Interview with Magdalena Lewy Boulet
by Pat Goodwin

Magdalena Lewy Boulet running in the 2004 USA Olympic Marathon Trials, where she placed fifth.
Photo by: Alison Wade
New York Road Runners

Magdalena Lewy Boulet, 33, will run the ING New York City Marathon on November 5. She finished fifth at the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team Trials in a personal best time of 2:30:50, and has her eye on achieving an ‘A’ qualifying time for the 2008 marathon trials. To date, she has completed seven marathons, including wins at San Francisco in 2002, Pittsburgh also in 2002, and the OC Marathon in January 2006.

Lewy Boulet had a baby in May 2005 and has been working on returning to form over the past year-and-a-half. In May 2006, she ran the ING Bay to Breakers 12K in San Francisco and finished seventh overall and was the first American in 42:07. In June 2006 she ran the Circle of Friends New York Mini 10K in New York and finished in 18th place in 34:26. Then in August, she was second at America’s Finest City Half Marathon in San Diego in 1:16:26, where she was quoted as saying “Running helps me to get away from my hectic life.”

Originally from Poland, Lewy Boulet left her native country in 1989 with her family and lived in Germany until 1991, when they immigrated to the United States. She became a U.S. citizen on September 11, 2001, with the ceremony cut short by the tragic events of the day. She was an All-American at 5000 meters at the University of California-Berkeley where she received her bachelor’s degree in human biodynamics in 1997, followed by a master’s degree in exercise physiology from Cal State-Hayward. She is Director of Research and Development at GU Sports, which manufactures GU, an energy and electrolyte gel supplement.

“Magda” lives in Oakland, California, with her husband, six-time All-American runner at Cal and former elite miler Richie Boulet, and son, Owen. Fast-women reached her at work in between meetings where she said it was easier for her to take calls “because when I get home I am with my 17-month-old son.”

Fast-Women.com: I can imagine that you have a pretty hectic schedule with work, family, and running. How has your training been going leading up to New York?
Madalena Lewy Boulet: My highest week leading up to New York has been about 110 miles but mostly I’ve been running around 80 miles a week. Before the Trials in 2004 I was more at 100 miles per week and peaked at 120. I would have to say I’m not as well prepared for the marathon as I was in 2004 with everything going on right now. It is mainly because I have had to make some sacrifices due to time commitments of being a mom and having a job. Yet I’m still trying to satisfy my competitive personality and I’m trying to make the Olympic team.

FW: What is your goal at New York?
MLB: My strategy is pretty simple. It’s to get out there and walk away with an “A” qualifier and get ready for a very consistent year of training. I do have a goal time in mind. Just knowing the course, I know it’s not super fast but it is nice and rolling and you can get into a good rhythm. I am going to try and run an even pace and do my own race.

FW: Have you run the ING New York City Marathon before?
MLB: This will be my first attempt to run the entire marathon at New York. In 2003, I paced Jen Rhines and Sylvia Mosqueda to the top of the Queensboro Bridge, which is about mile 15. Everyone says that is the point where the excitement really begins so I have been hungry to get back and go past that bridge and do the other part of the race.

FW: You just missed making the U.S. Olympic team by finishing fifth at the 2004 marathon trials. Blake Russell took the lead at the gun and eventually faded to fourth; Deena Kastor took over the lead at around mile 16 and looked like the winner until Colleen De Reuck passed her toward the end and won the race. Jen Rhines ended up in third place. You were in the mix with Jen for quite awhile, running with her from mile five to 22. When you look back at that race, what are your thoughts?
MLB: Obviously I was very well prepared for that race. I knew I could break 2:30 on that day but it didn’t happen. Between 22 and 23 miles I had a weak point that lasted for about a mile-and-a-half. I was running with Jen but she pulled away from me at mile 23. I got back into a rhythm during the last couple of miles but by then it was a little bit too late to get into the top three.

FW: Since the 2004 Trials, you’ve had a baby. Were you able to run through your pregnancy and start training again fairly quickly after he was born in May 2005?
MLB: I was very lucky because I had an easy pregnancy. I was very comfortable running throughout the entire nine months. Of course I was only doing about a third of the mileage I used to do, around 40 to 50 miles a week, but even the day before I gave birth, I was out there putting one foot in front of the other and did 8 miles that day. However, it was trickier after my son was born. I had a c-section because he was a breach baby. It was a surgery. That was the hardest part for me because I couldn’t run at first. I walked for the first couple of weeks after he was born and then swam for a couple of weeks after that. It took me a month before I could start running again.

FW: When did you start competing again? It looks like you’ve done quite a bit of racing in the last year, finishing first or second in a number of Bay Area races, along with some more high profile events.
MLB: My first race after Owen was born was in August 2005. You are out of racing for over nine months and you want to get the competitive feeling again, so you get back on the starting line and start going through the motion of racing even though you might not be completely ready. I use racing as a workout. I use it as preparation.

FW: Who is your coach?
MLB: Jack Daniels [well-known running coach, professor of exercise science and sports studies, and author of Daniels Running Formula] has been my coach since 2002. He is an amazing individual and an awesome coach.

FW: Didn’t you used to do some coaching as well at your alma mater?
MLB: I helped coach at Cal for six or seven years in a row but I’m not able to fit it in now. When it comes to coaching and showing up to workouts with the team, I do miss it. One of the guys who ran for Cal that I coached, Carlos Carballo, is also doing the ING New York City Marathon. It will be his second marathon. He got an Olympic Trials qualifier at the L.A. Marathon. He ran 2:19:12.

FW: When do you do your training and do you run with anyone else?
MLB: I am pretty close to fulltime at work so I get up at 5 a.m. and get my training done early in the morning. Monday through Thursday I work a full day and then Friday, I usually bring my son with me if I need to go in to work. He really likes my office. My husband has a very flexible schedule so he helps out a lot during the week. He’s very supportive of my running. Whenever my husband can join me for a workout I appreciate that but 95 percent of my training is by myself. I used to be part of a farm team but they have since moved out of the area so I run for Transports adidas now.

FW: You are Director of Research and Development at GU Sports with four people reporting to you. Tell us a little about your job.
MLB: I love my job and the company I work for. They are very supportive of my personal goals as an athlete. I feel very fortunate that I can do something that I really enjoy, that I studied for in school, and that it also relates to my passion, which is running.

FW: Have you done a marathon since the 2004 Trials?
MLB: I ran the OC Marathon last January and won but the time was 2:50:41. It was nothing really competitive. I just wanted to throw myself into the distance of 26.2 miles and cover the ground. Then I attempted to do the L.A. Marathon but I came down with bad stomach flu and had to withdraw. I brought my son with me to L.A. and he got sick so then I got sick after that. My husband is coming out with me to New York but we’ve decided to leave our son with his grandma. It was a hard decision but I don’t want to take a chance on getting sick again.

FW: What will be next after New York?
MLB: First of all, I am really excited to be back in New York. The New York Road Runners have been so wonderful to all the athletes. There is no better race to come to and try and run your best. After this race, I think I would like to do a spring marathon, possibly Boston, which is the site of the USA Women’s Marathon Championships in 2007. Then I will just train, pass on doing a fall marathon, and get ready for the trials. Before the 2008 trials, I hope I can get up to fulltime training and reduce my hours at work.

FW: What do you think about the U.S. Women’s Olympic Team Trials being in Boston in 2008?
MLB: I am very excited that the trials will be in Boston because there is so much history there and it is a great place to run. I’m sure the event will be very successful for both the athletes and the spectators.

Interview conducted on October 19, 2006, and posted on October 25, 2006.

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