Flint, Michigan -- 1999 CRIM FESTIVAL OF RACES 10 MILER

Harvey-Sullivan first Michigan woman.

Ann Arbor's Karen Harvey-Sullivan, the Canadian record holder in the 3000 meter Steeple Chase, steps off the track to mix it up with the Kenyans in only here second 10 Mile race. Karen said "My coach and I decided that I was going to go out with those girls and not be afraid of them or the race distance." Karen did just that running a time of 56:33 to finish 6th overall and take the crown as the 1st Michigan woman. Karen's hard work helped her earn a nice paycheck by collecting both overall money ($800) and Michigan money ($800). To find out more about Karen's race read the RunMichigan interview with Karen below.

             	TOP TEN WOMEN CRIM 10 MILER
                        Finals Results - Saturday 8/28/99                       
                                                                               
bib	overall	oversex	overdiv	firstname	lastname	city	state	age	sex	nettime	pace	event
11	52	1	1	Catherine	Ndereba	Royersford	PA	27	F	54:21	5:27	10-MILE
12	53	2	2	Teresa	Wanjiku	Royersford	PA	25	F	54:23	5:27	10-MILE
15	54	3	3	Lidiya	Grigoryeva	Tampa	FL	25	F	54:24	5:27	10-MILE
13	57	4	4	Jane	Ngotha	Concord	MA	29	F	54:40	5:28	10-MILE
14	65	5	    	Gladys	Asiba	Kenya	F	56:28	5:39	10-MILE
163	67	6	5	Karen	Harvey Sullivan	Ann Arbor	MI	27	F	56:33	5:40	10-MILE
44	71	7	1	Tatyana	Pozdnykova	Brooklyn	NY	43	F	57:02	5:43	10-MILE
46	78	8	2	Marina	Belyaeva	Rockville	MD	40	F	57:42	5:47	10-MILE
17	102	9	1	Marty	Shue	Annapolis	MD	30	F	59:10	5:55	10-MILE
150	111	10	1	Ann	Stewart	Ann Arbor	MI	35	F	59:28	5:57	10-MILE
       

A RunMichigan chat with Karen Harvey

RunMichigan: Since you were the first Michigan woman in 1997, did you feel that you could repeat this performance in 1999?

Karen: Yes I was pretty confident going into the race that I could repeat my performance from '97.

RunMichigan: Since you have mainly been concentrating on the Track this summer for the 5K and 3K Steeple Chase, how do you feel this prepared you for the hilly Crim 10 miler course?

Karen: My coach and I spent the last two weeks of my season soley focused on Crim. I do not feel that running track races and road miles prepared me at all for such a long, hard race. It was more the mileage I put in every week and the confidence I gained after such a great season of racing.

RunMichigan: Did you feel after the first mile that you would be able to run under 57 minutes for the 10 mile race?

Karen: Yes I knew I was going to run fairly fast. 5:30 for the first mile felt so easy.

RunMichigan: Is 56:33 your fastest 10 mile time?

Karen: Yes that is my best time. I have only run one other 10 mile race, Crim '97.

RunMichigan: Can you describe from start to finish how the race unfolded?

Karen: Well basically for the first 5 miles I traded the lead with the lead group of Kenyans and one Russian. My coach and I decided that I was going to go out with those girls and not be afraid of them or the race distance. Just to put it on the line. But between 5 and 6 miles they (4 of the girls) made a surge and they closed the door on me. We had just entered the hilly section of the course and I was uncertain of myself at that point and stayed back with 5th place. With 1 mile to go I should have got on the shoulder of 5th, she was hurting as bad as I was, but unfortunately I had gone into survival mode and only started after her with 400m to go, gained on her, but she looked back saw me coming and kicked in.

RunMichigan: How did it feel to be running in the mix of things and finish only 5 seconds out of 5th place?

Karen: It was cool running with those girls because after reading their bios I knew they were very experienced at running big road races across the country and they are much more experienced then myself at 10km and 10 miles. Also they were all looking at me trying to figure out who I was and why I conitnued to push the pace and that I was not afraid to take the lead from them. The meet director did not give me an elite number so they had no clue who I was and if I could hang with the pace.

RunMichigan: Did the warm weather affect your race at all?

Karen: I train in the middle of the day everyday so the humidity I think was not a big factor, but I am sure I could have run faster. In fact the elite women's times did seem a little slow this year compared to years previous.

RunMichigan: Over the last few months you have lowered you Canadian Steeple Chase record, set some P.R.s and won a number of races. How does 1999 rank overall in your running career?

Karen: 1999 has been an amazing year for me. And I owe a lot of my success to my coach, Melissa Peuhl. She started coaching me in October '98 and ever since that I have PRed in every single distance from 600m to the 10 mile. Melissa has me working harder than ever before and she had been able to instill confidence in me that my past coaches could not. I think I have a lot of people (I know at least in Canada) scratching their heads wondering how I have improved so much in less than a year. Because for my first three years out of college I was almost at a stand still with my running career. The answer to all my success is new coaching and a new training plan.

Also I have a wonderful, loving and supporting husband who understands the work and scarfice it takes to be a top runner. And the company I work for, Bauer Dunham and Barr, they are so understanding and supportive of my running.

RunMichigan: What are your thoughts on someday running a marathon?

Karen: I hope to run Columbus and Boston same day soon. Either 2001 or 2002.

RunMichigan: Do you have any plans to run any other long distance races in 1999?

Karen: No, not a 10 miler anyways. My legs felt destroyed after Crim. So because of injury risks and longer recovery times I will try and stay away from the longer races. I think the longest race I will run will be 10k's, maybe once or twice this fall.

RunMichigan: Where will we see Karen Harvey-Sullivan at next?

Karen: You will see me resting! I have competed in 13 races and training hard for 22 weeks. I am tried! But my biggest race on the horizon is a San Francisco road mile in late October. It is called the Champions Run and the field already includes US miler Regina Jacobs. I hope to know in a week whether I am in the race.