An Interview with Robyn Friedman

Robyn Friedman was a nine-time All American at Wartburg College. She recently placed ninth overall in the ING New York City Marathon, running her seventh consecutive marathon PR in the process.

Boston Athletic Association: How did you first become involved in the sport?

Robyn Friedman: I was a four-sport athlete at Pocahontas High School (there were 54 in my graduating class) in Iowa. I fell into running the mile in junior high because no one else wanted to and I won my first race. So, I decided to stick with it after that. We had no cross country team at my high school until I was a junior and then I had to recruit friends that were volleyball players to participate in meets so we would have a girls team on the weekend. I often went to meets during the week as a team of one with my mom being my driver there. The cross country coach was also the assistant football coach so he wasn’t available for meets during the week. I had modest success in both cross country and track at the smallest division in Iowa (23rd in the state in cross country and third at 1500/3000 in track). I really liked competing in longer distance running so decided to give it a try at the college level.

B.A.A.: You had immediate success in college, earning All-America honors as a freshman. Were heavily recruited by colleges as a high school senior?

R.F.: I was recruited by a handful of Division III Iowa and Minnesota schools. I found even this to be flattering at the time.

B.A.A.: By the time you graduated from Wartburg College you were a nine-time NCAA Division III All-American. How did you choose Wartburg, and what was your experience like there?

R.F.: I was impressed with many things at Wartburg when I visited it during high school. It has a stellar biology program, which is what I was thinking about as a major and the cross country and track coaches were very personable, welcoming and motivating. I also liked the feel of a smaller campus (1500 students), coming from such a small high school. An added factor was that I felt I could be an actual part of a college running team quickly, as the team was quite small when I started at Wartburg.

My experience at Wartburg was better than anything I could have anticipated. I fit right in to a cross country team where I made some of my best friends for life, including my husband, and I excelled within the program under coach Steve Johnson. In addition to my individual running achievements, we had a fair amount of team success in both cross country and track at the conference, regional and national levels, which was very exciting. Wartburg has continued to remain a presence on both the cross country and track scenes at each of these levels since I graduated in 1995, which is also great to see happen.

B.A.A.: When did you make the decision to move up to the marathon, and how did you go about making the transition from the shorter events?

R.F.: While I was in physical therapy school at the University of Iowa, I decided I needed a new training focus and I was missing the team environment I had taken for granted in college. So, I talked several Wartburg friends into running their first marathon with me at Twin Cities in 1996. I did not put in a lot of serious training, just enough to get through my first marathon. I ran a 3:08 and was happy with this. I ran two more marathons “recreationally” over the next four years, all in about the same time range. I was also finishing my master’s degree in physical therapy and moved out of Iowa to Washington state and got married in this time period. We moved back to Iowa in 2000 and had our first son in May 2001. I decided to get back into more serious training shape after that time and “raced myself into shape” the next year. I then made the decision to add a fall marathon at the end of 2002 and ran the Des Moines Marathon in a 13 minute PR of 2:54. I had not done much specific “marathon training” to prepare but was very excited to do this well! This shifted my thinking to more serious marathon-specific training and my husband challenged me to attempt the Olympic Trials standard (which was 2:48 at the time) for the 2004 Trials. I continued to race shorter races because I really do enjoy competing, but I kept my core focus on the marathon from that point onward.

B.A.A.: You have improved your PR just about every time you've run a marathon -- do you feel like each race has been a learning experience?

R.F.: Completely! Each marathon feels like its own “mini-story” by the time it is completed. And each marathon since the Des Moines Marathon in 2002 has led me down another path that I hadn’t necessarily anticipated. I have utter respect for the challenging marathon distance and I have thoroughly enjoyed being able to get maybe a little better or at least a little bit smarter after running each one. I have learned the importance of pacing, how hard I can push myself and when I can do this safely, how significant fluid and carbohydrate replacement is during this distance, and how wonderful crowd support is! In addition, I love the variety of things you get to see and experience during the course of a marathon and I try to drink as much of this in as I can, while still remaining focused on my race.

B.A.A.: This past fall you ran Twin Cities and New York City within a month of each other, and recorded your two fastest marathons to date. What made you decide to run both, and how were you able to recover so quickly from the first?

R.F.: I looked at each race as a stepping stone to the Trials in 2008. I saw 2007 as a “free year” since I had qualified in October of 2006 at Des Moines (2:42:20). I saw the Twin Cities as my more likely chance to hit the A standard due to its size and similarity to my training environment (Midwest). I felt I wouldn’t be able to do as well time wise in a big marathon. However, I saw New York as a fantastic opportunity to race with just females in a marathon, which would be what the Trials would be like. Plus, I had always wanted to run New York and the "Best to Boston" program was such a great offer [the NYRR offered support to U.S. women looking to achieve an A standard qualifying time.]. I had run marathons six weeks apart in 2003, and I hit my Olympic Trials qualifier at the second marathon so I was thinking I could likely handle the short time between marathons if all went well during the first marathon and during the training between marathons.

In terms of training, I was mentally up for the challenge and curious to see how I could do. Plus, when the weather was much hotter and more humid than expected in the Twin Cities, I knew it possibly was not going to be my A standard qualifier after all. I remained on 2:39 pace through about 16 miles but then the conditions caught up to me so I just ran for place at that point. So, I had high motivation to attempt hitting the A standard again. I followed a training plan in “Advanced Marathoning” by Pete Pfitzinger that was specific for “4 weeks between marathons.” The major balance of these four weeks was using the first week and a half primarily for recovery, the next week and a half for moderate training, including a long run of 15 miles and some tempo work and the last week or so for taper again. I felt ready to race on the line at New York, but I truthfully did not know what I would be able to accomplish that day. I just didn’t worry about what I had done the month prior and decided to give hitting the A standard a try again. I had nothing to lose.

B.A.A.: Your time in New York (2:39:19) was a personal best by nearly three minutes, and you surprised a lot of people by placing seventh overall in the women's field. Can you walk us through your race?

R.F.: Sure. First of all, I made sure that I didn’t race the first mile too hard because I knew it was a long uphill and it was tempting to run hard because of all the excitement surrounding the “star studded field” of female runners that was at the starting line with us. Plus, the start itself is very much an adrenaline rush when you cross that beautiful bridge and there are helicopters and police motorcycles and cameras, etc. all over the place! So, I ran my first mile in a 6:25 and tried to keep my emotions under control. I ran the entire first half marathon with my friend and RunABlaze teammate, Erin Moeller. She is also a fellow Wartburg alumnus. She and I ran good and steady at 6:00 mile pace and it felt smooth and fun to do this together. I held this pace through 14 miles and saw Tegla Loroupe in front of me soon after this and knew I may be able to reel her in. I caught up to her on the very quiet Queensboro Bridge near mile 16 and this was thrilling to catch up to a female running role model with such a storied racing past. From that point onward I was by myself, which was not quite as exciting. I did thoroughly enjoy all the crowd support -- that was AMAZING over those last 10 miles. I was pulled along by those crowds, the excitement of the event and the inspiration of the entire weekend of events. I knew I was close to my goal time but also aware of how challenging the last few miles in hilly Central Park were going to be. So, I ran tough, kept replenishing fluids and carbohydrates, and tried to keep as close to pace as I could. I was ecstatic to come across the line in under 2:40 and only just a little disappointed that I missed my ultimate goal time by 19 seconds. It is a scenic but tough race course and I was pleased that I could have such a major PR there and place so well, especially four weeks after a previous marathon.

B.A.A.: How would you characterize your training philosophy, and how has it evolved over the years?

R.F.: My training philosophy has been very much focused on quality before quantity of miles. I think a high quantity of miles is beneficial and important but not always realistic to achieve with a busy life schedule! I read something by Jack Daniels once where he said “you should know the meaning behind every run you are doing.” I have tried to stay true to this when I walk out the door for each of my runs each day. I have realized the importance of this even more so now that I have two kids, a job as a physical therapist, and am involved in various other community activities. I definitely try to keep running in perspective with life, but I remain goal oriented, which keeps me focused. While I was in college and in my early post-college days I think I took training for granted and was truthfully not as focused as I have felt in recent years. Maybe a lot of this has to do with being my own coach now and putting the time in to create my own weekly and monthly training plans.

R.F.: My college coach, Steve Johnson, was the first major influence in running and racing. He taught me training and racing principles that I still abide by today and I know his coaching, in combination with the team I ran with at Wartburg, were the reasons I was able to excel while at Wartburg. I definitely established a true passion for running and competing while I was at Wartburg and it has stayed with me.

My husband, Bryan Friedman, has been my second biggest influence in running. He is a competitive runner as well and continues to challenge me in my racing goals and is extremely supportive of all my training and racing. It is helpful to be married to a fellow runner, who understands how a runner’s mind works!

Thirdly, I am influenced strongly by Deena Kastor. She and I are the same age and I am always amazed at how hard she works and how much she has achieved and continues to achieve. It is an honor to be able to race in the Olympic Trials with her again in 2008!

B.A.A.: When did qualifying for the Olympic Trials become a goal of yours?

R.F.: In 2002, after the Des Moines Marathon. Before this time, it was never on my radar and I actually had no idea what the qualifying standard even was. My husband is the one who challenged me to strive towards this goal at that time.

B.A.A.: What was your reaction when you heard that the Trials were going to be held in Boston on the day before the 112th Boston Marathon?

R.F.: I was very excited to hear that the Trials would be held the same weekend as the historic Boston Marathon. It definitely adds an additional level of inspiration. St. Louis [in 2004] was exciting as well, but to have the Trials paired with such a renowned marathon as Boston raises the bar of excitement even higher. This is a great way to showcase both events and it worked really well in New York. Plus, I have never been to Boston before, so the thought of traveling and running someplace new is always fun.

B.A.A.: Do you have any specific goals or expectations for the Trials that you're willing to share?

R.F.: I would like to keep my marathon PR streak alive (have had seven straight personal records in the marathon) and race for as high a place as I am able. I would hope to at the very least, better my place of 36th from the 2004 Trials.

R.F.: Anyone who challenges themselves to achieve things that are seemingly out of their reach. I believe in setting goals, reaching for your limits and beyond, and seeing what happens. I have witnessed this in physical therapy patients of mine, campers at an Easter Seals camp I worked at in the Wisconsin Dells, as well as in fellow runners and family members.

Most recently, the men’s Olympic Trials Marathon was very inspirational to watch in person and made me even more motivated and excited for the Women’s Trials in April!

R.F.: I love to play with my two sons (Isaac, 6, and Leo, 2), read books, go to movies, and travel.

B.A.A.: What is something interesting that the running community may not know about you?

R.F.: I am a councilperson on the Lambs Grove City Council (town of 225) and I played 6-on-6 basketball in high school (the same high school both my mom and dad attended) and was a guard on the team. This means I never got to shoot the ball or go past half court and could only dribble the ball two times in a row. 6-on-6 is no longer in existence in Iowa now.