Interview with Benita Johnson
by Pat Goodwin

Benita Johnson running in the 2005 Mini 10K, where she placed third in 32:24 behind Lornah Kiplagat and Jelena Prokopcuka. Photo by: Alison Wade New York Road Runners

Fresh off a resounding victory in 15:22 at the Freihofer’s Run for Women 5K on June 2 – her second consecutive win in Albany - Benita Johnson, 27, is excited about her prospects at the NYRR New York Mini 10K on June 9. It’s a far cry from how the Australian felt earlier this spring after finishing a “disappointing” Flora London Marathon. Although seventh-place finish in 2:29:47 was certainly respectable, for Johnson it was a difficult race during which she had hamstring cramping and got sick along the course.

Until her bump in the road at London, Johnson had been on a wonderful run. In 2006, she finished fourth in both the IAAF World Cross Country 8K and 4K races in Japan, leading her Australian team to a bronze medal in the 4K. She finished a close second to Catherine Ndereba at the inaugural NYC Half-Marathon Presented by NIKE, then ran a personal best and national record 2:22:36 at the LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon, shattering her previous best time of 2:26:32 from London in 2005. Johnson’s other PRs include 8:37 for 3000 meters, 14:47.60 for 5000 meters, 30:37.68 for 10,000 meters, and 1:07:55 for the half- marathon. She also holds the Australian 10K road record of 31:17 and was the gold medalist in the 2004 IAAF World Cross Country Championships 8K.

The two-time Olympian went to the 2000 Games in Sydney in the 5000 meters and then to Athens in 2004 to represent Australia in the 10,000 meters. She plans to compete in the 10,000 meters at the IAAF World Outdoor Championships in Osaka this August, and will decide after that whether to aim for the 10,000 meters or the marathon at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Johnson is originally from the small coastal town of Mackay in Queensland. She and her husband, Cameron, a physiotherapist, spend six months of the year in Europe, primarily in London, four months in Australia, and at least two months in the United States. Her coach is Nic Bideau and her training partners include Craig Mottram, Andrew Letherby, and Sonia O’Sullivan, among others.

Fast-Women.com: Congratulations on your win at Freihofer’s. It certainly looked like a good performance.
Benita Johnson: I was really pleased with the run. Going into the race, I wasn’t sure what would happen since it was my first race back from the [Flora] London Marathon, which had been a disappointing experience. I had been training pretty well in Flagstaff at altitude prior to the race, but I didn’t know what to expect at Freihofer’s. I really had no expectations. My tactics were to be quite conservative early, so I was running at the back to start. As the race progressed, I was hurting but I felt strong. I was able to cover [Asmae] Leghazoui’s moves and I was running relaxed and strong. At 800 to go, I went harder and it broke her spirit. I made a gap and ended up winning and running even faster than last year.

FW: Just prior to the Flora London Marathon, you won the Berlin Half-Marathon in 1:08:28. How did that race go for you?
BJ: I had a really good run at Berlin. We had decided to go hard from the start in that race. I was able to keep going and run really well. It was my best time in the half-marathon for a couple of years. One day I would like to do the Berlin Marathon as part of the World Marathon Majors, so it was nice to meet all the people there.

FW: So, what do you think happened at London?
BJ: In the second half, I had some hamstring cramping and some vomiting. I vomited into the crowd and I was sorry about that. I was really upset with how the race turned out. I went out with the leaders in the race, but it didn’t come off like I expected. I’m not sure what caused the problem. My drinks might have been too concentrated and it was fairly hot. The hamstring cramping caused me to stop a few times. I’m not totally sure what happened, but that is marathoning. It has made me more determined now to look to the future and to do even better.