RM: How has your training been leading up to the 25k championships? Is this the BIG race that all of your training has been geared towards or just a stop on the way? Why is that? KO: Training has been going pretty well. I've been running between 120-130 miles a week since early March with some pretty good workouts and long runs in there, so I feel pretty well prepared for the 25K. This is the big race for me this segment, we've geared
everything towards this. We anticipated having to end the segment in mid-May in order to take down time and get prepared for some big stuff later on this summer, so the 25K fit into that plan perfectly.
RM: When training for the 25k, do you train more like a marathoner, more like a 10k runner with some long runs or something totally different all together? Why is that?KO: This segment we wanted to try a few different things training-wise. I kept my mileage fairly high like we would for a marathon, but we also wanted to work specifically on some speed, so I did some 10K specific stuff with our track guys mixed in with some longer tempo
efforts.
RM: What would have to happen for you to walk away from the 25k championships with a sense of satisfaction or contentment? KO: I'm coming off of some really good training right now that should indicate my ability to be competitive within this field especially at this distance. So as long as I'm able to be competitive on Saturday and run to the best of my abilities I will be satisfied.
RM: Why did you choose to come race the 25k championships? KO: 25K is a good distance for me, being a marathoner, and it really fit well into my schedule.
RM: What will be the winning time this year and will an american win the overall race once again, like what happened last year? KO: I think the winning time will be under 1:15:00 again, the American Record has a chance at going down again as well, and I do believe the overall winner will be an American again.
Thanks for the great interview Kyle! (Interview conducted by Nick Cordes)
