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U.S. OLYMPIC TEAM TRIALS: MEN'S MARATHONNovember 3, 2007Alan CulpepperMeb KeflezighiNEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK THE MODERATOR: We welcome back Alan Culpepper here. Alan, would you like to just open it up and give a quick comment about the race and your race today? ALAN CULPEPPER: To be honest, I'm reluctant to even talk about my race. I'm really happy for the guys, for Ryan and Dathan and for Brian. I'm just -- honestly, I couldn't have picked a team that I'm more proud of that I think is going to represent our country very well. Obviously there's disappointment for myself and for guys like Meb that we've been up there hammering it out there for quite a while, but I'm proud of these young guys, that they stepped up and handled all that comes with it, and that they showed that they have what it takes to run at the highest level. So I'm very -- honestly, I really don't want to in any way take away from what they did today. I'm really happy for them, and I was very impressed with the performance, especially of Ryan. Some of the mile splits that I saw, honestly I was blown away. For him to run that time on this course, I think he did run three minutes faster on a standard marathon course. So very, very impressive. THE MODERATOR: And Meb? MEB KEFLEZIGHI: Like Alan said, I want to congratulate the top three finishers. They really ran well, and I hope they go on to Beijing and represent our country at the highest level the best they can. It's going to be different, and I'm glad we're here today, and I hope they get it done. As far as for me, it's rough. I love New York. It got me through. I cried at mile 24 because I couldn't resist it. My plan was to win it and be with the team, and things happened today. I want those guys to go on and do really well. At about an hour and 19, both my calves cramped up, and I couldn't go on. That's part of the marathon. You can never predict what's going to happen. That's the way racing is. I'd like to congratulate those guys. They're the top finishers, and I hope they manage to do well. Q. Alan, where did you drop out and why? ALAN CULPEPPER: I think I stopped at 16 miles because it was closest to the finish here. I was ready to stop five miles before that. I mean, within four miles both my hamstrings were -- I had the same sensation that I usually get with about four miles to go, and so I was baffled. I kept trying to like work through it, and I'd have little periods where I'd feel a little better, and I never felt right. The only thing I can think is that I came in already in a state of depletion and already a little bit over the top because I kept saying all along, my training went so well, I had no hiccups, I had no sickness, I had nothing that slowed me down, and I had training partners and all these things came together, which maybe at some level was part of the problem. In the past I've had little things that have saved me in a sense. You know, that was the only thing. So I kept fighting, and I kept trying to see how long I could hang on and if it would get any better, and it kept getting worse. At this point I didn't see the point of my staggering to go ten more miles of agony. There's other things to do, and there's a track season ahead. So that was more my intent at that point. Q. Will both you guys try for the 10,000 meters now? ALAN CULPEPPER: For me, definitely. I think we all would have probably run the trials anyways, and I'm sure Dathan -- I knew Dathan had intentions of running the trials in the 10-K, so I think that's a standard thought process, especially for guys like us, we've been on the team in the 10-K and we have success on the track. MEB KEFLEZIGHI: Definitely, regardless of what happened I was planning on running the trials in the 10-K, and that's still the plan unless something else comes up. Q. To carry it a little further, will this be a different kind of training from now until Eugene? ALAN CULPEPPER: No, no more marathon training for me at this point. I'll be excited to get back to track training personally. MEB KEFLEZIGHI: Like I said, the plan is to go to the trials, but I was going to do a spring marathon regardless of what happened if things fell into place. If I make the team, recovery is not my problem, so I was planning on doing a spring marathon. I'm not sure which one yet. I'm going to sit down with Bruce Larson and reevaluate and see what we want to do, do the 10-K on the track or do a spring marathon or a fall marathon. I've been fortunate enough to have this off the checklist and I've been fortunate enough to represent our country at the highest level with a silver medal. My goal was to go there, and there's no pressure for me now. I'm going to try to make the team and defend my silver medal or even go for the gold. We have a really solid team and I hope they go there and do their best and represent our country the best possible. Q. So you're either going to run the two marathons or the 10,000 next year? MEB KEFLEZIGHI: Or all three of them, marathon in the spring and then the trials and then the full marathon. I think I can recover. If I'm fortunate enough to make the 10-K team I can recover. Honestly our competitors -- two weeks ago unfortunately for me I was really sick and I was in a debate to be able to go on IV because I had the same thing that I had in New York last year. Part of the cramps can be the dehydration, and I didn't do the IV but I was very close to it because I was just -- dehydration was a big problem. That was a week ago Sunday that started. Part of my problem for the cramps was from the dehydration a week and a half ago? Q. Was the dehydration caused by food poisoning? MEB KEFLEZIGHI: We don't know if it was food poisoning or stomach bug. Very similar to what happened in New York last year. You don't want those things, but they do happen, and it's unfortunate. Q. Wondering about the effects of the weather today. In terms of the head wind, what kind of effect that had on the pace, on the slow early miles, whether it affected the running rhythm, any of that, whether the temperature or the wind was a factor in the race today. MEB KEFLEZIGHI: The temperature was great, but with the wind it makes it a lot more difficult. Some miles we were being tactical and early on we got in the front. We knew it was going to be a tactical race on this kind of course and with the race even more tactical. Yeah, the wind was definitely a factor, but temperature-wise it was okay. I was all bundled up and trying to stay warm? Q. Could you talk a little bit, you said you were crying at 24 miles, some people said at the finish. What was that about and why? MEB KEFLEZIGHI: At 24 there was emotion. The crowd was phenomenal for me, and they said, Meb, we still love you, you're our hero, and that's why I did the New York City Marathon and why I represented our country in Athens, the good publicity that you guys have been putting on. They care for me and they know me, and that's what I was. I just couldn't help it. When I was coming in I was doing (tapping heart). I love you guys, too, and trying to make it happen. At the end I can't talk about it right now. Q. This is for both of you guys. Just in terms of the course, it was cold here, it was kind of a lap course, really hilly. What would you kind of tell the younger guys to take from this experience? ALAN CULPEPPER: Gosh, I don't know what I would tell them. I think they learned it without us telling them. I think they learned how to handle it, how to rise to the occasion, how to balance all the buildup and all the anticipation, and you're going to need that at the Olympics because at the Olympics it's a whole different level. It's not like running a big city marathon in that there's not a lot of media buildup, there's not a lot of publicity. You can kind of hide out in seclusion and do your own thing, but when you're at the race you know there's an intensity there. Personally I know Meb and I, with the prospect of having the trials here, when it was presented to me personally I thought it was a great idea in that the individuals that are able to make the team are then -- they've proven that they know how to perform at a very high level where there's a lot of attention brought to a single event, which you need at the Olympics. I thought as if making our Olympic team isn't hard enough, it was one more thing, that's the level where we are now and we've got the world we're competing against. MEB KEFLEZIGHI: I was zoning out so I don't know what the question was. Q. What would you translate from this course from -- what would you tell the young guys to take from this experience? MEB KEFLEZIGHI: Obviously Ryan answered very well. It's going to be similar, very flat, hot and humid. Ryan did exactly what I did in terms of -- I have no idea. I think they have a great coach and will be able to get advice from him, also. They're in good hands. Be precise with it, and now the focus should be Beijing. Q. Meb, you train with Ryan. What impresses you about his abilities? MEB KEFLEZIGHI: Ryan is just a very talented guy, and the most impressive thing is he can run on his own. He's up there in the front. He's a front runner, and he can just roll. That's his comfort zone and that's what happened today. He tried to do everything right and he worked hard, and it's paying off for him. Q. Based on Ryan's performance today, do you think he's really made a statement about being a medal contender next year? ALAN CULPEPPER: Oh, yeah, without a doubt. When you run 2:08 in your first marathon and then you run 2:09 waving at the crowd for two miles, the guy would have run 2:08:30 today. On this course -- Meb and I have run between us 15 marathons or something. It wasn't an easy course. You can never really get in a rhythm other than the one little stretch on the east side by the reservoir. Aside from that you're running up and down the whole time. Gosh, I think it shows he can run quite a bit faster and I think it shows he certainly is a medal contender, definitely, without a doubt. Q. Speaking to the difficulty of the course, was there anyplace on the course where you noticed a significant drop, either in yourselves or the competition? Was there a section where people were dropping off, or was it pretty much throughout the course? MEB KEFLEZIGHI: Just I think the Harlem hill, the big downhill. ALAN CULPEPPER: Yeah, I felt like -- for me that was the toughest part, the downhill. MEB KEFLEZIGHI: Especially on the fourth and fifth loop. It's supposed to be downhill, but you had to hit the brakes a little bit. For somebody like Ryan that was running in the front, probably it was easy. Q. You felt like that's where the field was gapped? MEB KEFLEZIGHI: A lot of the time that was when he made a move and kind of got away from everybody. Q. This is an event where experience at the distance is supposed to be huge. What does it say that the top two guys had two marathons between them? MEB KEFLEZIGHI: Ryan, he ran his faster debut and he won the nationals. The bottom line is was the course, hilly, flat, downhill, it tells you conditioning is important. That experience, experience is important, but by the same token you've got to be healthy, you've got to be fit. There's not rocket science there. ALAN CULPEPPER: Yeah, there's something to be said for fresh legs and naivete, too, at this distance. Honestly, experience plays a big part in how you handle a lot of the aspects of it, and knowing yourself, but also, honestly you kind of don't know what you're in for. I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing, either. Q. When your calf tightened, you realized then you couldn't do it, you couldn't stay with it? What did you feel? MEB KEFLEZIGHI: Well, I don't know how many more miles we were, but I know we were an hour and 19 into it, and I'm not going to win it, so my whole thing was just try and make the team. My plan was to come and win it, and I knew then if somebody was going to move I can't be on my toes because I'm already cramping up. Therefore I just said relax and try and get a third spot, top three. That's all I was thinking. When you can't go on your toes when moves are made, it's kind of hard to maintain the pace. It got away from me. Q. When you realized you weren't going to make the team, what happened? What did you feel? MEB KEFLEZIGHI: It's just, in your head you're supposed to -- potentially you're supposed to win coming in, and not even going to make the team. It's a big disappointment obviously. Like I said before, I felt like I was ready to win this race according to what our preparation has been, I ran pretty well, with all the workouts ahead of him -- it's just a disappointment for me not being able to make the team, but it's not the end of the world at the same time. I was hoping today would be my first win on the marathon, and it didn't happen, and I've still got to shoot for the next one. That's where I am. ALAN CULPEPPER: Just briefly, no one has asked about the crowd support, and I would feel remiss if we didn't talk about it because it was phenomenal, all the way around. The amount of people out, the excitement, the people yelling your name. If I'm noticing it when I'm having a bad day, then it was really good. So I can't imagine up in the front how they felt. Coming by right here through the main finish area was phenomenal. I'm just really thankful for the New York Road Runners and USA Track & Field and the people running tomorrow that everyone came out. It was awesome. We've come to a huge -- we've come a long way in a short period of time. I would be disappointed if we didn't talk about that because that was really a big part of this event. Q. Do you think the torch was tossed today to the younger generation of marathoners? ALAN CULPEPPER: Maybe in the marathon possibly, but I know guys like myself, Meb and Abdi aren't going to give it up easily (laughter). I have too much trust in our ability and our commitment to what we're doing, which is a good thing. That's a good thing. That's a positive all the way around. The young guys are running well, but the guys like myself and Khalid and Meb and Abdi, we don't feel like this is something we're just going to give up easily. Q. The start in the wind was very slow. That didn't really surprise many people. But between miles 5, 6, 7, what was surprising is all of a sudden it went to five guys. Meb, you decided to go with the pace, Alan, you stayed back from Ryan, Sell and Khalid. Talk a little bit about that separation. MEB KEFLEZIGHI: Whenever you're racing for a championship race, you want to get down to as few people possible, so I was feeling very comfortable and there was four guys, four or five of us, Ryan, myself, Dathan, Abdi and Dan Browne. So we were like, okay, there's just going to be three people to be on the team. That was the philosophy. I thought I had it with Ryan and Dathan and myself at one point. But my calves -- you can't respond. You've just got to roll with the punches, and that's what happened. I want to congratulate those guys. They ran a phenomenal race, and hopefully they represent our country very well. THE MODERATOR: We'd like to thank again Alan and Meb. End of FastScripts |
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