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TCS NEW YORK CITY MARATHONOctober 31, 2014Lelisa DesisaNEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK Q.  So this will be your New York City debut. Have you been on the course a little bit? Are you familiar with the New York City course? LELISA DESISA: Not the first time. I come for 10K before. Q. This year? LELISA DESISA: No, before. Before, two years. Q. Two years ago? LELISA DESISA: Yeah. But I don't know the course. I understand the course is down, up, down, up, down, up. Q. For you, what's more important on Sunday, the time or the placement? LELISA DESISA: On Sunday, it is top race. We'll see on Sunday. I put the time in preparing, but it depends on the day. Q. (No microphone). LELISA DESISA: As I said before, the 2013 champion is here and the record holder is here. We'll fight together. Difficult to decide. Depending on the condition, the time is difficult to decide. Q. You will fight together? LELISA DESISA: We'll see on Sunday. Q. What time do you think is possible for you in New York City? Do you know? LELISA DESISA: Difficult, you know. There is no pacemaker. You go individual. I think under last year's course record. Q. Under the course record? LELISA DESISA: Yes. Q. Tell me a little bit about your background. When did you start running? Was it for school or for‑‑ I don't know. Just tell me how you got started in running. And who were your influences? LELISA DESISA: Okay. I was born countryside, and I grow there. I learned there, and I was training at the school. Q. At what age? LELISA DESISA: In the school. Q. At what age did you start training? LELISA DESISA: I don't know the age, but in fourth grade we tried running, jumping, throwing. Then I come better for running. Then I continue like this. Then I completed different races, some more races, then I become number one, number two. Q. In what distances, 5 kilometer, 10 kilometer? LELISA DESISA: Yeah, 5. All cross country, no road race there. Then I came to Addis Ababa in 2009. I joined a running club. Then I run for the sports club. Then university, where I won. Q. You won the African championship? What distance? LELISA DESISA: Yeah, junior, 10,000 meters. Then I meet my manager, and after that we continue. Q. So was it your manager's decision to do marathons? LELISA DESISA: Before I do short distance, like 10Ks, half marathons. I started marathon in 2013. Now I like. Q. And do you have in your family many sisters and brothers? LELISA DESISA: Yes, I have. Q. How many? LELISA DESISA: I have four sisters and two brothers. Q. And are you the oldest? Where are you in the age? LELISA DESISA: Four above me. Q. So you're number five? LELISA DESISA: Yes, I'm number five, yeah. Q. Number one in running, number five in the family, yeah? LELISA DESISA: Yes. Q. And are you married? Do you have children? LELISA DESISA: No. COACH HAJI ADILLO: He has a funny story. When he start winning races, many clubs want him, and he refuse. He want to focus on education. So he really wants to focus on education. He went back to the region for almost a year and a half. He kept refusing the offers in the hand. One of the clubs said you, can go to school and you can run for us. This is how he was able to combine both of them. Q. What are you studying? Is this university education? LELISA DESISA: No, high school there. Q. In Ethiopia, how many years do you have normally in high school? Is it 12 like the United States? LELISA DESISA: You have grade eight when you enter high school. Q. And then what grade do you finish high school? LELISA DESISA: Grade 12 into university. Q. What grade are you now? LELISA DESISA: Me, I stop at 10. Q. And when you were getting approached by all the other clubs to go professional and stop your education, what grade was that? They wanted you to stop at grade 8? LELISA DESISA: I was grade 9. Q. My first question is about the conditions on Sunday. It's supposed to be very high winds and fairly cold, maybe 20, 23 mile an hour winds. I'm wondering how you think that will affect the race and how it might affect your strategy in the race. Like the cold weather and the wind. LELISA DESISA: The weather is cold. It has an effect. Your muscles can't relax, and you can't go as you want. But for me, I grow up in a cold area. It will not have an effect for me. Q. There's been a lot of talk about the course record around 2:05 with Wilson and Geoffrey in the race and you as well. Do you think that's possible? Are you going to go with them if they go at that pace, or are you going to play it differently, do you think? LELISA DESISA: I fight with them, and we'll see. I don't talk about the course. We'll see. It depends what happens on Sunday. Q. What did you think of Mutai and Kipsang announcing that previously they were going to go for the record, not just going for it? Like you said you don't talk about the course strategy, but they came out and said right away that they were going to go after the record. What did you think of them doing that? LELISA DESISA: Okay. I will run together and fight with them, and I try to fight with them. Q. You had to pull out of Boston this year with an injury. You came back and had a good rest of the year. Are you back 100 percent? LELISA DESISA: Yeah. I come back, yeah. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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