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Pre-Race Interview with Ari Lambie
By Alison Wade and Becky Orfinger

Ari Lambie tours the Balboa Park course the day before the race.
(Photo by Alison Wade/NYRR)

Fast-Women.com: We heard that you aren't feeling too well today. What's wrong?
Ari Lambie:
I think it's a stomach bug, probably something that's been going around back home -- a 24-hour thing. So, hopefully by tonight I'll be able to get some fluids and food in.

When did you start feeling sick?
About 1:00 a.m. last night.

So you were feeling fine up until last night?
Yeah, I felt great. I had a big dinner, and when I went to bed I felt pretty full, but I didn't really think anything of it. And then I woke up and started vomiting.

Well, hopefully you'll be okay. Sometimes the adrenaline can pull you through in a race. Besides this, how did your season go in general? Were you surprised about how well you did?
I was thrilled with my season. At the beginning, I wanted to qualify for Foot Locker, and I thought that was kind of a high goal. And then I just kept getting stronger and stronger and surprising myself. I think my coach had confidence in me all along. Each week kind of pushed me further and I learned that I really did have more strength than I thought.

What were some of the indicators that you were running better than ever?
The first meet I realized it was probably the Brown Invitational (she won the 5k race in 17:15). That was a huge breakthrough for me. I thought I could win, but I wasn't confident that I would. And then not only to win, but to break the record…it really motivated me.

Did you know when you ran there that Laura Cummings had already broken the record, earlier that day?
No, I didn't know that. And I thought that my time was slower than hers when I finished. It was a nice surprise.

Is it true that your school doesn't allow your team to travel to a lot invitationals?
Yeah, I think it's a budget issue. There isn't really a limit, but we can only do one or two.

So that's why we didn't see you at Great American or some of the other high profile meets?
Right. But I think I'm going to Millrose this year to do the mile.

Do you already have your winter season planned out?
I'm going to focus on the 1,000m. I'll run the mile at Millrose and some 800s, but mainly focus on the 1,000.

Is there a chance we will see you at winter cross country nationals?
I don't even know what that is. [After hearing an explanation:] I might look into that.

What about outdoor goals? Do you know what kind of times you'd like to hit yet?
I don't really know what I can do in the mile, so I'm going to focus on that event. First I want to break 4:50 [for the mile], but I think I can go well under that -- maybe 4:45.

In Massachusetts, Natasha Roetter was the dominant runner last year. Then she graduated, and there was this big opening, and you stepped right up and filled it. Was that a conscious decision?
Not at all. I've admired Natasha for years. I never thought I'd be at her level. I'm just really excited to be in company with her times.

Do you have any idea what caused the breakthrough this year? Was it something about your training?
No, I think I'm just still growing and I trained really hard this summer. I lost a little weight, started eating a little healthier… I don't know if that made all the difference, but it was little things like that. I just started taking it more seriously.

What kind of training did you do over the summer?
About 30-35 miles a week, no workouts. I'd run with my dad a lot -- we'd push the pace. He used to do road races and did a couple of marathons, but now he just runs. We'd do something like a 35 minute five-mile run and push each other.

Is your dad the reason you started running?
I was a soccer player, and he took me to some fun summer track meets. At that point, I had no idea what track was. My dad just said, 'Run around in circles.' I did that, and I had fun, and I decided to go out for track in seventh grade.

Your school [Bromfield High School] has a pretty good tradition.
Yeah, we're pretty small, but we do considerably well.

Have you ever met [Bromfield graduate] Lynn Jennings?
I did meet her once when she came to do a talk at our school about her life and her running career. I got her autograph then. And she actually called me this week. I didn't get to talk to her because I wasn't there, but it was a real surprise to me.

Changing the subject entirely, how did your college search go? Was it hard to decide?
I'm relieved that it's over. It was very hard. I don't know what I want to do with my life, so I was looking at all different programs. The last three I looked at were so different. But I just went with the one that felt right when I was out there. And [Stanford] has an incredible reputation, both academically and athletically.

Are you worried at all about what people say about Stanford, about them having too much talent and the threat of running each other into the ground in practice?
I'm worried about the training. I think I have enough control over myself and my body that I won't let myself get run into the ground.

(Interview conducted and posted December 13, 2002)

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