Interview with Kate Irvin
by Maureen McMurray

Kate Irvin leads the field in the 800 meters at the 2005 USATF National Club Track & Field Championships in New York City. (Photo by Alison Wade/New York Road Runners)

For many college athletes, when they toss their caps at graduation they also have to toss in the competitive towel. For distance runners, however, the post-collegiate possibilities are seemingly endless. The rising popularity of 5Ks, 10Ks, half-marathons and the crown jewel of them all, the marathon, has made competing after college a viable option. But middle-distance runners face a different reality. Most 800 and 1,500 meter runners, with the exception of elite runners looking to the Olympic Trials, either bump up to longer road racing distances, or stop competing all together.

Kate Irvin, a 10-time All-American at Middlebury College and one of Division III's finest middle-distance runners, has transcended these barriers and proven it is possible to keep at it even without the sponsorship deals. When she graduated in 2001, her PRs stood at 10:14 for 3,000 meters, 4:34 for 1,500 meters, and 2:12 for 800 meters. Now, as a member of the New York City-based Central Park Track Club, she has bested all of her college times and boasts a 9:55 (3,000m), 4:26 (1,500m), and a 2:10 (800m).

She outran the local competition at last month's Continental Airlines Fifth Avenue Mile and won the NYRR Road Mile Championship in a time of 4:50.1. If her recent performances are any indication, it seems her star is on the verge of a major ascent. We joined her to talk about her transition from Division III middle-distance racing to post-collegiate competition.

Fast-Women.com: What were the years like after college? Did you know if you wanted to compete?
Kate Irvin: I ran on and off. I missed competing, but I didn't know how to get back into it. Once I didn't have nationals to qualify for, or championship meets to run, I had a hard time keeping myself focused. I didn't have a team and I didn't have a plan. I think it's hard for a lot of college runners. You graduate and you're used to running high mileage, so going out for a four-mile run seems like you're not doing anything. I almost had to get completely out of shape to want to run again. I actually did get to the point where four miles felt like I was really accomplishing something. Eventually I built back up to 50 miles per week, but it took time.

FW: You were a successful middle-distance runner in college, how difficult was the transition for you after college?
KI: I actually thought I was through with competitive running when I graduated from college. I moved to Park City, Utah, and I ran there, but inconsistently. Some weeks I'd run 10 miles, other weeks 40 miles. Then I traveled for six months with my sister, who is also a runner, through Southeast Asia, Australia, and New Zealand. The first few months of traveling, we were in Asia just taking busses around and we didn't run a step. When we got to Australia, we started to run again.

FW: What were your focus events in college?
KI: I competed in cross country, and during indoor and outdoor track I always ran a few 3,000s, but primarily I was a middle-distance runner: 800, 1,500, 4x400.

FW: Do you have a favorite distance?
KI: I've always thought of the 1,500 as my event. I was a miler in high school and a 1,500 meter runner in college. What I like most about it is that you have to train specifically for it, but can be versatile. With 1,500 training under my belt, I was always able to race a 400, 800 or a 3K if I had to.

FW: When did you decide that you wanted to return to competition? Was there a particular moment when you realized this was something you wanted to do again?
KI: I started running seriously again when I moved to New York. I had a friend who joined the Central Park Track Club and I went to a few practices. As it turned out, they have a really great middle-distance program. One instance that stands out is when I ran a mile at one of the Thursday Night Races at the Armory [a winter all-comers series in New York]. I hadn't really raced that distance since college, and I was doing it as a fun thing. I was so out of shape that I didn't even know if I could break 6:00, but I ran a 5:31 and I was really happy with it. From that point on, I just wanted to dive back into it.

FW: There are so many running clubs in New York. Did you shop around? Why did you choose Central Park Track Club?
KI: After my trip, I moved back to Atlanta [where she grew up], and realized running was an important part of my life. So one of my considerations when moving to New York was having a community to run in. What first made me consider Central Park Track Club is that I had college friends on the team. I looked into other teams, but chose Central Park because they have two structured workouts a week and a great middle-distance program.

FW: Has team camaraderie always been important to you?
KI: I've been fortunate that I've always been on strong teams with very supportive coaches. I went to the Westminster Schools in Atlanta and running was a very big deal there. Our high school was small, but the cross country team had about 80 girls and 80 boys. Middlebury was very similar. We were certainly competitive, but it's always been a lot of fun. So I think I looked for that in my post-collegiate experience as well.

FW: When did you first start running? Was there a specific point when you realized that this was something you were good at?
KI: I ran my first race in the second grade — the kids' section of the Peachtree Junior Road Race in Atlanta. I ran so hard that I actually threw up after the race. I guess it was then that I realized I was a serious competitor. But I didn't start to actually race until junior high school.

FW: Are your goals different from what they were in college? Can you be a middle-distance runner in New York?
KI: New York Road Runners puts together some great indoor and outdoor track races, and I travel to a fair amount of meets, so I can definitely be a middle-distance runner here.

My goals haven't really changed, but my attitude and focus are different. I chose to run in college and I loved it. But back then, it was understood that I was on a team and we all went to meets on weekends. Now it's a choice I make on my own every single week. I have to decide, 'Am I going to rent a car and drive to Boston for this race?' For me, those choices place more importance on every race. As a result, I'm learning to run more tactically and to focus on specific goals, rather than racing every weekend like I did in college.

FW: How do you set your goals now?
KI: Usually I choose one or two meets where I want to be at my peak and then my coach, Devon Martin, and I work backwards. For example, this year I knew I wanted to be in top form in July for the [USATF National Club Track & Field Championships] at Icahn Stadium. So we worked back from there and figured out what kinds of workouts I should do and which races I should compete in.

FW: In college and high school, racing is broken up into three distinct seasons, cross country, indoor track and outdoor track. How do you break up your seasons now?
KI: Surprisingly, that's still how I break it up. Right now, I am focusing on the USATF Club Cross Country Championships in November. After that, I'll shift my focus to indoor track with the end goal being the USATF Indoor Championships, and then it's on to outdoor track. Sometimes when I talk to my track friends from college and tell them that I'm doing three seasons, I take a step back and say, 'Really? Am I really still doing this?' But I love it more than ever. It's just a great way to live in the city.

FW: How often do you race?
KI: I try to race once every two weeks, sometimes every three weeks. If I race every weekend, I get burnt out. It's a lot of traveling, and in New York you have a busy lifestyle. Working, fitting in proper training, and racing every weekend, it's too overwhelming.

FW: Has your training changed much since college? What workouts do you feel are most effective for you?
KI: I do fewer interval workouts now, but they are more challenging. One workout I need to do to feel like I am in good mile shape is 800 meter repeats at mile pace. In college, I did more 400 meter repeats, and I think that was all I could really handle back then. Now knowing that I can do 3 x 700 meters at mile pace, or sets of 800m-400m-800m with little rest, mentally prepares me for races and has made me a more confident runner. And my mentality is different. After work, it takes me an hour to get to the track, so once I'm there I am serious about getting a good workout in.

FW: What is your weekly mileage?
KI: I never go much higher than 55 miles per week and [during the] competitive track season it's more like 45. So it's pretty low mileage for a post-collegiate runner.

FW: What do you think has allowed you to break through your college times?
KI: In college I was never as disciplined as I could have been. I never really put in a great summer of training, so every year I was racing myself back into shape during cross country. I could always run well by the end of the season, but looking back, if I had been more serious about summer training, I could have been a better runner. I think I also allowed myself to believe that cross country just wasn't my thing, so I wound up being mediocre.

This will be the first year I've ever done a consistent year of training, and it's paying off. I still don't think of myself as a cross country runner, but I work out with our distance runners in Central Park at least once a week. So knowing I can do a four-mile tempo run with male marathoners is certainly a confidence booster going into the track season.

FW: Has running on a club team in New York changed your attitudes about running?
KI: Absolutely. Now I am running with men and women of all different ages, and I'm around a lot of great masters. We have men on our team who are running faster times than when they were in college and they are 40 years. Sid Howard, a Central Park Track Club runner, is like a rock star at the Armory. It's really inspiring to know if I wanted to, I could run competitively for 40 or 50 more years.

I don't think many kids in college know it exists. You either think you have to graduate and be one of the top runners who gets the deal with Nike and is immediately competing in the Olympic Trials, or you might as well give it up or run marathons recreationally. And marathons are great, but if you're an 800 runner in college it doesn't really make sense. So it's been great to move to New York and realize that there are other options

FW: How does the rural setting of Middlebury, Vermont compare to New York? Do you have a preference between rural and urban training?
KI: There are certainly times when I miss rural running. Middlebury was very beautiful. On Sundays my team went on its 12-mile run along dirt roads that passed by farms, and our track was at the base of the Green Mountains. But I love Central Park. When I go home to Atlanta, before my runs I often think, 'Which way do I want to go? Which route do I want to run?'. Now I know I am coming to Central Park everyday. To a lot of people I guess running the same 2.5-mile loop over and over would seem boring, but I always run into my teammates in the Park and I never have to run alone. I get to hear about someone's day, their love life, their frustrations at work, so it's like meeting friends for happy hour, but we're also getting our run in.

FW: Do you have any future goals? Do you think you'll stick with middle distance? KI: I will just see where training takes me. I've already shaved off more time from my PRs in college than I ever expected, and I think I have the potential to run much faster. In terms of taking it to the next level, I'm just beginning to learn what I'm capable of. But who knows. I thought I was through with running after college and now I am breaking my college times. I am always surprising myself.

FW: If you decided to try to take it to the next level do you think you could work, train, and live in New York?
KI: New York is a great training environment because of all the clubs and the New York Road Runner races. But with all the training, lifting, and travel that kind of racing would entail, it would be very difficult to have a full-time job and be an elite runner, and you wouldn't have much of a life beyond running. I enjoy where I am right now and I'm not sure if I am ready for that.

FW: And the question every runner is asked, do you think you'll do the marathon?
KI: It could be a lot of fun and I am certainly tempted. But I like what I'm doing now, so maybe sometime farther down the road.