2004 FOOT LOCKER CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS
Post-race interview with Aislinn Ryan

by Alison Wade

Aislinn Ryan, a junior at Warwick Valley High School in Bellvale, New York, won the 2004 Foot Locker Cross Country Championships in 17:31 with an aggressive strategy which left the rest of the field in her wake. Ryan qualified for nationals by finishing second at the Foot Locker Northeast Regional. Earlier in the season, she scored a big win at the Great American Cross Country Festival. Ryan finished 12th at the 2003 Foot Locker Cross Country Championships.

Aislinn Ryan (Photo: Alison Wade/NYRR)

Fast-Women.com: Most people seem mildly surprised with your victory. Would you say you're surprised?
Aislinn Ryan: I'm not surprised, because I didn't think that I couldn't do it. I knew I could do it, but [it's a matter of] who does it. At some point, you have to let go of everything and just do it.

FW: It seems like you always go out pretty hard. How did it feel doing that today? Was it at all scary pushing the pace?
AR: I felt so comfortable, I couldn't believe it. That was one thing that I was really surprised about. I just felt so good. I knew we were going fast, because it's nationals, but I felt fine. Then I just tried to stay in there, and when I felt like I was holding back too much, I just went. Everyone came back, but then I felt good again and I went again. I guess that's what did it.

FW: Did you pay attention to your splits at all?
AR: I didn't really see the clock. The first time I saw the clock, at the 800, I saw 2:31. But then, I didn't really see anything else.

FW: Were there any points in the race where you felt really tired or worried that you might not have it?
AR: Actually, yeah, there was one part, only one part... It was with about 150 meters to go. I was like, 'Come on, keep going!' Because I could feel that I was [leaning] back more. When I went past the muddy spot and crossed the road, everyone was screaming, and the adrenaline [kicked in].

FW: That's pretty close to where I was standing, and by that point, it didn't look like anyone could catch you.
AR: I didn't know what it looked like. And I knew that last year, Marie [Lawrence], she's an awesome runner, and last year when she was a freshman, she was leading the race [around that point]. Everyone thought she totally had it. I was running, but when I watched the video, even though I knew what happened, but I thought, 'She's got it.' And then, all of the sudden, Katelyn [Kaltenbach] came out of nowhere. So I knew that she wasn't just going to [give up], because she knows that things like that can happen.

FW: What's next for you? Do you have an indoor schedule planned?
AR: I don't know. I'm definitely going to do indoor, but last year, Jenny Barringer ran [the USA Junior Cross Country Championships in February], and I'm thinking about that.

FW: It's a great opportunity, and not that many top high school girls seem all that aware of it.
AR: I really want to do it, [assuming the scheduling works out]... Also, I feel like if you do something once, you're just sort of testing it out, and if you do it a second time, it's the real deal.

FW: Do you feel like that about this whole Foot Locker experience? Did it help that you were here last year?
AR: Yeah, definitely. I don't think that a first-timer couldn't take it, but the experience definitely helps. Last year, I didn't have a lot of experience with any high-caliber races. I'm lucky that our state is really good, though.

FW: Has this season been pretty different from last season? You didn't 'come out of nowhere' last year, but it sort of seemed like you did. Whereas everyone knew about you this year.
AR: I don't know. I've been here for the whole experience, so when everyone says that you came out of nowhere, it's kind of like, 'I saw the process.' I felt like last year, I was close to Nicole [Blood], but I didn't even put a dent into her race... It was just because of how my freshman year went, and everything was so new. Next year is probably going to be totally different. You learn something new every race.

FW: You mentioned your brother [Colin Ryan, who runs for NYU]. How many supporters do you have out here?
AR: My brother, my mom, my dad, and my coach.

FW: Have you thought about college at all yet?
AR: I've thought about it, I know it's coming... My mom said that after nationals, I have to start... But I have no idea what I want — big school, small school...

FW: Did you start out as a runner, or did you try other sports first?
AR: I was one of those people who did so many sports. I did Irish dancing, basketball, softball, soccer, football — I did everything. Then in seventh grade, we got these cards and we had a choice of what we wanted to do. I saw 'running' and I was like, 'Whoa, that's a sport? That's so cool, I want to do that!' So I filled out the card, started doing it, and it was so much fun. I went to a summer program and all of this stuff. I didn't really know about summer training, but everyone used to brag [about how much they ran]... I just started running more and more, for different reasons...and I gradually had more expectations for myself.

FW: What has your progression been like? Were you pretty good right away?
AR: As a seventh grader, I was like seventh or so on my team... In eighth grade, I started getting better... Then I started realizing that the more you trained, the better you could be. In eighth grade, I did indoor track for the high school... There was this girl, and she would make fun of me for some reason, so over the summer, I was like, 'Oh, I have to beat her.' She wasn't the best on the team or anything, it was just her. I had to beat her. And I wasn't even sure if I could, because she was a good runner. I trained really hard and I got to practice one day and we did this tempo run. I was back with everyone, because I was afraid to go forward, but then I started going forward... I started opening my eyes [and realizing there were some really good runners out there]. When I was a freshman, I thought the person who was best on my team was the best. And then I was the best on the team, and I started looking around... Seeing the Olympics, everything, and seeing what people could do. It was really cool.

FW: What was your training like this season, and what has your mileage been like?
AR: Over the summer, I started off really small, like 40 [minutes], and then I just started building up. Every once in a while, I'd do like 80 or 90 [minutes]. Then, when the season started, I kind of went a step back... We'd do long-distance speed, like 800s and stuff. We do this 8 x 800 workout at Sanfordville [Elementary School], and that's a really hard workout. Then it started getting shorter and shorter, then we were doing 400s and stuff to work on leg speed.

FW: Do you know what your mileage was like?
AR: I don't know, because we run for minutes. It was probably like 55 per week.

FW: Are there people on your team who you can run with on the easy days?
AR: No, I run by myself. But it's a good team. Amanda Robotti, she's really good... Everyone has their own talents. Melissa [Mark], she's a really good 800 runner...

FW: Do you do everything by yourself?
AR: Yeah.

FW: Do you still feel like you get to bond with your team?
AR: Yeah. They're my friends... I'm part of the team, but little things like, 'Oh, that was so funny, what happened on the run,' [I miss out on] that kind of stuff.

FW: What do you like to do in your spare time? Do you have any spare time?
AR: I mostly just like run, go to school, eat a lot, stuff like that (laughs). I like music. Music is a part of my family, that's actually what my brother is going to school for, music technology.

FW: What kind of music do you like? Do you play an instrument?
AR: I like Queen, Led Zeppelin, the Beatles, and stuff like that. None of the new stuff, really. I was kind of playing the guitar, but I can't really say, 'I play the guitar,' because I'm not that good. I was thinking about doing piano, but I'm not sure about that. I sing... What else? I like comedy and stuff like that.

FW: Do you think the people at home are going to be surprised by your victory?
AR: I definitely think that my coach and I were the ones who were like, 'I can do this.' I wasn't like, 'Oh, I can definitely do this,' because Ramsey [Kavan], Marie [Lawrence] and everyone is so awesome. But I kind of thought that like I could get them.

FW: Did you feel overlooked?
AR: Whatever it was, I liked it. I liked how on TullyRunners.com, it was like, 'Aislinn Ryan is my choice for the darkhorse.' I thought that was pretty cool. It's a lot of pressure. I win, like, the little races. This was my second big race I've ever won. After Great American, I really understood the pressure that Nicole [Blood] and Katelyn [Kaltenbach] undergo... It doesn't get on my nerves, but I definitely understood it more, what the pressure was.

FW: Well you're not going to have that luxury in the future.
AR: That's okay, I'll get used to it.

FW: Do you think you're going to have to make more of an effort not to read what people are saying about you online?
AR: No. I won't let it get to me.

FW: Where in New York is Bellvale?
AR: It's in Orange County... It's about an hour, hour-and-a-half from New York City.

(Interview conducted on December 11, 2004, and posted on December 18, 2004.)