ING NEW YORK CITY MARATHON

November 7, 2004

Dan Browne

Ryan Shay

RYAN SHAY: I expected to do better?

RYAN SHAY: You know, I was hoping around 2:12-range time-wise. But my other two goals were to finish in the top ten and then be in the Top 3.

DAN BROWNE: Coming into this race I came in with a lot of confidence. New York City is a great course and I have a lot of respect for it. I think it's just every day; every day is different. I'm looking forward to the next break.

DAN BROWNE: Yes, I don't believe in quitting. I'm pretty stubborn. But, just not part of who I am. It's hard, but, you know, you do what you've got to do.

RYAN SHAY: Actually, it was set up pretty nicely through the first 17 miles with a very professional rabbit -- did a great job. First race I've ever been in with a rabbit. I just strayed right behind him through the 17-mile mark and from that time it was just myself and the rabbit. And when he dropped off, we were just about on a five-minute per mile pace, about a 2:11 pace and when he dropped off, it made it a little bit more difficult and started hitting into the wind and the course got tougher. Those five-minute miles started to catch up with me. Although I was slowing down in time, I still found myself passing a lot of people coming into the park. So, you know, I was happy with my finish.

RYAN SHAY: Yeah I gave him a couple words of encouragement, to finish strong and let's go. But I knew how bad he was fading and by how quickly I passed him he would not be able to finish up.

RYAN SHAY: I believe it was maybe 24 miles.

RYAN SHAY: Sure, one of the main things I kept in mind was he told me about coming off of the bridge at around 15 miles, 16 miles and the crowds going through there, don't get too excited and run too hard because there's still a lot of race remaining. So, I tried to relax through there. It did help that I did have a rabbit just to keep things under control as I went through that area from mile 16, 17 after that it dropped off. And also, in general, just to keep my composure early in the race. There was times when I felt like going by the rabbit but I knew that I could pay a very serious price later on if I did that in the beginning. But just training with Deena and being coached by Joe Vigil has taught me a lot about just emotional control. Sometimes I'm known as a hot head but with the three that I'm developing the mental aspect of my running.

DAN BROWNE: I'm happy for Matt and Deena, that they are doing well, and also Ryan. I don't even want to put myself in that boat right now, so I'm just going to -- I'm happy for them and excited for them.

RYAN SHAY: I think Dan is being a little too modest. He's a guy that I looked up to, that I look up to, too, as a distance runner. I think he's played a major role in uplifting American distance running. I know I look at the level he's gone to and that's the level I want to get to. Yeah, it's very inspiring, being able to train with a silver medalist and a bronze medalist from Athens and I think that a lot of American distance runners are doing the right things and beginning to be more competitive at the world level and that's a goal I want to obtain, also.

DAN BROWNE: I felt pretty well through the half-Marathon. I realized that Brian's group and that pace was the right situation for me, Bob and Michael and that fantastic pacer, and Ryan and I were together. We went through, I believe, somewhere like 1:05:20, so we were on a good clip. I got sort of the side-stitch at 14 right through Queensboro and everyone has their little problems, but that scared me a little bit. You know, First Avenue, you get excited. The Queensboro Bridge was tough for me. That was my first place where I really lost major contact with the group and knew it was going to be sort of a long day. So, you know, I didn't come here to quit, though. So that's it.

RYAN SHAY: Overall I'm happy with my performance. I know the weather was a little warm for me, especially I don't do as well in warm weather. Cold weather, I think 40 degrees would have been a little more ideal for myself, being from a cool climate in northern Michigan. But, you know, at the end of the day, I'll look back and say, you know, I hit two of the three goals. On a perfect day, yeah, maybe I would have hit all three.

RYAN SHAY: I was running by myself as soon as the rabbit dropped off at 17 miles.

RYAN SHAY: Definitely. As soon as the rabbit dropped off, I could tell my pace started to slow. I was going to try to somehow entice him and keep going to mile 20.

RYAN SHAY: Yeah, I picked off many people, especially in the last ten kilometers.