Interview with Lyubov Denisova
by Shannon Martin

Lyubov Denisvoa running in the Boston Marathon 2003, where she finished as the runner-up.
Photo by: Alison Wade
New York Road Runners

With five marathon wins to her credit, Lyubov Denisova, 35, knows how to compete over the distance. In 2003, she was the runner-up in the Boston Marathon. At the ING New York City Marathon, Denisova has been on the podium twice with a second in 2002 and a third in 2004. This past December, Denisova achieved a course-record win at the difficult and hilly Honolulu Marathon. Additional highlights of her career include winning the 2002 and 2005 Los Angeles Marathon, the 2001 Grandma’s Marathon and the 2001 Long Beach Marathon. Competing under her maiden name of Belavina in the late 1990s, Denisova specialized in the 10,000 meters and the half-marathon and also ran a few marathons.

Denisova, a Russian citizen, currently trains and lives in Gainesville, Florida, with her coach and husband, Maxim Denisov. This year she will return to Boston. In preparation for Boston she finished third at the Naples Half-Marathon in 1:16:16 and in February placed third at the San Blas Half-Marathon in 1:16:35. Most recently, she won the More Magazine Half-Marathon with a time of 1:16:49.

Fast-women had the opportunity to speak with Densiova a week and a half prior to the Boston Marathon, with translation help from her agent, Andrey Baranov. With confidence and a positive attitude, she describes past races, her training, and her goal to win the 2007 Boston Marathon.

Editor's Update: In the terrible rain that influenced the 2007 Boston Marathon to be one of the slowest in history, Lyubov Denisova ran a 2:38:00 and finished in seventh place.

Fast-Women.com: Tell me about your win at the Honolulu Marathon. How did the race unfold for you?
Lyubov Denisova: The race was a little bit challenging for me actually. I was not accepted into the race as the lead runner, so I was given no appearance fee. We had to pay for the race entry, the travel, the hotel, and everything, but all of that gave me extra stimulation. I went into the race with the goal to win it and break the course record. I wanted to break 2:27, but I am happy with the 2:27:19 [14 seconds faster than the record]. I went a little bit slower in the beginning than I had wanted to. The pacesetter was only with me for about 3K and then I went ahead and ran the race by myself. Also, it was dark early in the morning; I don’t have the best vision, so I had to be very careful running in the dark.

FW: You were quoted in an article recently, saying that marathon preparation is 90 percent mental and 10 percent physical. What do you do to mentally prepare yourself for marathons?
LD: One factor is that you need to have high expectations for yourself, but mental preparation is so much more than that. You need to believe in yourself, you coach, your training, and everything. You need to believe that your coach will help you get results.

I do 90 percent of my training on my own. The other 10 percent comes from races that I use for training. I have no choice but to develop my mental strength if I want to hold my own. Running by myself requires mental fitness!

FW: You are competing against a strong field this year in Boston, Do you have any specific goals for the race?
LD: I’d like to win the Boston Marathon this year. I know that I am racing against women who have faster times than me; there are women who are faster, younger, and stronger, but they need to perform their very best in order to defeat me.

FW: What do you like most about the Boston Marathon and what is your least favorite aspect of the Boston Marathon?
LD: What I like the most is that I finished in second-place there before; what I like least is that I wasn’t number one. Seriously, I really like the tradition of the Boston Marathon; that’s my favorite aspect. For Russians, tradition is extremely important. To participate in this race that has immense historical significance, is huge for me, especially to be able to participate in this race as an elite runner. It’s great because you become part of the running history associated with the Boston Marathon.

FW: What has been your most memorable marathon?
LD: Each win in a marathon has been a treasure in my life. I have won six or seven, and each of them have been special because I was the best on that specific day and that specific marathon. Finishing second in Boston and New York were also very special for me.

FW: What was it like to compete in the More Magazine Half-Marathon?
LD: It was great! I lived in New York for a long time. My husband and I recently bought a house in Gainesville, Florida, and so we established permanent residence there. I miss New York and my heart is always in New York, so it was great to go up there to participate in the More Magazine Marathon event.

I loved competing in the More [Magazine] Half-Marathon because of the team aspect. Even though this was a training run for me, I felt as though I had to run my very best because my partner [Trina Painter] was counting on me. Winning the race was a responsibility that I held as part of the team.

I also love the women-only aspect of this race. It’s very unique. You feel something different running with all of those women!

FW: How different is your training in Gainesville compared to the training you did in New York?
LD: The training is pretty much the same; I do the majority of my training on my own, as I mentioned before. I only train with others when I compete in races. In those races, I have the chance to run with others, it’s not necessarily the same person throughout an entire race, but it helps to have anyone to run with in a race. I’m aiming for specific times in races; this is why I can’t always stick with the same person. Races are great for training though. I do miss the excitement of running in Central Park. When you are there, there are always people running. Gainesville doesn’t have such a huge running community, so I am out there running on my own.

FW: What specific type of workouts have you been completing leading up to the Boston Marathon?
LD: It’s funny, a lot of runners assess how they will do in a race that they are training for based on one particular workout, but I do not do that. One workout never represents how I perform in the race. My main goals in workouts are to train smart, prevent injury, and to be strong, especially the 12 weeks leading up to the race. It’s so important during that time period to remain healthy and to prevent injuries.

I have an analogy. Every individual workout leading up to a marathon is a diamond. Now, a diamond is pretty and all, but what really makes the training effective is the string that binds the diamonds together, so now you have a beautiful diamond necklace. So each and every workout is important in relation to all the others, and they are not as significant by themselves.

With that said, I run twice a day five times a week. The two days that I only run once a day are reserved for my long runs. I’ll do tempo runs, often in races, like I did for the More [Magazine] Half-Marathon. I also do workouts such as 10X1000 meters.

FW: What’s your weekly mileage?
LD: It’s about 160.

FW: I hear that you like cooking. What are some of your favorite dishes to prepare?
LD: My favorite thing to prepare right now is bread. I just got a bread machine, so it has been fun making all types of breads. Bread is also very symbolic in Russian culture because during World War II people often survived on only bread and water.

FW: Tell me more about your family.
LD: I have a 7-year-old daughter, Anastasia. She stays in Russia with her grandparents for the time being. The education there is good for elementary school. I’m very excited for the summer, when she will come visit me. As you probably know, my husband is my coach. He organizes all of my training. We love the house that we bought in Gainesville. It’s new, but it’s fun arranging the furniture in the rooms, and landscaping outside.

FW: It was wonderful learning more about you. Good luck in Boston!
LD: Thank you; I am looking forward to the race!

Interview conducted on April 6, 2007, and posted on April 11, 2007.

Nothing contained herein may be reproduced online in any form without the express written permission of the New York Road Runners Club, Inc.