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UNITED AIRLINES NYC HALFMarch 19, 2017Molly HuddleEmily SissonDiane NukuriNew York, New York THE MODERATOR: Congratulations, ladies. Great race. Molly, the three-peat. We'd like to say you were the first person to ever three-peat here, but Ernst Van Dyke on the wheelchair side crossed the finish line a few minutes before you did, so you are our second three-peater. Congratulations. A great battle, and as it broke away between you and Emily really towards the end, can you talk a little bit about that and sort of what led up to that through training and that type of thing? MOLLY HUDDLE: Yeah, I knew Emily and I would be step for step for a long time because we've had practices that are similar, and our coach told us to do that. It felt kind of like a practice, tempo run, a really hard one. But yeah, I was just thinking back to Arizona when we were out on the canal for miles and miles, and you know, until we turned out from under the tunnel, it didn't feel like a race until then. But we were working hard. You were definitely dragging me around out there. THE MODERATOR: Emily, obviously this is a little bit cooler than Arizona, but what was different from today as opposed to training with Molly, and was there a moment that you felt you had it or you just were grinding and seeing how it was going to go? EMILY SISSON: It actually didn't feel that different than just training together, just like doing a tempo run, but a harder tempo run and longer. But yeah, just felt like training with my training partner. In tempos there would be parts like if she's feeling a bit stronger she can kind of pull me along, and there are parts where I'm feeling pretty good and I feel like I can help contribute and push the pace a bit. It gives me like a bit of confidence just training with someone like Molly and getting ready for like a big race like this. So it just really reminded me of that out there, and like she said, coming out of the tunnel, it felt like more of a race. THE MODERATOR: Diane, great run again for you. You're a familiar face here at NYRR events. You know the streets well. How was it out there today? How was the weather? How was Times Square, and how were you feeling? DIANE NUKURI: Yeah, thank you. I feel good. It was a good run. I got dropped pretty much from like just going in and out. I felt like -- I was pretty jealous of them. They were just like running. I was like, they probably train like that, and they just got so much speed and so good. I was just trying to hang on as long as I could with Amy and Edna and these two. But it was fun. Just fun to mix it up. Q. Emily, first half marathon; how did it feel, and what did you learn? EMILY SISSON: It felt pretty good. I was really happy with it. Training in Arizona had gone really well, so I was pretty confident going into it, and it also just was pretty comfortable going in with my training partner so I also knew was really fit and just has achieved so much. That definitely helped boost my own confidence, and I was happy with it. I'm happy this is my first one. Q. Emily, following up on that, were there any rough patches? It looked like you were running smooth the whole time. EMILY SISSON: That bit coming out of the tunnel, I think my quads kind of seized up a little bit. I didn't think that would really be a hill, but it felt like one. The last I think maybe 600 meters, I'm not sure, that bit hurt. Q. Molly, it looked kind of like you were hanging back like a half step coming down the West Side Highway. Was that intentional? Were you letting Emily kind of lead you along at all? MOLLY HUDDLE: I was starting to get tired, so I was hoping if you couldn't see me you would slow down a little bit (laughter). But yeah, I felt controlled. Just my legs were getting a little tired, so I was trying to take a break. Q. Molly, another close finish here; you talked about it a little bit after the finish on the TV broadcast, but can you just walk us through the finish and another close race here in New York? MOLLY HUDDLE: Yeah, I knew if Emily sounded really good at 10 miles, she'd be there the whole way, so kind of at 10 miles, I was like, okay, it's going to be another close finish. And then I was thinking back to the 5K we did two weeks ago and that was a close finish with us, so I just knew it would be whoever felt better the last 200 meters basically, so I just waited for that to come and saw who had the most left in their legs. But yeah, I'd say it was a great run for Emily. She sounded really silent and good, and she looked good, so I wasn't sure who -- I thought maybe she would have a few more steps on me, but I think maybe my experience came into play, having had that underpass and the little hill at the end there and knowing what that felt like for a couple years in a row. Q. Getting the three-peat, how special is that, and what does it mean to you? MOLLY HUDDLE: That's really cool. I never would have thought I could come back here and win three times. I remember the first win was such a surprise for me, and last year we ran so fast. So every -- I just feel really lucky to have won a third time. Every time is really difficult with an international field, like New York Road Runners brings in some of the best of the best. Some people are in marathon buildups but some people were really gearing up for this race. So yeah, I feel like it was a really cool thing, and just contributes to my enthusiasm for New York. THE MODERATOR: I think, Emily, that's the fastest U.S. debut in the half in history, so congratulations on that. I know you obviously train together, work with Coach Treacy. Have you heard from him since the end of the race? EMILY SISSON: I haven't. Have you? MOLLY HUDDLE: No, I haven't. THE MODERATOR: Diane, you're going to turn this right around and head to Boston; where does this put you for that? DIANE NUKURI: I'm really excited because I've been doing a lot more longer runs in Flagstaff and I've been putting in more miles than I have before, and I almost ran as fast as -- I was a second off my PB, and I'm really excited. I feel strong, and I'm just excited to see what happens in four weeks. Yeah, it was fun really to race here. It's so fun. You have people that have been running track really fast, but you just kind of mix it up, and it's always nice to run in a park and finish a little faster in the last 10K. But I really enjoy racing here. Even during marathon training it's also about strength, and speed for some people. (Laughter.) THE MODERATOR: Emily, what's next for you? EMILY SISSON: I think we're both doing the BAA 5K in a couple -- two weeks, three weeks. THE MODERATOR: Marathon weekend? EMILY SISSON: Yeah, that's the next one. THE MODERATOR: And after that just road, track? EMILY SISSON: Get ready for the track, yeah. Do hopefully fast like 10, 5, go out to Stanford. That's the plan. Q. Emily, knowing you have the record now, what does that mean to you, and how special is that? EMILY SISSON: That's pretty special. Do you know what the old one was? I didn't even know what it was going into today, but I'm pretty happy, especially to do it here. It's a tough course. The last bit you can fly down, but in the park it's hard, so yeah, I'm pretty happy with that. Q. Diane, you talked a little bit about how special New York is and you've finished on the podium a couple times. This race in particular, what about it do you thrive on? Is it that combination of the hills and then the speed? What is it that makes New York good for you? DIANE NUKURI: Just like we always start like really slow and we expect to run like almost -- like I think today was like 5:45. You're like, oh, how are we going to finish under 72 you're thinking. But there's just so much. There's a lot of surges, there's a lot of really good people that go up front, and then you're in the park and you're going up and down, you feel like you're so tired not even halfway, and you get through Times Square, there's all these people screaming, you get this extra energy, and then you get along the river, it's just everything is really exciting. You never get bored. And then of course you run under the tunnel and there's people coming and going. Today was like five of us, and all of a sudden it's like they go, and there's -- I don't know, I just love running here, and it's really exciting just to race the familiar faces, and of course the new ones. She's really good. I'm sure in a couple years she'll be running 66, who knows. But I don't know, I just enjoy being here and how you guys treat us. It's always fun to come back. Even the cold weather doesn't bother us. It's good. THE MODERATOR: Thanks again. Two of the four fastest U.S. women ever at the half distance right here, and Diane, thanks for joining us, and thanks, everybody. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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