Interview wth Megan Metcalfe
by Shannon Martin

Megan Metcalfe racing in the 3000 meters at the 2006 Reebok Boston Indoor Games where she placed sixth in a time of 9:02.04, just behind Sara Hall who finished fifth in a time of 9:01.95.
Photo by: Alison Wade
New York Road Runners

Megan Metcalfe, 25, who hails from Edmonton, Alberta, is among the finest in a long line of excellent Canadian-born middle-distance runners. She began running at the age of 14, and she has achieved personal bests at distances ranging from 1500 meters 5000 meters every single year since.

Metcalfe attended West Virginia University, where she earned a remarkable (and school- record) nine All-American certificates in track and cross country. In 2005, she won the 5000 meters in the Outdoor NCAA Division I Championships. Still coached by Sean Cleary , who was her coach at West Virginia, Metcalfe is primarily focusing on the 5000 meters. She balances her training with her part-time position as a physical therapist in Morgantown, West Virginia.

This past spring, Metcalfe made a major breakthrough at the Mt. SAC Relays, where she placed fourth in the 5000 meters with a personal-best time of 15:15.73. At the 2007 Reebok Grand Prix at Icahn Stadium on June 2, Metcalfe again placed fourth in the 5000 meters, with a time of 15:38.78. Fast-women.com spoke with her just over a week after that race.

Fast-Women.com: Megan, it’s so nice to be able to catch up with you. Let’s start by talking about one of your most recent impressive performances, the Reebok Grand Prix. You placed fourth in a field of 16 in the 5000 meters, in the sweltering heat. How did you feel that night?
Megan Metcalfe: The weather was pretty bad and I tried to ignore it, so I went out really hard, but fell back because of the heat. I was able to regroup and finish well, so that was good.

FW: You were pleased with your performance, right?
MM: I was really pleased with how I raced; I was gutsier than I usually am. I’m usually more conservative, so I was happy that I changed things up a little bit, but the time was slower than I wanted. I know that I have the ability to race faster than that; I just have to go and do it!

FW: What sort of plans do you have for the next couple of months?
MM: I’m going to run the Cambridge Mile this weekend, which is on a cinder track. [Metcalfe placed second in 2:39.12, just 1/100 of a second behind the winner Megan Brown.], Then, I’m going to take a break and regroup for the Canadian Championships, which are in July. I’m going to go to Europe after that to try to get some fast times. My goal is to make the World Championships.

FW: So, Osaka is your main focus this season?
MM: Yes, it is.

FW: Do you enjoy racing on the road as much as on the track?
MM: No, I definitely prefer the track.

FW: When did you first become involved with running?
MM: I started when I was in junior high school. I swam and did other sports as well, but I got a shoulder injury from swimming, so I joined the local track club for a summer sport and instantly it became an all-year thing and a life sport for me [laughing].

FW: You sound very passionate about running.
MM: Yes, I love it.

FW: You’re still coached by Sean Cleary. How has your training changed since college?
MM: I really just try to progress. After every season, I’ve looked back and tried to see what I could improve on, and then I try to make gentle improvements. I’ve been improving every year, and now, I don’t have to stay up studying all night, which is a blessing. I have a lot more time to dedicate to running now, which is nice.

FW: You earned your Masters degree in physical therapy in 2005. Did you go straight through from your Bachelors to your Masters?
MM: Yeah, the program that I was part of included summer courses, so after five years, I completed everything.

FW: What is your schedule like now?
MM: Since college, it’s been the type of schedule I like the most. People I work with are very understanding. If something happens where I need to leave to go to a track meet, it’s never any stress or hassle, I just have to organize it. It’s great to not to have to e-mail teachers, or make things up, or anything like that [laughing].

FW: Do you like the training environment in West Virginia?
MM: Yeah, I love it. There’s a group of us that have graduated and have continued training together, so that’s really nice. There are also some older guys that I can train with. It’s a good mix. My training now seems very laid back, but everyone is very dedicated to running, so we’re very supportive of each other.

FW: Sounds like the perfect combination to me.
MM: Yeah, it’s really nice!

FW: What would you consider the highlights of your running career so far? I know the one that I hear about the most is your [2005] NCAA Division I Outdoor title in the 5000 meters.
MM: Winning the NCAA title was an awesome moment in my life, but I went to the World Cup last year. I didn’t race that well there, but getting to go there was definitely a highlight for me because it was in the Olympic Stadium in Athens; it was a really great experience. Another highlight was running 15:15 this year at Mount SAC.

FW: What I find most impressive about your running career is that you have improved every year.
MM: [Laughing]: Yeah, that has definitely made running a lot of fun. I’ve set a PB [personal best] every year since I started track. Even though I’ve hit some slumps, they’ve never lasted long. Hitting a PB makes me feel so great; it feels so good to know that you must be doing something right and you’re improving.

FW: Even when you won the 5000 meters in 2005, weren’t you training more for the 1500 meters?
MM: I was doing a little bit of both. I’ve always trained somewhere in the middle; I’ve done a lot of 1500-meter work and a lot of 5000-meter work. It would be really great if they brought back the 3000 for me!

FW: Do you see yourself sticking with the 1500 and 5K for the next couple of years?
MM: Yeah, my big goal is to try to make the Olympic team in the 5000.

FW: Do you see yourself moving up in distance, like a lot of runners do?
MM: I definitely don’t see myself moving up to the marathon; I’d like to give the 10K a try on the track. My coach and I are being patient with that. We’re sticking with the 1500 and the 5000 for a little longer. I’d just like to go and try one hard [10K] and see how well I can do in it.

FW: Do you like being a physical therapist?
MM: I love it; I really do. I work in a hospital, so I don’t really do as much with sports, which I might do later in life. I really like the balance in my life right now. I’ll do my training and then I’ll go in to work, and I may have a patient who’s my age who has just had a stroke. It really makes you realize what’s important in life, and it’s so nice to be able to help people. I think my running and my work at the hospital compliment each other well.

FW: Do you train in the morning, or evening, or both?
MM: I actually do both. I work at the hospital three mornings a week and two afternoons a week. I do a morning run every day, and I do my workouts a couple evenings a week.

FW: What do your track workouts look like now, about a month away from the Canadian National Championships?
MM: I do a lot of long intervals, like 800 repeats and 1200 repeats. We always do one long workout like this every week, and also a speed workout, and different ranges of tempo runs, depending on how the volume is holding up. We usually do a longer tempo every 10 days or so.

FW: How does it feel to be running as a Canadian, and training in the U.S.?
MM: I have mixed feelings about it. I love the environment that I’m in, but I’m very proud to be Canadian, and sometimes I just wish I was in Canada [laughing], just to say that I am in Canada. I think most of all, I just miss my family a lot. We’re very close, and they’re always there for me.

Interview conducted on June 11, 2007, and posted on June 20, 2007.

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