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ING NEW YORK CITY MARATHON

November 6, 2011

Jennie Finch

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK

RICHARD FINN: Congratulations, Jennie. Just an opening comment about what it was like out there, and maybe how much different it was for you, especially from a softball or anything else that you've ever done as an athlete?
JENNIE FINCH: Sure. I've never compared anything to the Olympic games. And I would have to put that right up there with it. It was absolutely incredible just to be a part of a huge event and an international event at that. When I think of the Olympics, I think of how it unifies the world, and that's truly what the New York City Marathon does and did, and is all about: It was wild, crazy. It was -- I don't know -- absurdly fun all the way.

Q. Was it as painful as you expected? More painful?
JENNIE FINCH: You know, you prepare for the worst. My longest run was 19 before this, but you know, I feel the pain, but it really -- you're just feeding off the energy, and you just want to finish so bad.

Q. Apolo Ohno was talking about the differences in training for this versus what he does. Obviously, softball and marathoning, not quite the same thing. How did you find the training to be and how did you find the differences from this event versus what you do?
JENNIE FINCH: You know, running is a small part of softball, where this is just running. So it was very different, but very similar in so many ways. Definitely I think the mental toughness side of softball carried through and carried me through all 26.2 miles and all of the hours training. But just seeing so many different causes and so many different people running for so many different things, and just it was incredible, incredible. It's a day I'll never forget.

Q. What was it like passing people in the race?
JENNIE FINCH: Good and bad. People don't like to be passed, and it's crowded. So at the beginning, I don't know. I was scared. I was like uh-oh, there goes some rough emails coming my way.
Because I had awesome coaches and they were trying to clear the way to breakthrough because obviously we had a time we wanted to get to and a number that we wanted to race for charity.
But it was great. A lot of cheers along the way, so it was very encouraging.

Q. Do you have any idea how many people you passed?
JENNIE FINCH: I don't. I heard in about half an hour we'll know.
RICHARD FINN: Yeah, we'll get it as soon as we can, but since the race is still going on, it's kind of tough. But we think it's going to be a lot.

Q. What about the last couple miles?
JENNIE FINCH: The last couple miles, I feel good. I was able to sprint to the finish line, so to be able to do that I think I was feeling pretty good. Those last 300 yards, you see the finish line, and I had my girls just saying, "all right, there's 50 bucks for your charity, come on, we've got to get there." So we kind of kicked it to the next gear and dug a little deeper, and I got to the finish line as fast as I could.

Q. Will you do another one?
JENNIE FINCH: The first ten miles I was like, "I'm going to do this again." Then right now, I don't know. Ask me maybe in an hour. But I can definitely see me doing it again.

Q. What is next for you? The next challenge?
JENNIE FINCH: I don't have anything right now. I'm just going to enjoy this and I'm anxious to see how much money we're able to raise for the New York Runners youth programs, and book promotions. I just came out with my book, "Throw Like a Girl", and we'll see what the next big challenge is.

Q. How are you feeling now that you've completed this? And did you meet your goal?
JENNIE FINCH: I beat my goal. My coach said we were supposed to be around 4:10 was the goal, and I was at 4:05, so very, very good. It was incredible. It's something so very special, and I feel honored to have been a part of something so big and so beyond yourself. Everyone running for different causes, it was so empowering and such a selfless event. It was phenomenal. Like I said, I don't really compare this to the Olympics, but I would definitely put this up there with the Olympic games.

Q. Was there anything that somebody said or did while you were running that sticks out in your mind?
JENNIE FINCH: Where do I begin? So many things and so many signs on the back of people's shirts and "Imagine a Cancer Free World." People in he wheelchairs. It was just incredible.
I teared up I think 20 times throughout the race. It was amazing and incredible. Bible verses, prayers, my kids, so many different things. Then the last five miles, "for the kids, for the kids, for the kids," so I was trying to book it, and kick it into another gear those last five miles.
RICHARD FINN: I think on Thursday you said you were ready to pound the pavement. You pounded it, huh?
JENNIE FINCH: I pounded it. I sure did. And my legs are telling me that I pounded it.
RICHARD FINN: We congratulate Jenny for her efforts, for her cause, and we thank our sponsor Timex for raising moneys for our youth programs. We welcome you back if you want to come and run again, this is the place to do it.
JENNIE FINCH: Amazing.
RICHARD FINN: Thank you, Jenny.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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