Many people who study or indulge in the fine arts have an appreciation for a wide-range of… Many people who study or indulge in the fine arts have an appreciation for a wide-range of styles and genres, including musical ones. Music, they say, has the ability to inspire and spark creative imagination. Even so, it is highly doubtful that tunes from the Wu-Tang Clan would have inspired Leonardo Da Vinci to create his Mona Lisa, for example.

Yet for one studio arts major, songs from the Wu-Tang Clan’s 36 Chambers album are precisely the inspiration he needs in order to do his craft.

Although it may seem a bit strange that a person who studies the fine arts would find inspiration from songs such as these, Sam Bair is not a typical arts major. When not in the studio painting, drawing or creating music, Bair is a stand-out track and cross country runner for the Panthers.

In just three seasons, his accomplishments are numerous. He holds Pitt records in the mile (4:00.14) and the distance medley relay (9:38.60). He is a two-time All-American in the 1,500 meters and the mile, and was recently named the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Regional Men’s Track Athlete of the Year for the indoor season.

The scary thing is, he is only getting better.

Before Bair ever took his first step, great things were expected of him. After all, he is the son of current Panther assistant coach Sam Bair Sr., a seven-time NCAA All-American and indoor and outdoor champion in the mile with Kent State University. Yet at first, the younger Bair was only interested in playing soccer. Upon entering high school, however, Bair dipped into the world of running and hasn’t looked back since.

By the time he graduated from nearby Shaler Area High School, Bair was a three-time All-American in the mile run, a two-time mile state champion, the 2002 WPIAL cross country champion and the Gatorade Pennsylvania Male Track Athlete of the Year.

He was heavily recruited by his father’s alma mater, and with lofty expectations, decided to enroll there. Mid-way through his senior year of high school however, Bair succumbed to injury with a stress fracture – the first of many injuries to follow.

After the stress fracture, Bair developed allergies and suffered a hip flexor and hamstring strains, all while battling his asthma. The combination left him unable to compete or train his entire freshman year at Kent State, a year he ultimately red-shirted.

During his rehabilitation period, Bair found himself in Pittsburgh often in order to receive treatment from UPMC professionals. After countless trips, he concluded that if injuries continued to be a problem, it would make more sense to transfer to Pitt in order to be close to treatment.

He soon discovered that the decision to transfer would not only benefit him, but the Pitt track team as well.

Since coming to Pitt, Bair has gotten increasingly healthier, and as a result, has dominated the field in both cross-country and track.

“When he transferred from Kent State it was also my first year coaching at Pitt, so it was a unique situation,” Bair’s distance coach Jim Trautmann said. “It was difficult to say what kind of athlete we’d be getting due to all of his injuries. At first we just tried to stabilize him and ease him back into athletic training.”

Bair continued to progress until last year’s indoor track season, a season he credits as his break out one. Since then, he has only gotten stronger. So much so that he feels as if he is on the verge of another breakout. Despite all of his growing accomplishments, Bair is most proud of the fact that he has been able to run at a consistently high level this year, while remaining healthy.

“My philosophy is all about strength and since he has been here, Sam has made the most progress in both physical and mental strength training,” Trautmann stated. “He has acquired a tremendous amount of mental toughness which is necessary for a runner like him who often leads a race start to finish.”

Bair has run a four-minute mile a few different times, but has never been able to crack that significant barrier. It is a barrier he feels he is capable of passing, and if he does so, he and his father would become the first American father-son duo in history to each run the mile in fewer than four-minutes.

“I pretty much already consider him a sub-four minute miler. He will certainly accomplish that feat,” Trautmann said.

Sam also would like to break into the top-five at the NCAA Outdoor Championships and be an All-American cross-country runner in the season to come. Now that he is finally healthy, it is not a matter of whether he can accomplish these goals, but when. Bair is so talented in fact, that he would like to continue to run professionally for at least a few years after college.

“I just want to take advantage now and run as much as I can while I’m young and healthy, even if it’s just for a short time,” Bair said.

After that, Bair has expressed interest in teaching or staying in the running world in some respect.

Right now, however, he has no time to look too far into the future because of his strenuous athletic commitment. Bair completes two workouts a day for about two hours each and 60 miles running per week during the season and 70-80 miles a week in the off-season. Add his studies into the equation and there is not much time remaining.

In that free time however, Bair likes to tap into his creative side, creating art and music. Music is his true passion, and he listens to all types, especially old-school and underground hip-hop. In fact, Bair enjoys music so much that he has acquired recording equipment and a set of turntables that allow him to experiment, mixing all kinds of different music, which he does with a small group of friends. Together they write, mix, produce and create new songs that they hope to perform someday.

Admittedly though, Bair has little free time, and often times one can find him icing up his legs or resting in order to take care of his battered body. This extreme concentration is the reason why some of his teammates dubbed him “No Fun Sam.”

“They call him that in jest,” said a laughing Trautmann “But it’s a testament to his strong will. Sam is very determined and very driven and his commitment to the sport sometimes means he has to sacrifice going out in order to be better.”

Bair is also teased for his quiet demeanor, but according to Trautmann, Bair’s way of doing things has not gone unnoticed by his teammates.

“Sam is a great leader by example, which I think are the best kind of leaders,” he said. “He will never be the one to rally up the troops, but he quietly goes out there and wins, and his peers have definitely taken notice.”

And according to Trautmann, Sam is just a few tactical improvements away from being an NCAA champion.

“Sam has great speed in the final kick, but one thing we are trying to work on is getting him to be a better tactical runner,” Trautmann noted. “Sometimes he can be a little hesitant to take leads, and although he has improved in that area, he still needs to push it harder at certain points in races.”

While that may sound like nitpicking, every great athlete feels he can always improve. Bair is no exception.

“I’m not quite there yet,” Bair said. “But I feel like I’m close.”

So, if you are ever passing a collegiate track meet and happen to hear the Wu-Tang Clan playing, sit back, relax and enjoy Bair producing yet another masterpiece.