ING NEW YORK CITY MARATHON

November 2, 2003

Lornah Kiplagat

Catherine Ndereba

LORNAH KIPLAGAT: Almost. It was almost and I am really happy that I am coming close and close every time and especially today, all of us been running such a time, it makes me happy and it tells me that I can even do more, so it's coming soon.

LORNAH KIPLAGAT: We did pretty much the same all throughout, like, there was not a time really that I was like I am now going for it, but the pace was very comfortable for me and I was fine with it, but it reached a time where I was running -- Okaya was running with me and Ludmila was running with me, and I was in the middle of the two, I have to run for normal race and I also have to run for something better. So it was kind of tough, but I kept on encouraging myself that I trained hard and for sure I have to say that until Monday this week, nobody knew, but I was sure I was going to run because I had an injury the last -- one month before the race and I missed a lot of my training. So I was so amazed that I could still keep it up because with my husband Peter, there was a kind of training that I was going to do on Monday and if it didn't respond, we were going to announce that we weren't running. That was something that I was not looking forward to. So with my official therapist staying with me in New Mexico, Albuquerque, really helped me a lot that I did this race. I am pretty proud that I can still do it.

LORNAH KIPLAGAT: I knew I was able to run fast, but not only -- one month before I knew my training was going very well but then after having this injury really affected my thoughts on everything. My plans, because if I want to go out fast, I didn't know what was going to happen. And I ran pretty -- listening all the time what was going on with my body and again I was not surprised with the time we ran today because people who were running out there were pretty strong, but I was surprised that I can still keep on with them.

LORNAH KIPLAGAT: I had the sheet over my Achilles was swollen, and according to the doctor and the official that I have worked with, it can be a very bad injury. But I was so lucky that my official worked with me in New Mexico and he treated me directly and I was able to do that. I was able to run the race today, but it was amazing. How fast it went away, so that was the much we can do it.

LORNAH KIPLAGAT: Yeah, I do the 10,000 definitely.

LORNAH KIPLAGAT: Running for something better is something that has been been in my mind for so many years, since I was in a competitive field because the thing is I believe that elite athletes have so much impact also to the communities and I have been thinking that it would be nice if we could do something also back to the community, and I think I have had -- I have a lot from sport and I want to do something back to the sport. ING being the sponsor of New York City Marathon this year and bringing this idea was perfect to think that I could ever imagined of. This was because when I was running through the streets of New York today, I knew that -- apart for running for myself as a professional runner, I knew that I was doing something back for the people, people here in New York. And when I was running -- I knew also I was giving back to some people back in Kenya, so it's not just a matter of running and it's not just a matter of ING being the sponsor of this race, but it is also doing back something to the rest of the communities and preparing people to, yeah, to know more about running. So it was so special altogether.

CATHERINE NDEREBA: The race was so good. I am very happy and I am very much greatful to my God. I thank Him for -- it's not by might neither by power, it's by His holy spirit that I was able to do it. In fact, when I was out there, I was just very much encouraged by His word, knowing that whoever trusts in the Lord and have Him as his helper is a happy man. So I was very happy doing it, knowing that He is there. He was on my side and I thank Him and I thank Him also for the sponsors, and because He is the one who was enabling them to do whatever they were doing. Without Him, we could not do it.

CATHERINE NDEREBA: Well, Margaret was running so great and I was out there also running very good, and I was hoping just to see how I can perform. Everybody knew that I was in the world championships and I had that in my mind is that, well, I just want to do my best and feel what my body feels. So whenever I was running my legs, I was -- I wasn't thinking about anybody and even if somebody make a move, I could not let that make my might get disturbed because I had to listen to my body rather than looking at any other runner out in the list.

CATHERINE NDEREBA: In fact I wasn't surprised at all because the New York Marathon this year, and I guess everybody is a witness, that it has the best field. I don't think it has ever had such good competitors. In fact, it was tremendous.

CATHERINE NDEREBA: I don't have anything to comment about the pacemakers because myself, I normally pace myself.

CATHERINE NDEREBA: Yes, I was far much back because I always like keep on listening to my body, if it responds, like, for a high pace, I just go with the high pace. If it feels like moving slowly, I just listen to it. So I always wait for my body to tell me, now you can move, you can't. That's it.