runners, and then Team Asics-Tiger.  Self coached, and training with some of the state’s top runners, he began to develop training philosophies that he still employees today.  He recorded personal bests of 15:08 in the 5k, 25:26 in the 8k, and 32:04 in the 10k. In 1988 he was a member of the Team Asics-Tiger squad that placed 3rd in the 1988 RRCA national 10k championships.

The Coach:
In 1986, while working for the ECU Athletic Department, Choo joined the coaching staff of ECU Track program, working with Coach Bill Carson.  The ECU program was nationally recognized for it’s sprint program, and Choo assisted Coach Bill Carson as he developed numerous All American sprinters, including Olympic sprinter Lee McNeil.  ECU resumed its cross country program and in 1989 Choo began coaching the cross country and distance runners.  Over the next few years the XC program moved from a walk-on program to a competitive scholarship supported team.  In 1991 he assumed the role of the Head Women’s track coach, charged with turning the women’s team into a championship caliber program.

Through tireless recruiting efforts he was able to convince numerous state champions to join the Pirate roster.  By adding athletes in all event groups and starting an indoor track program for women, the program took on a new feel. The turning point came with addition of Dava Rhodes who would become ECU’s first female NCAA All American runner when she ran 35:04 in the 1994 NCAA T&F Championships. Over the next six seasons his athletes would win individual championships in the sprints, jumps, throws, distance and relay events, any several would compete in the NCAA Championships.  The team earned a competetive presence by competing nationally in prestigious meets as the Penn Relays, Texas Relays, Ohio State’s Jessie Owens Classic, and the USATFCA Series. The team challenged for conference titles and became one of the top programs on the prestigious ECAC championships.  For his efforts, Coach Choo was honored as CAA T&F Coach of the Year in 1996 and 1997.

Following the 1999 season Coach Choo retired from college coaching in order to spend more time at home with his family,  however his influence was felt for several years.  In 2000 his former assistants took over the program and led them to the CAA T&F championship.  His athletes held nearly every record for the women’s program when he retired and many of them still stand years later.

The Race Director:
Even though he was no longer coaching he continued to assist the program by directing championship cross country events for ECU.  While coaching he had worked with local businessman Parker Overton to develop a championship cross country course at Overton’s Lake Kristi property.  After developing the course and hosting several successful invitational meets they were able to bring the CAA Championships to Greenville in 1996, followed by the North Carolina Collegiate XC Championships in 1998.  After coaching he continued to direct XC meets for ECU including the 2000 CAA and 2001 CUSA Championships. The success of these meets helped Choo to persuade the NCAA to bring the NCAA Regional championships to Greenville for a 4 year stint of 2003-2006, as well as a return of the CUSA championships in 2007. Also, in 1999 he created and published one of the first websites devoted to college Track & Field, NCTrack.com. The popular site ran until 2006, and had thousands of hits annually.

High school meets have been a passion of Coach Choo’s.  In 1997 he directed the initial Pirate HS XC Invitational.  The meet was aimed at kick starting local high school cross country programs.  The meet continues to this day, annually attracting over 600 high schoolers from cross the state. His passion for developing young runners continued in 2008 when he began coaching his daughter’s team at Greenville Christian Academy.  In 2008 he joined forces with local hs coaches as they put on summer camps for runners and held large invitational’s such as the Bo Run, which is one of the largest HS events in eastern NC.  He also conducts HS conference and regional championships for the schools of Pitt County.

In addition to Cross Country meets, Coach Choo has been involved in directing and/or timing numerous road racing events in Eastern North Carolina.  In 1986 he helped start the Fiesta Biathlon, an event that still continues 25 years later.  The most successful of his events was the Annual Pirate Chase held during the 90’s.  The 5k race annually attracted a stellar field of North Carolina’s top road runners, and twice produced results where the top ten finishers all recorded times in the 14 minute range.  These days he continues to work with top events like the annual Capital City Classic 10k in Raleigh, NC which doubles as the NC-USATF 10k Championship. Locally he works with event management companys Run the East and East Carolina Road Racing.

The Masters Runner/Mentor:
In 2000 Coach Choo returned to running following a seven year break while he was coaching at the college level.  After a few years of recreational running with a few races he took up marathoning at age 40, became involved in several local running groups, and mentored several post collegiate runners. He works regularly with high school track and XC coaches in the eastern NC area. 

Since his return to running he has run several marathons including the Boston Marathon on two occasions, and will be running the New York City Marathon this fall.  He is an active participant on the NC-USATF championship circuit, where finished 2nd in the 2008 NC-USATF Marathon championship and the 2010 NC-USATF half marathon and 10 mile championships, as well as 3rd in the 2011 NC-USATF 10k and 8k champonships.  Most recently at age 48 he has recorded times of 17:45 for the 5k, 37:19 for the 10k and 3:04:03 for the marathon, and scored victories in several road races.

The Coach Choo Track Club
Formed officially in 2010, the club has been a inpromptu organization for several years.  Club membership consists of a small core group of Coach Choo's family and running friends, with the mission of promoting high school cross country in Eastern North Carolina. The group provides free meet organization and timing services to the high school programs in the area.  The group also donates time and resources to camps and clinics for the high school running community.

email: Coachchoo@gmail.com