Interview with Lindsey Gallo
by Elizabeth Ben-Ishai

Lindsey Gallo anchors Michigan's winning DMR at the 2005 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships. (Photo by Alison Wade/New York Road Runners)

At this year's NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships, graduate student Lindsey Gallo anchored the University of Michigan's distance medley relay to victory. Gallo also placed an impressive third in the individual mile (4:41.52). Dedicated to her team's goals, Gallo has consistently run multiple events at conference meets. At the Big Ten Championships this year Gallo won the mile, 3,000m, and 5,000m. Gallo set an indoor personal best this season running a 4:37.97 mile. Last summer, she competed at the U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials in the 1,500m (4:09.94). Over the past five years while competing for Michigan, Gallo's persistence has paid off. She is now a major factor not only in college distance running but at the national level. We spoke with Gallo about her recent successes and about the ups and downs of her college career.

Fast-Women.com: Tell me a little about your experience at the NCAA Indoor Championships. Let's start with the distance medley. Did you guys feel pretty confident going into that?
Lindsey Gallo: Well, I was confident in the other girls… Everyone's been working out really well. They all had a really good Big Ten meet. But I was most nervous about myself, because I had a race earlier that day. So, I was really nervous and I didn't want to let them down. But I thought, you know, that we were the strongest team out there if we all could have our best day. And it worked out pretty well for us.

FW: Did you feel a lot of pressure running the anchor leg?
LG: Yeah, well T — Theresa [Feldkamp] — put us in a really good position and I thought, 'Well now it's up to me.' I got in a big group of almost everyone, except the North Carolina girl [Cassie King] was pretty far out. So I knew that I could get pretty much any place, depending on a couple of seconds. I was definitely really nervous the whole way.

FW: From the pictures it looked like you got them at the end with your finishing kick.
LG: Yeah, I wanted to conserve as much energy as possible because, you know, Sara Bei from Stanford and Marina Muncan from Villanova were definitely the strongest anchors in the field. They're both amazing runners and they have both beaten me in the past, so I just wanted to stay as close to them as possible and wait until the very end.

FW: Was it exciting going in as a favorite?
LG: Yeah, I mean we got 10th my sophomore year and seventh my junior year, so I knew we were going to improve on those places. And to go in with a chance of winning was really cool. Michigan has had two other teams win so it's something that we really were focused on all season.

FW: Has it been a similar team every year — the same girls?
LG: Theresa's been on it for two years but it was Nicole [Edwards] and Sierra [Hauser-Price's] first year on it.

FW: what was it like having the men's team also win the DMR? Do the men's and women's teams interact much? What's that relationship like?
LG: It was great to also have the men's team win the DMR. The only disappointing part was that we couldn't celebrate their victory with them because we didn't hear about the Arkansas DQ until we were up in drug testing. The men's and women's teams here are pretty close. The cross country teams go to camp together before school starts, so you form that bond with the men's team early on. When we go to meets together we all cheer for each other like we're one big team, so at NCAAs we were really pulling for each other. We had about 20 guys and 10 girls drive down together to watch and they were definitely the second loudest cheering section after Arkansas. That made celebrating the victories even more fun, because we had so many teammates to share it with, and the guys were just as excited for us as the girls. It was great.

FW: So what about the mile — what was your goal going into that race?
LG: Well I definitely thought I could win it after the DMR, because I felt really good in the DMR. I was like, 'All right, I feel like I can definitely win it.' But I think that the extra race took a little bit out of me. So, I'm not too disappointed. I stayed with the pace as long as I could. Anne Shadle from Nebraska ran a really smart race, so she did a really great job and it didn't work out exactly as I wanted. Outdoors, since I only have the 1,500 I'm hoping it's a different volume…

FW: I've been impressed with the amount of racing you've done. In particular at Big Ten's you did a huge distance triple [she won the 1,500, 3,000, and 5,000m]. Were you concerned that you would be fatigued from running all of those races?
LG: I wasn't really thinking about how I'd feel after the races. I wanted to do what I could for the team, and I knew that the team was counting on me and we needed those points. I came to Michigan to be a part of a great team and win team titles, so that always comes first in my mind… I didn't want to sacrifice any of my team goals for individual [goals]. Because I have a future of running, maybe, but this is my only opportunity to be part of a team.

FW: How did you decide to run those three events? Was it something you decided with your coach?
LG: I've actually done that triple two other times, but never really very successfully. I knew I was going to do the mile and the 3K. I was seeded first in both of those going in, so I felt pretty confident about [them]. My coach said, 'We might need you to go to the line for the 5K if it's a close meet.' So, I knew that that was a possibility the whole time.

FW: Have you run many 5Ks before this season?
LG: I've only run one before that wasn't part of a Big Ten meet. So 16:28 was my PR by kind of a lot. I've only really run one outdoors, and this one was my best by far.

FW: So do you think that you might want to move up to the 5K in the future?
LG: Um, I wouldn't go that far [laughs]. You know, it's a good race if you're having a good day and it's the toughest race if you're having a bad day. But I'm going to try to run a fast one outdoors, because I'm feeling pretty good about my strength right now.

FW: How much has your mile PR improved in the past season?
LG: I PRed by three seconds in the mile indoors. I think it wasn't quite as fast as we wanted [based on] my outdoor time, but I've been working quite a lot on my strength as opposed to my speed indoors so that I can hopefully have a good spring and summer season.

FW: Let's go back a little bit in time. When did you first get serious about running? Were you a competitive runner in high school?
LG: Yeah, I was a competitive runner in high school. I had pretty good PRs coming in to Michigan, so I knew pretty early on in high school that running was something I wanted to do.

FW: How did you get started in running?
LG: My dad actually ran in high school, so he encouraged me to try it. I knew I wanted to do a sport in high school, but I didn't know which one. Initially, in middle school, I did it with my friends because it was coed and we thought that would be fun [laughs]. But then I was having success at it so I decided to stay with it.

FW: So it looks like your first few years at Michigan were pretty solid, but then you broke through at some point. Can you talk about what it was like those first few years and then how things turned around?
LG: The first few years were really frustrating. I didn't hit my high school times until my junior year of college, which was very frustrating, and sort of [discouraging]. So I was working really hard, but it just wasn't happening for me. But I think all that happened was at the end of my sophomore year, I decided to commit myself a little more to running, because I think I was getting distracted by other college activities. You know, I was trying to balance having an active social life with being a good runner. I just sort of realized that you have to make sacrifices in order to become the best runner you can. Now I'm able to balance it much better and I think that's made all the difference for me. I had a lot of injury problems my first two years… I think I had four or five stress fractures my first two years. But I've learned how to read my body a little bit better, like when I need to take a day off or when I need to go to the training room. I've been able to stay injury-free for a while now. That really helps, having the continuous training.

FW: I know a lot of runners experience that at the beginning of college and it can be really discouraging. So how did you keep yourself motivated and not give up?
LG: That was really hard, but we have such a good support system on the team, with the other girls. So everyone just encourages each other and everyone's been there… You have upperclassmen telling you, 'That's okay, it happened to me.' Also, I think my coach [Mike McGuire] never really gave up on me and so I never really felt like I was letting him down. He always looked to the future and thought I was going to break out some day.

FW: Michigan has a strong distance program; especially over the past few years it seems to be regaining strength. What's it like, in general, to run for Michigan?
LG: It's great. I've obviously had a lot of success here and the program's been great for me. We just have a lot of girls who want to work really hard and build this program up, and it's really worked. My sophomore year we didn't make NCAAs in cross country and then two years later we were fourth. I think that speaks to the dedication of the girls on the team right now. And we have a relatively large team, but I think that helps because there is always a training group for people to be in. I mean, every year now we get recruits who want to be part of a team where they're going to be challenged. Those are the kind of girls we attract and we're just going to get better, hopefully.

FW: How did you initially decide to come to Michigan?
LG: Well, I came on my visit and I just really liked the campus and the people and the school spirit. I wanted to be part of a really strong team, because I didn't have that in high school. So that was one of my big things. Michigan has one of the best combinations of academics and athletics, I think, that you can get. So that was pretty much the selling point for me.

FW: Speaking of academics, you're doing a master's right now. What are you studying?
LG: Accounting.

FW: Was it your plan all along to have a fifth year so that you could get a master's degree?
LG: Actually, when I wasn't running well at first, I just wanted to get out of college in four years and forget that I even tried to run. But then I started running well and I was like, 'Uh oh I don't think I can graduate in five years, I'm going to be done.' There would just be no way to extend it. So I was in the business school and I really enjoyed accounting, so it seemed like a good fit to just try to get a master's.

FW: So did you redshirt because of injuries?
LG: Yeah. I redshirted my freshman year because of injuries.

FW: Is it difficult to balance the demands of your academic life with running?
LG: Yeah, it's really hard. I tried to make it so that I had more classes in the fall, because I didn't have cross country eligibility. It's tough, but I'm pretty used to having to do it because I took a full course load every semester as an undergrad. It was easier this year because I didn't have to race in the fall, so I got to do other things, like I was a GSI [Graduate Student Instructor] and I took 18 credits. So I had a busy fall and not as busy of a winter.

FW: Do you want to work as an accountant when you are done? What's your plan after this year?
LG: Well, I'm still considering maybe running full time after this, but also I have a job with a consulting firm. So not accounting, but still business. I'm just deciding between the two things right now.

FW: If you were to run professionally, would you stay in Ann Arbor?
LG: I'm not sure what I would do. I really like my situation right now. I'm really happy with Mike as my coach. I just have to evaluate what's the best for my running. But right now, I think I'd probably stay around here.

FW: Tell me about your training and what it's looked like over the past year. What's a typical week for you?
LG: So far this year I've done mostly strength work. A week would be… Sunday would be a long run, somewhere around 12 miles, maybe a little more. And then we'll do a long workout on Monday, so maybe a four mile tempo run or a long ladder. During the week our easy days are 6-8 miles and then [we do] another workout that's usually shorter. Then pretty much every weekend, I race. So that's what my Saturday is like.

FW: And what's your typical mileage like?
LG: I run probably between 50 and 60 miles a week. I'm pretty low mileage, I think, relative to [other] people.

FW: Has your training changed much over the years?
LG: My mileage hasn't changed much. I think I came in at about 40 and now I'm at 60. My intensity has improved a lot, and I've become a lot stronger, so I think I'm better in the longer workouts. When I came, I wasn't very good at the long stuff.

FW: Does the team do a lot of lifting or other strength work?
LG: We lift twice a week. We try to lift as much as possible. It's really good for injury prevention, so I try to be good about it.

FW: Is there a group that you typically train with?
LG: Well I train a lot with one of our freshman right now, Alyson Kohlmeier. She's a really great training partner, especially for the tempo stuff. She's amazing. I can't believe how she works out as a freshman! And then when Rebecca Walter isn't injured, I work out with her a lot. I'll probably do some workouts with Katie Erdman outdoors and the other 800m girls like Nicole Edwards and Theresa Feldkamp on my shorter days.

FW: Is your training different between cross country and track?
LG: Yeah, cross country is all mostly base, my mileage is a little higher. I do a lot harder long runs. But outdoors the emphasis is on the quality of the speed workouts, so I do a lot more speed work outdoors.

FW: What kind events will you be running outdoors?
LG: Outdoors I'll be doing the 1,500m and I like to do the 800m sometimes. Early in the season I'd like to get a 5K in, but I'm definitely focusing on the 1,500m and that's what I'll be running at nationals… Hopefully I'll be running at nationals. That's my number one goal.

FW: Do you have any long-term goals in running?
LG: Well, if I keep running, I think to make the Olympics. I think that's every professional runner's goal. That's definitely what I'd be looking toward. I got to go to the Olympic Trials last summer and that was great. It really motivated me to keep going and try to reach that goal.

(Interview conducted March 17, 2005, and posted March 23, 2005.)