An Interview with Emily Brzozowski

Emily Brzozowski, member of the Army's World Class Athlete Program, was training for the modern pentathlon before suffering a riding injury. With her focus shifted to the marathon, she qualified for the Olympic Trials at the California International Marathon.

Boston Athletic Association: How did you first become involved in the sport, and when did you first realize you had a future as a distance runner?

Emily Brzozowski: I started running with indoor track my freshman year in high school. I always knew I was better at longer distances and just thought I'd work my way up as I got older.

B.A.A.: You ran cross country and track at Army - talk about your experience there both academically, socially and as an athlete.

E.B.: The hardest part was just trying to balance everything.

On top of academics and athletics you also have military duties to perform. There’s never enough time to get everything done and you really have to prioritize. I think sleep was always a top priority for me, so I would often go to bed before any of my roommates even if that meant not getting all of my academics finished.

Being an athlete really gives you an advantage at West Point. Instead of eating at tables assigned with people from your company (who can haze you when you’re a freshman), you get assigned to tables with your teammates. Instead of doing all of the parade drills, you get to go to practice every afternoon. And traveling to competitions was nice, especially in your first few years there because you don’t have the chance to get away and leave the post much.

B.A.A.: The Marine Corps Marathon, where you won the Armed Forces Championship in 2005, must mean a lot to you and everyone else in the military - Can you talk a little bit about the camaraderie and competition at that event?

E.B.: It was a great experience. I ran it somewhat untrained at the last minute. I was on the Army team for the Army 10 Miler that year and they needed another female for the marathon team. Someone called me and asked if I could run it and I was in good shape because I was training for the pentathlon at the time. So even though pentathlon is only a 3K, I was running 40-60 miles a week.

My teammates gave me great advice and I just ran and tried to pick off people the whole race. By mile 19, I had passed the leading Navy girl, so I was first Armed Forces and by mile 24, I had moved up to third overall.

It was great because the Army, Navy, Air Forces and Marine Corps all had teams. The support from the crowds was amazing and because it was the Marine Corps Marathon and I was wearing the Army uniform, I had tons of people cheering for me. The Army team won the trophy that year which was really exciting.

B.A.A.: You are also a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom - what did you learn over there that has changed you both personally and as an athlete?

E.B.: I was in Kuwait before the war started and then part of the initial “war” where my unit ended up at Baghdad International Airport. It was really different when I was there than it is now. Living conditions are much better now since there are American bases built up, but it’s much more dangerous.

My experience really taught me to try and appreciate the little things we take for granted, like being able to take a shower every day, having a bed to sleep in, being able to use a real bathroom, etc.

When I was Kuwait I ran once every three days, just because that’s how often we were allowed to shower due to water conservation. Once we got to Iraq I didn’t run at all because we were in somewhat of a holding pattern with our location.

It’s really such a different world than it is here and it is hard to imagine it if you haven’t been there. One story that reminds me of that is that my birthday fell in the middle of our 10-day convoy from Kuwait to Baghdad. My mom had sent me a package while I was in Kuwait that I had saved to open on my birthday. I opened it and there were some pajamas from Victoria’s Secret and I couldn’t stop laughing because at that point we had been wearing our chemical protective suits for the entire convoy, obviously not showering, completely disgusting, and covered in sand. And we weren’t allowed to take our suits off until we reached Baghdad and everything was declared safe, so even though my mom meant well, and in normal life it would have been a nice present, the reality of where I was and what I was wearing made it seem absolutely hilarious.

B.A.A.: You qualified for the Olympic Trials with a time of 2:45:02 at the California International Marathon - take us through that race and talk about what went well and what you hope to improve upon in Boston.

E.B.: The original plan was for me to qualify in Chicago. You’ve probably heard about the heat and humidity that day. I felt awful from mile one, couldn’t get on pace or into a rhythm. Around mile nine, I knew for sure it wasn’t going to happen, so I backed off. I saw my coach at mile 10 and she told me to take it really easy so I would recover faster. I realized then running a marathon, even jogging it, can be quite miserable! I didn’t beat myself up too much because I realized the conditions were horrible.

After we got back to Colorado, I met with my coach and she told me she wanted me to run CIM about a month later. I knew my body would recover quickly from Chicago since I didn’t really push myself hard, but mentally the last thing I wanted to do was go through the torture of another marathon. I took a few days off, went up to the mountains, did some scenic trail running and mentally got around to racing at CIM. I decided that even if I couldn’t get or hold onto the pace, I was still going to push myself to at least run a good time.

It was a great race. I felt good from the start and after the first mile I just knew I was going to make it. I ran pretty even and felt good the whole way. I did run fairly conservative just because I wasn’t quite sure what was going to happen and I didn’t want to die at mile 24, or anything. My only goal was to qualify regardless of time.

So in Boston I really want to run like I have nothing to lose and see how far I can push myself. Also in Boston it will be nice to have a group to run with. At CIM, I ran with people/groups for part of the race, but was also on my own a lot. At the Trials there will be so many women running close to the same times that hopefully it will be easy to get in with a pack.

B.A.A.: Describe your feelings and emotions when you learned that you qualified for the Olympic Trials. What does the accomplishment mean to you?

E.B.: It was a big relief. It had been one of my life goals to qualify. I just thought it would happen a lot later. Before I got hurt, I was planning on doing pentathlon for a while and then start running marathons in my early 30’s. So when WCAP switched me to marathons, I really didn’t have a lot of time to train or many chances to qualify. And with the marathon you know there are all sorts of factors and conditions that come into play. So, especially after Chicago, it was a huge relief to get the standard in Sacramento.

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

E.B.: Sure. Realistically, I am obviously not going into this thinking I am going to make the Olympic Team. I am really excited to just be a part of it and really want to enjoy the whole experience. It is almost overwhelming to think that I’m going to be standing there with Deena Kastor, Marla Runyan, Joan Samuelson and all these running greats!

Time wise, I would like to break 2:42 since that’s the Olympic standard. Otherwise, I just hope to have a good race, run smart, and really push myself.

B.A.A.: You’re in the resident program at the Colorado Springs Olympic Training Center - what is it like living alongside all of the other great athletes there?

E.B.: I’m an off-complex resident so I have a house about two miles away, but I definitely spend a lot of time there training, eating meals, at the recovery center, etc. It’s a really great environment to be around so many dedicated athletes all working towards achieving their goals. It’s a very supportive network and has so many different resources to help athletes succeed.

B.A.A.: Now you were originally out there for the Modern Pentathlon - what led to you training for the marathon instead?

E.B.: I came into the World Class Athlete Program for Modern Pentathlon and did that for 10 months. Then last January I fell off a horse at riding practice and landed right on my back, fracturing three bones. I was out doing nothing but lying on the couch for two months, which was pretty miserable. For Modern Pentathlon, there isn’t an Olympic Trials, it is based on a rolling points system with points you earn at World Cup events. To go to those events you must be ranked nationally and since I was out with my injury, I missed the first domestic competition of the year and the first few World Cup events. It would have been incredibly difficult for me to ever catch up points wise.

WCAP knew that I had run a pretty decent marathon before and I thought I had a good chance of qualifying for the Trials, so they gave me the opportunity to switch sports and start training for the Marathon.

B.A.A.: Do you see yourself returning to Modern Pentathlon competition in the future?

E.B.: Maybe. It's a unique, challenging sport. I competed in the Canadian National Championships in August and finished third. U.S. Nationals are in June, so I’ll most likely compete in those. Otherwise there aren’t any other domestic competitions. I still train with the team some – I swim every day and shoot/fence several times a week so I can keep that option open in the future.

B.A.A.: What do residents of the Olympic Training Center do in their free time?

E.B.: Colorado Springs is a great place to live. There are tons of things to do outside – Hunting, biking, skiing, rafting, etc. The Athlete Services Center at the OTC always plans a lot of outings for athletes to attend. They organize trips for everything from local sporting events to the rodeo and shows that come into town.

E.B.: I like it. After living here, I’ll take altitude over humidity any day! I feel the affects the most if I am visiting my parents or somewhere at sea level and do a work out. I notice my recovery time is much quicker between intervals and I catch my breath a lot faster. I assume the same is true for racing at sea level.

B.A.A.: Your coach, Lisa Rainsberger, was a top road racer herself. What has she been able to teach you, from her own experiences?

E.B.: She's great! She had such an impressive career and has been through everything a runner could imagine, so knows what to tell me for every situation. At first it was a big adjustment training for a marathon as opposed to a 3K, or other short distances, but she has so much experience and she knows what she’s doing. I have learned a lot from her already and sometimes I think she is my life coach as well as my running coach.

B.A.A.: Has your training philosophy changed at all as you prepare for the Olympic Trials? How has it evolved since you first took up the sport?

E.B.: Right now life seems kind of crazy because I am trying to focus on training for the Trials, but also trying to figure out what I will be doing after the Trials. WCAP is a three-year cycle, so after the Trials/Olympics, you’re released from the unit and get sent to another Army unit. So right now I am trying to get all of that sorted out and it is a bit stressful not knowing where I will be in three months.

Training wise, I have realized it takes a lot of dedication and a full commitment to be a top level athlete. You really have to plan your day to make sure you’re optimizing your training time. The biggest thing I have learned since being here is how important recovery is. I need to be careful and not overdo things during my free time so my body can rest up for the next training session. Whether it’s a quick nap, massage, or using the ice bath, I try and schedule recovery time to ensure my body is getting it.

E.B.: Probably my father since he is why I started running. He ran, so I thought it would be fun to try. He impresses me even more now because he’s in his 60’s and runs the Promise Land 50K every year. It is this really tough 50K in Virginia that goes up and down three huge mountains. He even did a 50 miler a few years ago. Most people never run that distance and my Dad is doing it in his 60’s.

Also my coaches over the years – My high school coach, Lance Weisend, really cared about us as people, not just as a cross country team. And my college coach, Jerry Quiller, really understood what it was like, not just to be a college athlete, but a college athlete going through West Point. And now, of course, Lisa – So I’ve been lucky to have coaches that care about me more than just as a runner.

I have had some great running role models throughout my career starting with Cynthia Lorenzoni, who owns the local running shop with her husband Mark. She was a top-level runner in the 80’s and now they have really created a strong running community in Charlottesville where I grew up.

I think the person who I’ve most recently met who inspires me is one of my pentathlon teammates, Sheila Taormina. She has a gold medal from Atlanta in the 4x200 meter swim relay, then competed in the next two Olympics in triathlon, finishing as high as sixth, and has since switched over to pentathlon. She is trying to become the first person to make it to the Olympic Games in three different sports! She is just amazing. Not just as a naturally gifted athlete but because I’ve never met anyone who is so focused and determined. I honestly have no doubt that she could qualify for the Olympics in any sport if she tried!

E.B.: I like to cook, read, and work in my yard, really anything outside. And of course naps are always great!

Interview conducted for the B.A.A. by Jake Duhaime.