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UNITED AIRLINES NYC HALFMarch 20, 2016Molly HuddleJoyce ChepkiruiDiane NukuriNew York, New York Q. Molly, when you -- both of you, when you started pushing the pace, were you just racing each other? Or had that been the plan sort of to go at that point anyway? MOLLY HUDDLE: I was just trying to stay with Joyce. She was running below five minutes a lot of the miles. I just thought, if I hang for a long time, I don't know if I can beat her today, but I will PR. So that's what I was thinking. Then when it came to that last turn, it was just whoever had it at that minute. Q. So, Joyce, you were the one pushing the pace? JOYCE CHEPKIRUI: Yes. I started pushing the pace, I think, from two miles, yeah. Q. Molly, your arm came out a little at the finish line as you leaned. Is that kind of an instinctive thing, or were you trying to do whatever you could to make sure you crossed first? MOLLY HUDDLE: I kind of was just trying to get my body across the line and not fall at the same time. So that's just -- like I wasn't even conscious of what my arms were doing. Yeah, I just was trying to get there. I was pretty tired. Q. Is that about as to the well as you've gone in a race? You looked tired at the end, and you often don't. MOLLY HUDDLE: Yeah, like I tried to sprint, but my legs just weren't really moving well. So I just kind of whatever movement got me across the line I did. So it was definitely an ugly finish. Yeah, that was as fast as I could go. Q. Joyce, you were a little behind coming off the final curve and then were gaining and pulling even with Molly on that final last straightaway. Did you think that you might have enough real estate to get there? What were you thinking on that final stretch? Did you think you might have it? JOYCE CHEPKIRUI: Yes. The last 2 kilometers, I was really tired, yeah. But I'm happy for my friend, she won. I'm happy. Q. When they went, Diane, did you think of trying to hang with them? DIANE NUKURI: I tried, but honestly, they were going faster, and my goal was like to stay as close as I could, but I couldn't. I was -- I was just running by myself. It was a long race, and my hip was really tight too. There was nobody around me. So there was nothing really. I just tried to keep the tempo going. It was a long race for me, but I'm happy. Q. Molly, did you feel any sharper because of the track work you've done earlier this season? Or was that mostly done off of strength and you didn't really feel like your wheels were turning track-wise? MOLLY HUDDLE: I felt like we were more ready for this race than for the track 5K. So I definitely felt strong in this race and a little bit rusty in the -- not rusty in the 5K, but slower. So I think we were definitely looking towards today as the first important race of the season. Q. Molly, as you went around that last turn onto Water Street, you shot like on the tangent of that turn line as if you knew exactly what you wanted to do. Did you know exactly where you were headed? MOLLY HUDDLE: I was kind of fading, but I knew, once you hit that last turn, you only had -- I think they said 150 meters or something really short left. So I knew, if you're going to start sprinting, you take the turn and just go. That's kind of all I could do anyways. Yeah, I knew we were very close at the last turn. Q. Molly, in the tunnel, that was a big time for you last year. Were you thinking that this was it, you were going to be able to turn it on and push it up the hill coming out of the tunnel? MOLLY HUDDLE: I was hoping that, but it was actually pretty windy coming out of the tunnel. So I think we were both blown back a little bit coming out and just decided to wait until the finish line was at least less than half a mile away just because of the wind. It was a different direction. Q. Is that the only time the wind was really a factor in the race at all? MOLLY HUDDLE: Yeah, there was only two little turns where it would hit you really hard, and that was one of them. At least it was a short little stretch. Q. You two ran side by side for so long. What were you -- Joyce, what are you thinking all that time? It's just the two of you. Are you thinking all the time, When do I go? When is she going to go? JOYCE CHEPKIRUI: For me, I was thinking to run maybe 67 or 68 because my preparation for now is Boston. I'm happy I run 67. I know I will do a good thing in Boston. Q. So do you both feel good about this setting up for Boston? Was it a good run to set up for Boston? Or is there something you wish would have happened to prepare you better for Boston? JOYCE CHEPKIRUI: My preparation is from the beginning I was coming here to gauge myself. And I was thinking, if I run 67 here, I know I will do it in Boston. Q. Molly, two-time winner here. You join a small group of women who have won twice. Got to feel good about that, two in a row. First American to win it, first American to win it twice. How does that feel for you here? MOLLY HUDDLE: I didn't know what to expect, even until the last 5 meters. I thought Joyce sounded really good and looked really good. It just could have been anyone's. If we run it again, it could have been another way. So I feel really lucky and just happy to PR and just come away one step better than last year, just make a little progress. I came into the race not knowing if I could repeat again because it was such a high caliber field. That's always a hard thing to do. I knew that I could still have a good race and not finish as well as I did last year. For it to come out similar is something I'm really happy with. I wasn't sure how it would play out. So I feel good about the year ahead. Q. You were dressed warmer than the other elite women with the long sleeves and the hat. Was that a tough call, or was it a no brainer with where the temperature was at the start? MOLLY HUDDLE: I don't think it was as cold as I anticipated. I thought it would be like lower, 33, 32 degrees. It was a couple of degrees warmer, but I always prefer to be too warm. I probably wore slightly too many clothes, but I wasn't hot at any point. So I'm glad that I bundled up. End. Q. When's your next race, Molly? MOLLY HUDDLE: Either Stanford 5K, or I may add in BAA 5K before. I'll see how tired I am after this. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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