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Conference Call with Mary Wittenberg and Athletes: Peter Gilmore, Josh Rohatinsky, Ryan Shay
by: NYRR
October 25, 2007

On being referred to as dark horses and training for the Trials:

Ryan: Since winning the USA Marathon title in 2003, my training has had a long period of ups and downs, some changes in coaching and changes in training environment. I moved from Mammoth Lakes, California and training with Team Running USA to Flagstaff, Arizona, where I’m part of the Center for High Altitude Training. During that time, there was a short stint of a transition of coaching from Joe Vigil to Terrence Mahon. I took on Terrence as a coach for six or seven months and it didn’t work out, and ended up going back to Joe Vigil. I’ve been working with him since that period, which was a little over a year ago. Basically, I’ve just been doing the same things I had been doing, which led to winning the U.S. Championship in 2003. I’ve just been trying to do things a little better and a little smarter.

Josh: I I’ve been so lucky to have Ed (Eyestone) and Alberto (Salazar) throughout the last little bit. Every piece of advice they can give me is good advice. That alone gives me all the confidence that I need, not only with my preparation physically and mentally but with what I’m planning on doing on race day when we get to New York City. It’s a big help not only to have both of them but to have them talk on the phone together and try to come up with workouts with situations that would help me out. That’s helped me out tremendously. As far as the course goes, I think it was invaluable for me to go out and get to know the course. I ended up doing 18 on it, and it went really well. I knew it was going to be hilly, and just going there and just being able to feel what it would be like lap after lap, I think, was the most important thing. It’s definitely not a rhythm course. I think there’s a stretch of a thousand meters that’s flat, and everything else, you’re either going up or down, and I think that plays to my advantage.

On how the big stage of New York City will distract or affect confidence:

Peter: The first couple of times I went to New York and raced, I was definitely a little bit out of sorts, not myself. I think part of it was confidence issues and another part was that I was just overwhelmed by the surroundings. It’s an exciting place to be and those were the first times I’d ever been there. And now it’s still exciting, but I feel like I’ve seen a few things and done a few things. It feels a lot more like a home away from home, especially racing wise. Right now, going into the Trials, I really couldn’t be more confident. My training’s been going great. I’ve done this a few times now. It’s nice to know when you’re ready and when you might not be ready, and I can definitely say I’m ready for this one.

The experience side of this race is getting overly discounted by the people making predictions. When you get in a race that’s tactical on a course that’s challenging, having a lot of experience in the latter stages in a marathon is definitely going to be an asset. Most of it is instinctive, because you’re out there and as the miles go on, your brain just doesn’t work as well as it did in the early stages of the race. Having been through that a few times and knowing what visions lead to success and what don’t, I think that’s going to be really important.

On the importance of group training:

Ryan: I haven’t done much of it. A lot of times I’m training on my own. I’ve trained a little bit with Peter when he’s come up to Flagstaff. Other people have made it up to Flagstaff from time to time. Abdi Abdirahman’s been probably my most consistent training partner, although he’ll go back and forth between Tucson and Flagstaff. And even when I am training with someone, it’s just one or two people, not really a group type thing. It’s also difficult with the people I train with. We have different coaches, so we might not be ding the same thing on the same day. In Mammoth, it was completely different. It was a group setting, and that’s something I really want to get back to, actually. There is something to be said about group training. It depends on each individual’s preference, but I thrive on that kind of setting - as long as you’re training with a group of athletes that have chemistry that will work with your own. It has to do with everybody wanting their teammates to succeed, and no egos bumping heads.

Peter: I used to be on the Farm Team, which was a huge group to train with. That worked well for me in some regards; in others, it didn’t work as well. I got a chance to train in Kenya six years ago for six weeks, and I’d go out and run with 60 guys in group runs every day. I’ve seen the best it can possibly be, and I’ve also had some situations where it was tough. Ryan had a good point that the egos in the group have to be aligned. Everybody has to be a little bit subservient to the best interests of the group, and if that doesn’t happen and there isn’t a control, it can get out of hand. There’s more to it than just having a group of guys get together. It has to be well thought out and well-controlled.

Josh: Same situation as Ryan, a lot of what I do is alone. Working with a team makes it a lot less boring, but getting ready for a marathon, there is something to be said for doing it alone. Training by yourself can help in the last miles of a marathon when you are alone.

On nerves and confidence heading into the Trials:

Josh: I’ve gotten really good at not getting all that nervous. Back in high school, and, early in college, I was a wreck before every single race, no matter how big or little it was. Especially in a race like this, it makes me think back in NCAAs this last season, when I won the cross (country) title. I’d had a good season, but I’d gotten sick the week before and stuff wasn’t going well. I’ve talked to both Alberto and Ed about this, and I think the reason I did so well in that race is that I wasn’t worrying about expectations. And that’s something that I’ve really taken to heart, that I’ve really learned from that experience. I want to go out there and do my best obviously, and I’ve prepared and done everything I can to do that. But I’ve learned that you can’t allow expectations to get to you. And it’s nice in a situation like this because a lot of people have said that I, among other people, are among the dark horses in the race. Nobody is putting all that expectation on us like they’re putting on Meb and Khannouchi and Hall and those guys. So I love being in this situation. I can just go out there, know that I’m ready, be confident, race my best, and see what happens.

On how Josh feels about not having run a full marathon yet:

Josh: The one thing I’m wondering about is that place where I haven’t gone yet. I went over to New York and did 18 miles on that course, and I did it at pace and I felt good. But obviously, the last eight miles is going to be a lot tougher than the first eight miles. I’m confident. With as good as I felt when I went out there and after having a little bit of a taper and really tuning up and getting myself ready, I think I’m going to be able to handle it. We ended up averaging 5:02 (per mile for the 18 miles), and it was on a Saturday morning. The course goes in the opposite direction of the normal traffic on a weekend, and there were literally hundreds, maybe thousands of people out there walking and jogging and what not, so the whole 18 miles, we were just dodging in and out of people. We were lucky to get out alive!

On running 2:11:
Ryan: I know it’s going to be difficult. You just hope that you have the perfect day. What else can I do, sit home? You go out there to race. If you have the qualifying mark, you’ve got to go out there. That’s what makes our system of qualifying for the Olympic team great, because it gives even the biggest underdog a shot at making the team. You’re telling me something that I’ve thought about many times; I’ve got to run three minutes faster than I ever have before, and hopefully on that day, I can do it. I’ve always felt that I could run three minutes faster than my best time, but obviously, I haven’t done it yet. I think I’ve prepared to do it in my training. It just depends on how healthy the body is that day and all the other factors that go into a marathon.

Peter: I’m really confident that I can run 2:11. Not to sound overly boastful, but I think I’m much better than when I ran 2:12, and that was a year and a half ago. Last fall at New York, I ran 2:13:13, which for that course is a PR, and this spring in Boston I didn’t get a chance to show what I was capable of because of the weather. But right now, I’ve been to altitude for the first time before a marathon; I’ve done it several times. My workouts are what I believe indicates that fitness level. To answer the question, I thought about it years ago and I figured out a way to get there (2:11) and I’ve done the work, so now I feel ready that I can go out there and accomplish it. I’m not looking at Meb and Abdi and Ryan Hall and Khannouchi as guys who are out of my league. In my mind, they’re my equals, and I’m their equal. I think if you go into the race thinking any other way, the Olympics aren’t in the cards.

On how  a second trip to the Trials might present advantages:

Ryan: There is such a difference from the Trials in 2004, to what I anticipate is going to be this time around. The 2004 setting in Birmingham and the organization of the event felt really low key, compared to the big setting in New York. And of course with all the media attention, you’ve got the media capital of the world there, it’s just a totally different feel. I don’t know if being at the Trials in 2004 is going to play to an advantage because it is a total different atmosphere, so no I don’t think there is any advantage there.

Peter: I think one thing I can take from the last Trials is how haywire the race was, and how it didn’t go necessarily to form. I guess you could say it did in that the three guys that made the team were the three favorites, but after that things, went a little crazy. In the final results, there weren’t a lot of people picking Trent Briney and Clint Verrans that high. The tactics are a little more up in the air with this year’s type of Trials race. I think we saw what Sell did last time, and I think we could see that kind of thing this time. You never know, maybe we won’t, maybe it will be slow and everyone stays together for a long time. I think on the pressure cooker side, I learned a lot in the last one because it was pretty intense. Even not being a favorite last time, it was still an intense environment, and I think it will be even more so this time. Those are the things you learn and deal with over time.

On media exposure for the sport:

Ryan: The exposure is good for the sport. I want all the exposure possible for the sport, and myself, the more exposure the better. I don’t think about the media going into the race. You can’t think about failing. I have run it twice, you just feed off the energy. You can’t think about what if I fail because it will cause negative thoughts, so instead you have to turn the energy around and feed off that energy. All these people are cheering for you. They don’t know you, they just want you to do well.

Josh: Having a lot of spectators is fantastic. It is great for the sport and for the athletes. It is fantastic that it is in New York City. New York Road Runners does a fantastic job, and having the crowd will be such a bonus. I love the ING New York City Marathon and the Boston Marathon, because the biggest part is the crowd support. If we could have that at the Trials it would be amazing.

Peter:  I love running in New York City. It has phenomenal crowds, it draws attention, and hopefully people will find out this is a great sport. The contrast to 2004 is there were many parts where there weren’t any spectators cheering, which makes a huge difference especially at the end. Without a crowd, it makes it very long, especially as you get to mile 20. I think the atmosphere will make for some really great performances.


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