May 4, 2009
Fred Joslyn - Post Boston Marathon Interview Views- 535

Fred Joslyn recently competed in the Boston Marathon with his other 5 teammates. He finished 35th overall in 2:27.10. Read on to find out his thoughts on how everything played out.





RM: Your goals for the Boston Marathon were to squeek under 2:18. Obviously conditions on race day will effect time goals one way or another. How do you feel that you ran given the circumstances and what would you have changed if you could go back and do it again?

FJ: Although conditions were certainly not ideal, I still ran poorly. We knew there was going to be a headwind during the race, but we were not sure how severe it would become. I trained to run in the 2:17's, so on race day I decided to stay with the plan. This was probably my first mistake. Unfortunately there was really no one for me to run with at 5:15 pace, so I was out there fighting the wind by myself. I tried to run pace as long as possible but by half way I was already struggling. Everything is amplified in a marathon, a bad day turns into a horrible day very quickly.

If I could run the race again, I would go out much more conservatively and find a pack to run with, even if that meant ditching my original goal of running under 2:18.





RM: How long of a recovery/downtime do you plan on having after Boston? How long did you take after your 2:23 marathon?

FJ: We take a 2 week down time after almost every marathon, which we will do here.




RM: What would you like to accomplish over the next few years with regards to running?

FJ: My goals are to first qualify for the Olympic Trials in the marathon and then work towards earning a spot on a marathon world championship team.




RM: Do you see yourself running Boston again in the next few years?

FJ:$ I am certainly interested in running Boston again in the next few years, but it is hard to say exactly what my race schedule will be. It is certainly a great race, BAA and John Hancock made this year's race one of the best events in the world and it is great to be a part of that.




RM: Since you have officially ran a race that many american marathoners would like to run, what advice do you have for any planning on running it next year?

FJ: Running a smart race will always win over trying to run a tough or aggressive race. Be tough in training and smart on race day.