Interview with Deena Kastor ahead of the 26th Vattenfall BERLIN HALFMARATHON
2006-04-01
What has brought you to
Berlin and this race?
Deena Kastor: “This race has a
great reputation for fast times and it’s perfect timing for the Flora London
marathon (ed note: she competes there on April 23). My goal here is to run
fast, then go to
London after
Berlin so there won’t be
a big time adjustment before the marathon.”
What kind of shape are you
in?
Deena Kastor: “Good shape.
We’ve changed a few things in training this year and have been in the
San Francisco
Bay area, away from
our home in
Mammoth
Lakes in
California. That’s at 8,000
ft (2,500m) altitude and there’s a lot of snow there. My coach Terrence Mahon wanted
to refresh our training schedules this year. I’ve been focusing more on quality
whereas previously I would be doing 120-mile weeks, but now focusing on tempo
runs that are close to race situations and I’m ready for this.This is my
favourite distance. I’m excited to be resting up for this.”
Are you aiming for a particular
time on Sunday?
Deena Kastor: “I’m hoping to
run
1:07 (ed note : the
Berlin course record is
1:08:22, set by
Kenya’s Joyce
Chepchumba in 2000). But I’m making a
conscious effort not to focus on time. Last year in
Chicago I disintegrated
at 8 km when Andrew (husband and physical therapist) shouted to me : “You’re on
world record pace!” So the focus is not to be obsessed about times.”
Do you find that too much
talk about times is inhibiting?
Deena Kastor: “It creates
barriers sometimes. Our idea, by “our”, I mean the team of husband, coach,
training partner and myself, is not to get too caught up in it. My brain is not
good at math, I don’t want to know (about times), I just want to run.”
Thinking of marathons, the
real,-
Berlin
Marathon is one of the five World
Marathon
Majors (ed note:
Berlin,
Boston,
Chicago,
London and
New York). What do you think of this development?
Deena Kastor: “It’s a wonderful
meshing of events. Marathons intrigue people, even the laziest couch potato,
they attract so many nationalities and body types. To see the five greatest
marathons come together is really exciting for the sport.”
Is part of the reason for
coming to
Berlin that you can take a look at the marathon course?
Deena Kastor: “Absolutely. This
is an opportunity of seeing what some of the course is like though I won’t tour
the entire marathon course after Sunday’s race. We’re going to
London the next day and
staying there.”
Do you have particular
targets for the Flora London
Marathon?
Deena Kastor: Again, I don’t
want to be obsessed about pace and splits. I want to battle the other athletes
out there. I’ve already accepted that this weekend and
London are feats that
are going to hurt, that I’ll be pushing the envelope.”
Does that mean you really are
in the best shape of your life?
Deena Kastor: “Close to it. But
it’s so hard to say definitely after Chicago last year when I was in the best
shape of my life and never hurt so bad in winning my first major marathon.”
Do you take notice of
opponents in
Berlin this Sunday?
Deena Kastor: “I know the
fields are always competitive. There are women you know and others that
surprise you. Our strategy is trying to go out and ran an aggressive race.”
