FW: I know you didn’t do any training at altitude to prepare for this race. Do you think it affected you at all?
KM: I didn’t know what was going to happen with the altitude. Like any other race you do the best you can on that day – you get out, get muddy and dirty, and run tough. As far as race strategy, the altitude factor probably did affect me because I approached the race a little differently than I normally do. I didn’t feel like I was sucking air but at the same time I didn’t feel I put myself in the position I should have been. I probably should have made a go for it and stayed up with Kara [Goucher] or Lauren [Fleshman] but I didn’t. I don’t know if that helped me out in the end or if it hurt me because I didn’t get out like I usually do. I wasn’t as aggressive as I normally am. We were also running through mud and your legs can only push through that so much. I still ran as hard as I could but I wasn’t as spent as I thought I would be due to the altitude.

FW: You decided not to train at altitude with some of your teammates?
KM: Instead of training at altitude in Flagstaff with some of my other team members, I wanted to stick around here during January. I knew I had to travel for a couple of weekends through that month. I went to Bermuda for a race and then went to Michigan for a weekend for the Hall of Fame induction. I also thought it would be better to have my coach, Dennis Barker, there during my workouts. I was really just starting to get back from running the ING New York City Marathon in November and I thought it would be better to have him see me in person instead of just calling him up and describing how I was doing. Then Flagstaff got some snow and it was cold there. If I was going to train in the cold and snow, I thought I might as well be in Minnesota. I decided I would take my chances and not train at altitude for the race in Boulder.

FW: What did you think about the competition at USA Cross?
KM: There was a lot of talent there, the races were exciting, and the crowd was unbelievable. It was at altitude and muddy, but we all still had a good time. For the most part everyone had a great experience out there. Initially, the altitude thing was in the back of my mind but I don’t think it hurt anyone and they did a great job of putting on the event. What is great about the national championship races is that there is no possible way to be the best [performer] at every single one, except maybe for Deena [Kastor]. You just go out and move around as far as place. It is always fun just to challenge each other and to respect the other girls. When the others are running well it gives me confidence that I can be there too. The women are running so well right now; it is inspiring the rest of us. It is fun and we are all friends. Everybody is happy for the other girls when they have a good race.

FW: What are your thoughts about Deena’s performance [she won the 8K] at the Cross Country Championships?
KM: As far as Deena’s performance, I didn’t really see it because she took off. She is just unbelievable. She just inspires all of us. She does so much for our sport. A lot of people were there to see her and to watch an Olympic medalist get out there and kick butt. She has a great attitude for life and running is a huge part of that, but she also has a balanced lifestyle. She really works hard and it pays off and that is what inspires the rest of us. You want to believe that the harder you work that good things do happen. The rest of us hope that if we keep working as hard as Deena does, that good things will happen to us as well.

FW: You’ve decided to go on to Kenya for the World Championships. What do you hope to accomplish there?
KM: I am very excited to compete in Kenya. I think it will be an amazing experience to visit the country and compete against the best runners in the world. This time, we will have to prepare ourselves with plenty of vaccinations before the trip but the extra effort will be well worth it. I would like to finish in the top 15 spots. I believe the U.S. women who end up being on the team will take this competition very seriously and will be well prepared for the event.

FW: Before you go to Kenya, you will be on the 2007 Yokohama International Women’s Ekiden with women who are usually your competitors. Will this be a different type of competition for all of yo u?
KM: It is really going to be a great group. We are going over there to Japan to represent the U.S. and run well. This time we are going to all be there working together instead of competing against each other. That is important. After college you don’t always feel that way. I have my Reebok teammates and my Team USA Minnesota teammates. That really helps because then you don’t feel like you are out there just by yourself. As a relay team, we will be working together.

FW: What are your thoughts about some of the other women on the team?
KM: Jen Rhines was my mentor on the side as I prepared for my first marathon last fall. She was really nice to help me with that process. I’m also happy that my teammate from Minnesota, Carrie Tollefson, will be going as well. And I talked briefly with Elva Dryer when we were in Boulder, about being on the team. I think we are all excited. It’s good that we are all able to do it and that this race fits our schedules. We are definitely going over there to try and medal. Other countries are also forming great teams because they know we have a good one. We have a goal of getting the American record and the course record too. We have the talent. As of right now, I will be running a 10K leg.

FW: What’s your focus for the next couple of months?
KM: The focus these next couple of months is the Ekiden, the USA 15K Championships on March 10, and then World Cross in Kenya on March 24. Then I’ll have a good month in April to prepare for the outdoor season and look for a competitive 10,000. April will be a switchover month for me to track from the roads and cross country. For the most part, in the long term there are more important goals so we [my coach and I] will push our way through these earlier events. There are races and championships and you have to push on through.

FW: What is your overall goal for 2007?
KM: My overall goal is to PR in the 10,000 and make the U.S. World Championship team in that distance. I’m aiming for Outdoor Nationals and Worlds. In the 10K, we have a good group of girls who are going after it. Thirty-one minutes is the barrier that a lot of us would like to break. We all have the same goal. It makes it a lot harder to make teams when so many women are running well but it also helps us because we are able to push each other. We are all really motivating each other. I hope that we can all get there, that we can all get under 31 minutes.

FW: You did some things differently these past six months. What did you change? KM: During the fall I trained for my first marathon. I didn’t have the normal fall I usually have because I did a lot harder work than I normally do. Then I had some recovery after the marathon in November so I changed my usual winter schedule. I had some downtime and some time off around the holidays but I’ve been able to come back. I decided not to do any indoor. I have a lot of strength; I just need to tune up. I’m confident that the work I did leading up to the marathon is still there. It is nice that I did do all that work. I’m not as fresh as I normally might be at this time of the year but those of us who ran fall marathons are still able to come back and run some of these other races that are fun and important to us.

FW: You’ve been with Team USA Minnesota since 2001. Has it gone by quickly?
KM: The years have been flying by. You look at the chunks of four years of time preparing for the Olympics and then you realize how fast time flies. It is a good thing. The first couple of years here in Minnesota were spent getting involved in a new program, with new training partners, and a new coach. It takes a couple of years to start running fast. We have such a good group and Dennis is a great coach and things have really started to roll. There has been one championship after another for all of us.

FW: Has there been much turnover on your team?
KM: Dennis has been my coach since I joined the team and six of our 12 athletes have been here since the beginning in 2001. Carrie, Kristen [Nicolini], and I, and three of the guys – Matt [Gabrielson], Jason [Lehmkuhle] and Chris [Lundstrom] have been here since the first year. You see a lot of groups and teams that change all the time but we’ve been around for awhile. I think that helps. We are getting a little older so we’ve been bringing in some young people to our team. We have a lot of experience and can help each other. People give each other insights to prepare for the different distances. We can help each other out with short or long races, including the marathon.

FW: Any final comments?
KM: I thought it was impressive what we accomplished at USA Cross Country [Katie, Matt, Jason, and Andrew Carlson all finished in the top 12, qualifying for the World Cross Country Championships]. It proves that our group is doing well and that Dennis is coaching us the right way. It is great to do well and it also shows that we still have some work to do. We will be more prepared as the year goes along. Outdoor track is what really matters. People will see a lot of great things from our group into the summer.

Interview conducted on February 13, 2007, and posted on February 16, 2007.