2005 USA OUTDOOR TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS
Interview with Lauren Fleshman
Reported by Parker Morse

Lauren Fleshman. (Photo by Alison Wade/New York Road Runners)

The women's 5,000m might have been a high-powered, high-tension nail-biter as it was at the 2004 U.S. Olympic Trials, with many of the same players. Instead, Shalane Flanagan established a gap on the field before the second kilometer mark, a gap which expanded to as much as 12 seconds during the race, and which never closed. Flanagan won in 15:10.96.

The second pack, in addition to expected favorites like Carrie Tollefson and Shayne Culpepper, included Amy Yoder Begley, Amy Rudolph, Lauren Fleshman, and Sara Bei. With two laps remaining, it was Fleshman who took off, with Rudolph in pursuit; Fleshman would take second in 15:16.80, with Rudolph third in 15:18.92. Fleshman does not currently have an "A" qualifier for the World Championships; if she is unable to get one before the qualifying period closes, the third spot on the team will go to Culpepper, who finished fourth in 15:28.31.

Q: So, what are you going to do about an "A" standard?
Lauren Fleshman: I'm going to Europe. I'll run in Rome and Stockholm. I think Stockholm is the last day of qualifying, so if I don't have it there, it's over. [Note: Fleshman got the "A" standard in Rome, so she will be representing the U.S. at the World Championships in August.]

Q: Did this race work out well for you?
LF: I ran the race I planned. I was pleased with how it came out. I've never had booty like that in the last 100m. I think you could say I scooted across the line, I didn't run. But I scooted with style.

Q: How were the conditions?
LF: We could feel the breeze out there. The temperature was nice. I was glad [the start] got delayed because that made it cool down even more. It's great, the crowd was cheering, and we had such a big pack of women all together, still, with about four laps to go. I didn't anticipate that, when I was thinking about how the race would end up.

Q: Is it harder to keep your nerves in check in a big pack like that?
LF: The whole time I was thinking, 'Argh! I should've gone with Shalane!' The whole time, I could tell we were letting her go. You could tell that everybody in the pack was thinking they wanted to go after her, but anybody that went would have to go it alone, in the wind.

Q: Did she actually make a push?
LF: She made a push after, I think, a mile. We stayed at 75s and she went to about 72s.

(Interview conducted June 23, 2005.)