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TCS NEW YORK CITY MARATHONOctober 31, 2014Josh GeorgeAmanda McGroryNEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK Q.  So you're both veterans of this race. How many times have you been here? JOSH GEORGE: This will be my sixth or seventh. Q. And how about you? AMANDA McGRORY: This is my ninth. 2006. We skipped '12. So eight. Q. From the runners' level, maybe nothing changes. Do you see changes in the course over the years, just in terms of detours and resurfacing? JOSH GEORGE: Just the road condition. AMANDA McGRORY: The resurfacing makes a huge, huge difference for us, more so than the runners, I would think. Q. Do you detect the difference every year or every three years? AMANDA McGRORY: I think there's definitely a difference every year, different places. Some are good, some are bad. It changes every year which is which. JOSH GEORGE: It all depends on the winter you guys have had the year before. AMANDA McGRORY: Absolutely. That makes a huge difference. Q. Are all the bridges pretty covered‑‑ what about the bridges coming in and out of the Bronx? AMANDA McGRORY: With the grates? Q. They have grates there, right? JOSH GEORGE: The new ones. They replaced the one. Which one? The one going into the Bronx. That used to be horrible. AMANDA McGRORY: It's a lose‑lose for us because the grates are bumpy and you lose all your speed. And the carpet has drag. So it pulls you across it. JOSH GEORGE: So there's no good way. AMANDA McGRORY: But it's the same problems for all the racers. JOSH GEORGE: Everyone has to deal with it. AMANDA McGRORY: Exactly. Q. Is that just a problem on those two? JOSH GEORGE: I think it's just those. AMANDA McGRORY: Just the ones with the grates. JOSH GEORGE: The Verrazano and the 59th street, they're smooth. They're paved. Q. When they replace that, that's when they actually have to move the start line because the arc of the bridge or whatever, it was different. It changed the length of the course. AMANDA McGRORY: That's crazy. Q. Obviously, there's one big difference between your race and the runners' races, with the lactic acid in the legs. Is there a build‑up for you? JOSH GEORGE: We get the lactic acid in the arms. AMANDA McGRORY: Definitely. JOSH GEORGE: Especially because you start with the one‑mile climb. Everybody is burning at the top of that. I'm sure the women's race works the same way, but for the men's race, it's a two‑mile race. You're sprinting the first two miles of the marathon. You figure it out after that. AMANDA McGRORY: If you can hang at the bottom of the hill, you got a shot. If you get dropped by the bottom of the bridge, it's going to be a long, lonely race for you with a lot of chasing. We also have a little bit of a hard time warming up, though, especially on this course. It's generally cold, and then when we hit the downhills, we're maxing out over 30 miles an hour. Your arms can't keep up anymore. So you're tucking and sitting, and you tighten up in the cold. JOSH GEORGE: Exactly. AMANDA McGRORY: That's definitely something to overcome. Q. What would be an ideal course? Would it be something like London and Chicago? Or something with some undulations on it? AMANDA McGRORY: It varies from athlete to athlete for sure. New York is my favorite. I think New York is the best course in the world. Absolutely my favorite. Q. Just the right amount of differences and changes? AMANDA McGRORY: I'm a climber. So most of‑‑ New York has a lot of climbs. Most of the downhills have a pretty sharp turn at the bottom of them, or the road surfaces are a little wonky because I don't go down hills well. That works to my advantage, all climbing, little downhill, except for the Verrazano. Q. And you were describing the downhill position. I don't know what the longest downhill stretch is, if you're in position where you're not actually using your arms on the wheels, what's the key thing to do? JOSH GEORGE: To be tucked in and as aerodynamic as possible. So a good tuck position, your head's curled down. Picture what a time trial cyclist looks like where they're tucked in like that. Q. Can you wear aerodynamic helmets like cyclists do? JOSH GEORGE: Some guys do, yes. Q. You're saying you're a climber. It's just like in cycling. What determines who's a climber, who's a sprinter type? Is it body type? AMANDA McGRORY: A lot is body type. A lot is strength‑to‑weight ratio. Josh and I are both tiny, both strong. So we make great climbers. For us, for the downhills, it's all momentum. The heavier you are, the faster downhills. Q. Like Ernst? AMANDA McGRORY: Exactly. Ernst kills it downhill. Q. We can't believe how tall Ernst is. Who's this giant? AMANDA McGRORY: He's enormous. So the downhill is definitely‑‑ and Ernst is a good climber as well. Q. Tatyana is a little bit bigger than you. AMANDA McGRORY: Tatyana is quite a bit bigger. I'm really little. Most of the women have 20 to 25 pounds on me. Q. What are the advantages for someone like her just because of the size? AMANDA McGRORY: Incredibly, incredibly strong. She's probably the most‑‑ not probably, definitely the most powerful stroke on the women's side of thing. She's the only athlete I've ever met in my entire life that favors a headwind course. She likes to attack into the wind. I've never met anyone else in my life who likes to do that. Q. What about the men? JOSH GEORGE: The men do. Q. Anybody praying for a headwind? Nobody? JOSH GEORGE: No. Q. They'll take it and work it. JOSH GEORGE: The men surge everywhere, unfortunately. Q. What about you facing someone like Ernst? What size advantage do you think he has? What advantage does he get because of his size? JOSH GEORGE: Theoretically, your power‑to‑weight ratio, it's easier to attain a higher power‑to‑weight ratio because you're smaller. So I have a bit of an advantage on the climbs. And accelerations. But the men's field has developed in such a way where everyone is focused on climbing these days, and everyone is becoming much better climbers, the big guys include. Like Ernst and Marcel are way better at climbing than they ever used to be. So it makes it a bit of a tricky race. You've got to pick and choose your spots to try to get away. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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