Interview with Olga Romanova
by Shannon Martin

Olga Romanova standing at an attention for the U.S. national anthem as she prepares to pace set for the 2003 ING NYC Marathon.
Photo by: Alison Wade
New York Road Runners

On Sunday September 17, in Washington DC, Olga Romanova,26, ran in the New York Road Runner’s Thomas G. Labrecque 5K Classic Presented by JPMorgan. A resident of Germantown, Maryland, Romanova ran this race for training purposes, and placed second with a time of 16:50.

A professional runner for the Russian national team, Romanova is sponsored by Nike. Her PRs include a 31:58 in the 10K, a 2:39.49 in the marathon, and a 1:11.16 in the half-marathon. In 2006, she won the Philadelphia Blue Cross Blue Shield Broad Street Run (10 Miles) in a time of 53:21. Other major road races that Romanova has won include: The Azalea Trail 10K (2004), the Aramco Houston Half-Marathon (2005), the Cooper River Bridge 10K (2005), and the Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10-Mile Run (2003). Romaova placed second in the 5000 meters at the 2001 Russian National Championships with a time of 15:32.59, and placed seventh in the 10,000 meters with a time of 32:28.91 at the 2003 Russian National Championships. Romaova placed sixth in the 4K at the 2004 World Cross Country Championships, with a time of 13:19.

Fast-women.com caught up with Romanova two days after she ran in the Thomas G. Labrecque 5K Classic.

Fast-Women.com: I understand that Sunday’s race was a training run for you. Did you enjoy yourself out there?
Olga Romanova: Actually, no I did not. I was sick all last week, so I was not feeling well in the race. It was not so fun. If I felt better, I’m sure I would have performed better.

FW: Where are you now in terms of your training? Are there any major races that you are training for?
OR: No, I’m not training for any race right now; I’m in the recovery phase of my training. I do run in races, but only for training purposes. Next week, I will be running a 10K to train. I think I may be in good shape in November, so maybe I will do a big race then.

FW: Do you have someone coaching you in Maryland?
OR: I still use Mikhail Kuznetsov, my coach in Russia. There is a person here in Maryland who is helping me out a lot though with my races; his name is Konstantin Selinevich. He is my agent and has a company called Red Square Sports that represents many great athletes. He is such a great agent and a very good person as well.

FW: That's nice to have a person here in the USA to help you out. Do you communicate often with your coach in Russia over the phone?
OR: Yes, we talk almost every day.

FW: Do you ever train in Russia?
OR: Actually, no. I was over there a month ago. I go there to see my parents, my friends, and my coach, but I don’t really train there.

FW: Did you move to the US mainly for the racing opportunities?
OR: For the races and for the good weather! It gets too cold for too long in Russia.

FW: How old were you when you started running?
OR: I have been professional for nine years and I ran for five years before that, so overall, I have been running for fourteen years.

FW: Wow, that’s impressive. So basically, you started running when you were 12 and became professional at 17. How did you transition into professional running?
OR: Well for the first five years of my running, it was for school. So, it was not so serious. I ran for fun. Then, after I finished school, I met Mikhail Kuznetsov, who is a very good coach. He coaches Valentina Yegorova. She made both the 1992 and 1996 Olympic teams. She won the gold medal in the marathon in 1992, and the silver medal in 1996 [also in the marathon].

When Mikhail began to work with me, I started to reach higher levels quickly. He also helped me to overcome any doubts that I had. I achieved things I never dreamed of, like winning the 10,000 in the European Under 23 meet [2001], coming in second at the European Cross Country Championships [2001], winning the Russian Cross Country Championships in 2004, and coming in sixth at the 2004 World Cross Country Championships. But now things are different because for the past few years, I’m always injured.

FW: You are certainly performing well in road races for someone who is injured!
OR: Well, I am starting to feel better.

FW: Do you treat your injuries using physical therapy or massage?
OR: I see a physical therapist, a massage therapist, and then I get other special therapies. I get a lot of treatment!

FW: You were a pace setter for a few marathons and you ran the Honolulu Marathon in 2003. Do you think that you will be avoiding marathons for a while because of your injures?
OR: Yes, I will not be doing a marathon for some time, not until I feel that I am fully recovered.

FW: What is your favorite distance to run?
OR: I have three best distances: the 10K, the 10-Mile and the Half-Marathon.

FW: I think the 10-Mile is a great distance. Let’s talk a bit about your Broad Street Run win. That happens to be one of my all-time favorite races. I like that it is straight the whole way and relatively flat.
OR: Yes, that race is great. I love it. I like races where you start in one place and finish in a totally different place. It was good running it this year,

FW: And you were close to breaking the course record.
OR: While I was running, I didn’t know that I was close to breaking a record [Romanova ran a 53:21; the course record of 53:07 was set by Catherine Ndereba in 1999]. If I would have known that, I would have pushed it a little more. It’s something maybe I can do in the future.

Interview conducted on September 19, 2006, and posted on September 21, 2006.

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