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Transcript of John Hancock’s Boston teleconference
with Deena Kastor

Posted March 28th, 2007 at 2:10 PM by Martin Kennedy

Section: News & Results, Marathons

Deena KastorBelow is the complete, and quite lengthy, transcript of John Hancock’s Teleconference with Deena Kastor.

Deena, the reigning Flora London Marathon and USA Cross Country and 15k Champion, is also joined by her coach (and Jen Rhines‘ husband) Terrence Mahon.

The call was moderated by Greg Valenti and took place on March 27, 2007 at 2pm EST.

Operator: Good day. Welcome to John Hancock Financial Services Teleconference with U.S. Olympian and American record holder, Deena Kastor. On [the] line with Deena is her coach, Terence Mahon.

I will now introduce Debra Maxfield from John Hancock Financial Services.

Debra Maxfield: Good day. On behalf of John Hancock we’d like to welcome Deena Kastor, her coach, Terence Mahon, and her agent, Ray Flynn. We’d also like to thank all of the media for joining us for today’s call.
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Over the next hour you'll have the opportunity to ask questions of Deena and her coach. Our operator will queue your questions.

To begin, we'd like to introduce Deena to you. Deena joins us today from the Olympic Training Center in San Diego, where she's making her final preparations before arriving in Boston.

As you may know, Deena is currently America's, and indeed one of the world's, best marathon runners. We're extremely honored and proud that she is a member of the John Hancock Elite Team this year.

Deena joins the field with the fastest marathon run by a woman last year. She won the London marathon in 2:19:36 and bettered her existing American record in the process.

She was an inspiration for those of us who watched her courageous Olympic performance in Athens in 2004, and there she competed against the world's most elite runners and her tactics and determination brought to a bronze medal finish. She's a two-time silver medalist at the world cross-country championships and in 2005 won the Chicago Marathon.

Here in the USA she has won an outstanding 20 national titles on the roads, track, and in cross-country. This year, as part of her Boston preparations, she won the U.S. Cross-country championships as well as the U.S. 15K National championships.

Deena truly represents the best in the sport and we welcome her and look forward to her participation in the 111th running of the Boston Marathon on April 16th.

And now please let me introduce Deena Kastor.

Deena Kastor: Thank you, Debra, for the kind introduction. I'm honored to be one of the top 30 or so athletes John Hancock is bringing into this year's Boston Marathon.

Although this is my first Boston Marathon, the race is so rich with tradition and history that it makes it so well known in the sporting world. I've had the honor of creating friendships with people of the race. Pat Lynch, who I believe is joining us also, I get to see and visit with him in races around the world. So it's nice to finally join him at his own race.

The invaluable commitment of John Hancock, who for so long has partnered with the Boston Athletic Association, have become synonymous with the Boston Marathon.

The race is quickly coming up and we're all getting pretty anxious for the day to arrive, but on Patriot's Day the media always gets a story. And with all the enthusiastic spectators and each of us athletes hoping to be the one you all write about after the race is over, we're just all happy to be a part of this race this year. And thank you to the media for sharing the conference with us today.

Operator: Thank you. [OPERATOR INSTRUCTIONS].

Deena, our first question comes from Tony Reavis -- from John Powers from "Boston Globe."

John Powers: Hi, Deena. I wonder if -- this is the Boston debut for you. What induced you to run the race this year and what role, if any, does the World Marathon majors play now in how you select your races?

Deena Kastor: Yes. I guess every time I have a goal of running a marathon, the goal itself seems to dictate which races I run. I, for so long, wanted to break the 2:20 barrier and other spring marathons, the London Marathon being the other World Marathon major held in the springtime seemed a better choice to be able to give myself the opportunity to break the 2:20 barrier.

But Boston has always been in the heart and soul of probably every marathoner out there. It seems that it's the icon in this sport, the race that everybody strives to get qualifiers for, to be a part of. So it's always been in the back of my mind. And this year after -- after last year breaking the 2:20 barrier it seemed very easy to choose -- to choose Boston this year and in hopes of trying to win that.

And saying that, the World Marathon majors has been an incredible, I guess, backbone to the marathoning world. That they've created high standards, they're elevating the sport. It's nice to see that the top five biggest marathons in the world, in our greatest cities around the world, have come together and worked together to better the sport.

And it's very evident with how popular marathon is -- the marathon is getting how mainstream it's getting, and how it seems that everybody has this itch, this -- this drive in the back of their mind to accomplish this.

John Powers: Um-hmm. Thanks.

Operator: Our next question comes from Frank Litsky from the "New York Times."

Frank Litsky: Hi, Deena.

Deena Kastor: Frank.

Frank Litsky: Deena, what are your World Championship goals this year? What are your Olympic goals next year?

Deena Kastor: Right now my goals are pretty much focused strictly on winning the Boston Marathon. I feel like we've -- our preparations have been great to be able to do that. But looking beyond that, I really do hope to -- to run the 10,000 meters in the World Championships.

It's going to take -- it's obviously going to take a good turnaround after Boston to be able to recover well. So I'm going to have to focus on recovery after the race to be able to speed my legs up and get back on the track.

So the 10K there, and then in -- for Beijing, coming back to Boston next year for the women's Olympic trials, which I think will be a fantastic -- probably the best Olympic trials that -- that either of our men's and women's marathons have ever had, because of the host cities of Boston and New York running the trials there and running the marathon in Beijing with hopes for a better medal than bronze.

Frank Litsky: Thank you.

Operator: Our next question comes from Tony Reavis from WBZ-TV.

Tony Reavis: Deena, how you doing?

Deena Kastor: Hi, Tony.

Tony Reavis: Just 20 miles up the block.

Deena Kastor: Yep.

Tony Reavis: Deena, you look at your record in the marathon and you see excellent racing leading in when you do well. The one exception to that rule was last year, New York City, where you had no competitions leading into New York City. How much of no racing lead to that performance in New York City, and how much of it was that hesitance which all the lead women except Jelena seemed to come under that day?

Deena Kastor: Yeah, I've -- I actually was not putting in races before New York City last year because I was just trying to get ready for the race.

And this year I feel much more confident with -- with getting out there and racing, and training is -- has gone exceedingly well since January 1st.

Last year I seemed to have been just trying to put the workouts together, so to break that up and fly -- fly somewhere in the world for a "tune-up" race seemed out of the question when I was just trying to get some good workouts under my belt.

But this year I feel great from starting cross-country season, being able to do well at the shorter distances, to coming up and being able to run well in the 15K in Jacksonville, two weeks ago. I just had a 26-mile run this weekend that went exceedingly well, recovered quickly from it to do a good track workout today, so I feel really good about my preparations for this race, both in racing and in -- in practices.

Tony Reavis: Thanks. Good luck.

Deena Kastor: Thank you, Tony.

Operator: Our next question comes from Peter Gambaccini from "Runner's World."

Peter Gambaccini: Yeah, actually this overlaps a little bit with Tony's but, Deena, I know that one of the things you said about last year was that you -- that this year you wanted to get back to doing a lot more things that you sort of enjoyed, and I imagine that going to Boulder for cross-country is part of that, and going to Jacksonville and running the Equalizer with Jen Rhines and Meb and Ryan Hall was also part of that. And maybe you can talk a little bit about how you've managed to race well while really enjoying yourself and also I'm just wondering if you think that those performances maybe served the same purpose as the Berlin Half did for you before London?

Deena Kastor: We actually were -- Terence and I were going with doing a half marathon prior to the Boston Marathon, but we did want to put a little more joy and less intense focus on the marathon. A little more joy back into my preparations.

So cross-country racing -- we have a -- a big -- I guess a big emphasis on team here that whether we're cross-country -- racing for cross-country, going over to Japan and running with the girls for the Ekiden Relay team, to going to Jacksonville and basically racing against my teammates, which was -- which was exciting.

All of that just -- just makes our job a little bit more enjoyable. And I think it was definitely evident in -- in practices as we joked with each other and traveling together to races, that we're in this to have a good time, first off, and second off to produce some good performances. So -- feel really important to stick to those roots.

I guess before last year I had always stuck to focusing on a certain goal and going for it, and last year tended to have any other races get in the way of -- of my goals of a spring and [inaudible - audio problem] marathon, but this year wanted to add those fun races into the preparations, and it's turned out to be a change for the better.

I attribute that to Terence just being able to read each of us athletes so well and know what we need in our preparations for goal races.

Peter Gambaccini: Okay.

Deena Kastor: Long winded, of course.

Peter Gambaccini: That's fine.

Operator: Again, if you have a question please press the "1" key.

Our next question comes from Richard Thompson from the "Boston Herald."

Richard Thompson: Hi.

Deena Kastor: Hi, Richard.

Richard Thompson: I have a quick question for you. How difficult is it to maintain so many priorities that you have as a marathoner, a 15,000 meter runner, cross-country runner?

Deena Kastor: It hasn't been difficult, because from -- from starting to practice and train over the holidays my -- my sole focus was the Boston Marathon. I had these other races in there, cross-country, the Ekiden relay in Japan and the 15K in Jacksonville, Florida. These races built into the program to break up the monotony of training and also to give me a closer focus and excitement to get fit and ready in time.

So all along my focus has been the Boston Marathon, but I've just been able to enjoy some of these side trips with -- with my teammates to be able to race with them.

Richard Thompson: Can you switch back and forth that easily?

Deena Kastor: Yeah, it's been easy to switch around because our training is designed to put in the long mileage required for the marathon, but also, twice a week we're doing speed sessions and hill training and strength training in the weight room. So all of that makes for a well-round runner and Terence is pretty good at producing those.

Richard Thompson: If I could follow-up -- one more thing, how important is it to get a Boston race in before the Olympic trials, to just even know the course and to know what you can do on it?

Deena Kastor: The course -- the course that we're going to bed running in the trials is a criterion course, so it's not going to be the same route that -- that the tradition or the history of the Boston Marathon has followed, so next year will be different.

I definitely wanted to get in the Boston Marathon as a event as a whole before an Olympic year because after an Olympic year it's hard to tell the way your career goes. So this was definitely important for me to race this year. It was a high priority. We set it -- Terence and I set this as a goal late last year and have been really excited in training and preparing for it.

Richard Thompson: Very good. Thank you very much.

Deena Kastor: Yep.

Operator: Our next question comes from Larry Eder from Running Network.

Larry Eder: Hi, Deena.

Deena Kastor: Hi, Larry.

Larry Eder. A quick question for you. The downhill at Boston, did you have to add certain workouts, did Terence and you discuss certain workouts just to give you a good feel for that?

Deena Kastor: We have been training -- I mean we live in the mountains in Mammoth Lakes, California, and it's -- our whole team is able to prepare, no matter what their races are coming up, be able to prepare for specifics of uphills and downhills and getting in the pounding of a downhill when your legs are tired in the middle of a long run. So we've definitely incorporated that into our training.

Larry Eder: Okay, and can I just ask you another quick question? You were talking about kind of your basic training schedule, where you have a couple long runs each week and then is it one hill and one speed workout a week?

Deena Kastor: We incorporate hills into tempo runs -- into our tempo runs as well as our long runs, and then the rest of the week we have short interval sessions and then longer interval sessions on another day. So we get a whole buffet of workouts.

Larry Eder: Okay. Thanks a lot.

Deena Kastor: Yep.

Operator: Our next question comes from David Monti from Race Results.

Deena Kastor: Hi, David.

David Monti: Hey, Deena, hi. Can you give me a quick assessment of your key competitors that you'll be facing at Boston, particularly Jelena Prokopcuka and Rita Jeptoo, who you ran against in New York?

Deena Kastor: Those were the two I was going to mention. Yeah, I know my work is going to be cut out for me. Rita Jeptoo just ran a great half marathon, so I know that she’s fit and ready and she’s the defending marathon champion, not to discount another competitor, Jelena Prokopcuka, who was second and gave Rita a run for here money last year. She was second last year in the Boston Marathon, two-time winner of the New York City Marathon, so I know it’s going to be a tough race.

These are women that know how to fight and know how to struggle. There’s also — can’t discredit the Russians and the Mexicans that’ll also be joining us. So we’re going to have a tough race out there, give the crowds a good show, give the media something to write about, and just really, really excited because I feel really prepared for it. But I know it’s going to be a tough fight to the finish.

David Monti: Do you feel, in your own mind, that this is something of a rematch?

Deena Kastor: Ooh, like redemption or something. Yeah, I guess in some way I do feel that way. But I probably feel that way any time I get out there and run, that want to redeem — redeem yourself. Either defend the title and prove that it wasn’t a fluke or to get out there and show that you’re stronger than you were the last time around.

So — I was very disappointed in my ING New York City Marathon finish last fall, and ddfinitely hope that the outcome is different on Patriot’s Day.

David Monti: Thank you.

Operator: Our next question comes from Jim Gerweck from “Running Times.”

Jim Gerweck: Hey, Deena, just wondering how much — this is sort of following up on Larry’s question — how much specificity of training you’ve done for the Boston course and how much study of the hills, the ups and downs and where they come and how that’s played into your training and your strategy for the race?

Deena Kastor: Yeah. I will emphasize that we did train specifically with this course in mind and not just in hopes to run fast and persevere over this course, but to also recover well afterwards from it. We’ve done 21-mile runs that — that maybe six of those miles were uphill and followed by a few miles of downhill running. We’ve been trying to get in downhill pavement running to pound — pounding the legs a little bit.

So the fact that we’ve been doing these — these runs, also and tempo runs, 12-mile tempo runs with two miles uphill and the last two miles downhill. So all-in-all I’ve recovered exceptionally well from all of these workouts and being able to come back a couple days later to be able to do another hard workout.

So we have gave gotten in the hill work. I feel very confident. I’ve always felt confident on hills, but more so now that we’ve run them on pavement with this specific course in mind. Trying to put them in, put the hills in the workouts at points where I’m already feeling a bit fatigued and trying to run strong over them. So I feel good, I’ve definitely done some visualizing out there when we’re out on our Green Church Road, doing tempo runs, but visualizing myself on the Boston course itself.

Jim Gerweck: Are you done with the altitude training portion of your course? You’re down at the OTC now, are you going to stay down at sea level until the race or are you going to go back up?

Deena Kastor: We’re staying down at sea level. We got down here on Friday and our whole team is going to be for the month, me for — until I leave for Boston. I’m down here, basically, to narrow my focus and be able to get away from chores at home and just be able to come here and take care of myself and rest and recover quicker because I’m away from altitude.

Operator: And our next question comes from Paul Christman from “Running Stats.”

Paul Christman: Hi, Deena.

Deena Kastor: Paul.

Paul Christman: I was wondering, you — they’ve kind of taken some of my question away, but you seem to divide your time between San Diego and Mammoth, and I was wondering if you could comment a little on how much time you try to spend at altitude, particularly for a race like this and how much time down there, in general, and what the advantages of both are for you?

Deena Kastor: We’ve — we always — it seems like we always do our training in Mammoth Lakes. All of the — all of the world record holders and great — great runners in our history have — have all lived and trained at altitude, so we’ve definitely made that a focus for the past, I’d say nine years. In saying that, we also know the importance of doing training camps to get away from the monotony of training in the same place all the time and also narrow our focus to a race coming up.

So we did it for London — both the London Marathon races, have gone to London weeks prior to rent the place and train, do my last preparations for the London Marathon, we did it for New York last year, in training in — just outside of Philadelphia for a couple of weeks before the race, and then this time around coming down to San Diego.

We like San Diego, it’s a familiar place down here, an easy six-hour drive off the mountain to come down here and not have to worry about cooking or anything because it’s all provided here at the center itself.

Paul Christman: Is Terence there? Can I ask him a question?

Deena Kastor: He’s right here.

Terence Mahon: Sure.

Paul Christman: Terence, you’ve had an opportunity to work with two of the best, Bob Larson and Joe Vigil, and I’m wondering if you could elaborate a little on what you think some the — the best things that they’ve imparted to you, and what you’ve either come up with on your own or from other sources?

Terence Mahon: Oh, big question. If we look at like both Joe and Bob, Joe coming from his doctorate in exercise physiology, he definitely brings the science aspect to it — my training background. And then, someone like Bob Larson, who has some of that, but is — but a lot of times brings the common sense side of it as well.

And so I consider myself some of a hybrid between the two, where I’ll use Coach Vigil’s exercise physiology background in creating the templates of the training program, and then I have to bring in kind of the common sense side to it and look at what — what’s going to work for the athlete on the day — And I probably wouldn’t say the biggest thing that I’ve done between the two is make each program specific to each athlete.

So even though we work in a team dynamics, all the athletes will be doing slightly different things that are specific to them and what races they have coming up. Whereas, like a typical team will — will look to kind of get everyone to fit into one mold.

Paul Christman: Thanks.

Operator: Our next question comes from Michael Sandrock from “Daily Camera.”

Michael Sandrock: Hi, Deena, Terence.

Deena Kastor: Hi.

Michael Sandrock: Hey, Deena, you said that you have seen — you used to watch the Boston when you were a kid and I was just wondering who were some of your running heroes when you were in say grade school and through high school and college?

Deena Kastor: Oh, gosh. I would definitely say the biggest standout was — was Joan Benoit Samuelson. From the — even before I was a distance runner she won the Olympic gold medal in the L.A. Olympics, and I think that was enough to inspire anybody, no matter what your profession was.

It was a year later that I started running, but the image of her coming in with her little cap on into the — into the L.A. Coliseum is something that I don’t think anybody would ever forget. So she’s remained an inspiration for the — not just what she did on that day, but running Boston and running Chicago, she’s — visiting with her in New York City during Marathon Weekend there, she seems to be omnipresent. She’s at every race, still supporting — supporting the races and working with people, still inspiring people. She’s been in this sport for so long and her passion for it is — is so strong to this day that she remains my greatest inspiration in this sport and in life.

Michael Sandrock: Oh, okay. Great. Thank you.

Operator: Our next question comes from John Powers from “Boston Globe.”

John Powers: There is now a growing amount of — of depth in U.S. women’s distance running and I was just wondering in terms of inspiration how much do you think your medal in Athens, your victory in London has maybe induced people to give the marathon distance a try? And also, how much would it mean for you to win Boston for that, because it’s been more than two decades since a U.S. woman has won here?

Deena Kastor: I think that — there’s definitely a resurgence in American distance running and it’s very — I don’t think I’ve been a pioneer of it, but it’s definitely great to be a part of it, to see so many athletes excelling in our sport right now, being able to displace the Kenyans and Ethiopians on award stands, to being able to know that we can run with the best in the world if we prepare for it.

And I think it just takes one or two performances out of — out of somebody, Paula Radcliffe is — was probably a big pioneer in this of breaking down barriers or just not — not paying attention to barriers that are there, barriers meaning world records. It’s just go out and see what you can do.

So I think if we can all offer a little bit of inspiration to the next person that that will continue to grow in this sport, then with more people marathoning and more people being able to see, thanks to the media, see distance runners and recognize names on television or in the newspapers or in the magazines, that when people can identify with us it makes them more involved and want to be a part of it a bit more.

So it’s going to take a while longer, but I think you’ll see that this sport is going to be one of the greatest in our country soon enough.

John Powers: All right, thank you.

Operator: Our next question comes from Frank Litsky from “New York Times.”

Frank Litsky: It’s been answered. Thank you.

Operator: Again, if you’d like to ask a question please press the “1″ key. Our next question comes from Tony Reavis from WBZ-TV.

Tony Reavis: Deena, in relation to that question from John, you talk about being one of the greatest sports, and all of us involved in it believe that wholeheartedly, and yet we all know that the great majority of money is in a — hidden appearance fees. And because of that, in this country, how much you get paid for an endeavor validates it to the general public. When the London Marathon gives $65,000 to its champion, it’s not looked upon as big time sport by the general population. Boston, $100,000, whatever it is, the same thing applies. All the money is hidden. Will we ever get past that? Do we need to get past that to be a great sport?

Deena Kastor: Right. And I guess, Tony, you deep thinker, you, I’ve never thought of it in that way, but maybe it would be good to — to divulge the amounts of money that people are getting so that — so that — I mean I’d like to see it in the millions, like the baseball players and football players and basketball players are getting, but although we’re far from that, it still is maybe something the public can focus on and identify with a little bit more.

It’s not always a motivator for us athletes to maybe — our goal isn’t to make a certain amount of money each year, but our goal is to break a record or to defend a title, so I’m not sure if some people would feel that they want that to be a secret. But I would see no problem in being able to make that public knowledge.

Tony Reavis: Deena, in 2005 the sport of running raised $650 million for charity, yet, over its history, things like London, Chicago, New York, and Boston have given out $10 or $11 million in total prize money.

Deena Kastor: Wow.

Tony Reavis: Yeah, exactly.

Deena Kastor: Those are good statistics. I also believe–

Tony Reavis: Again, we’ve become in many ways, it’s almost the telethon of how much money we’ve raised charity-wise, and people are paying less and less attention to the actual racing elements of our sport.

Deena Kastor: Right, but do you think, Tony, that that is also — the charity aspect is also giving people an excuse to get out there and try this, not about themselves?

Tony Reavis: Oh, yeah, exactly. Exactly, but it seems a zero sum game rather than a win/win.

Deena Kastor: Yeah. Do you have something to say about that, Terry.

Terence Mahon: Yeah, I mean, Tony, the thing I think you have to look at in the context is that how long ago was it that running was an amateur sport and the whole nature of guys like Prefontaine, for example, the whole money under the table bit to maintain amateur status. So it’s almost like, okay, now they’re professionals, but the under the table side still exists in that semantic.

And maybe that’s where it’s coming from, and so we’ll really have — although it’s taken a big step in terms of these athletes, they run, they get paid to run, they get paid to show up. In terms of appearance fees, you have to look at the fact that there are certain athletes that do things for certain events, that not — the whole field’s not out to do.

Tony Reavis: So — exactly, no, nothing wrong with it, it’s just that we don’t get credit as a sport for the real money in our sport, therefore we’re not taken seriously as a professional sport. That’s just my point.

Terence Mahon: I got you.

Deena Kastor: Right.

Tony Reavis: But thanks to both of you.

Deena Kastor: Yep.

Operator: Our next question come Jim Gerweck from “Running Times.”

Jim Gerweck: Yeah, Deena, I don’t know if you addressed this about later in the season focusing — doing anything in terms of track, the World Championships, and do you have any plans to run a — if so, do you have plans to run a track — domestic track race to try to get a qualifier for the Worlds.

Deena Kastor: Yeah, I think Frank Litsky actually asked that early in the — early in the teleconference, but I do plan on running track season. I want to try to get in — earn a spot on the team — the World Championship team for the 10,000 meters. As far as where I’m going to get my qualifier for nationals, I’m not sure of that yet, but we’ll put something together.

Terence Mahon: Yeah, Jim, there’s been interest by the Japanese group, particularly Fukushi and her coach, they’re also looking to try to get a fast time. And they’re actually interested in running a race later in June which, if something like that comes to fruition, may help us out because the typical fast 10,000 meter races in the United States are typically held at Stanford, which are only two weeks after the Boston Marathon, which doesn’t really work for us. So if we find something that may not be domestic, let’s say in Japan or Europe, we may have to go that route. But, but — and then as a final thing in saying that, but Deena’s fully capable of getting her qualifier at U.S. nationals, if needed.

Deena Kastor: Terence has been withholding information from me.

Operator: And our next question comes from John Powers from the “Boston Globe.”

John Powers: Deena, I wonder if you could talk about, in the evolution of the visibility of women’s marathoning, the role of the separate start in the major races, for example, Boston now has a separate start, New York has, has in terms of just putting you on your own stage as opposed to being pulled into the men’s race?

Deena Kastor: Right, I think the — I think that that’s — just that decision alone, on the separate starts, is I guess the leaps and bounds that the World Marathon majors is putting together on how to — how to make each marathon bigger and better than the one before. And that was definitely an addition that has been beneficial for the women and the exposure of the women in our sport.

So instead of us crossing the finish line so many minutes after the men, we’re now being able to cross the finish line before them, and get our own little celebration. So it’s definitely been a great change for some of these races and a fun way for the spectators to view it.

John Powers: Also, what role does it now play in tactics, when you have a much better sense as to where your rivals are, there’s not a whole crowd of guys out there in between you and them?

Deena Kastor: Right, and it does change racing tactics a lot, but it is still a really fun way to race, to be able to just grind out the miles on the streets with your competitors is pretty fun, without any of the distractions of men just wanting to get on TV for a couple of miles. [inaudible - audio problem] –fun, it makes the race a little more intense, but a lot more competitive as far as being able to race against your own challengers.

John Powers: Um-hmm. Thanks.

Operator: Again, if anyone has a question at this time, please press the “1″ key. And our next question comes from David Monti from “Race Results Weekly.”

David Monti: Deena, now women comprise more than 50%, even of some races — of mixed gender races now. Can you talk a little bit about how Title IV has had an impact on your career and on the sport?

Deena Kastor: Yeah, Title IV has just opened up so many opportunities for women in sports and Kathrine Switzer, our very own Kathrine Switzer has been an inspiration in that, even before Title IV started, just trying to get the same — the same benefits, being able to join in with what the men were doing.

To see how well women have done in sports, particularly marathoning, when it’s not the most glamorous, fashionable sport out there. That we’re cramping and choking the other day, just in practice, but I pulled over into the bushes to pee in the bushes and then I — then I spit on the side of the road and took off again.

And it seemed so unladylike, but to see women be able to sweat and grind out the miles and persevere over the suffering of the marathon and that so many women are embracing marathons for reasons of fitness or reason for self-revitalization, to raise money — as Tony was saying — to raise money for charity, whatever the reasons that people are getting out there to join in this sport, it’s just incredible so many women out there empowering each other and being able to accomplish these great feats. It’s incredible to see anybody cross the finish line.

It’s probably — the most inspiring place anybody could be is at the finish line of any major marathon and see the elation on everyone’s face when they finally arrive there. It’s a huge journey and it’s very special that so many women and men are there to be a part of it.

There’s — I mean I think was it last year, David, you know the, you probably know the statistic of breaking records on how many people tried to get into the ING New York City Marathon. It was like 98,000 people that tried to enter. And, of course, the starting lines are limited, but that would be an incredible sight to see that many people lining to accomplish a marathon distance.

Operator: And our next question comes from Larry Eder from Running Network.

Larry Eder: Deena, one of the things I was curious about is the — how long does it take — with the difficulty on a course, does it take longer for you to recover from a course that’s a little more rugged or is — when you guys practice — like one of the things you mentioned about is doing some of your runs where your legs accept a little more pounding, so you’re kind of weathering — you’re precallusing for that. How do you callus yourself to recover faster from a marathon?

Deena Kastor: I think a big part of the recovery is focusing on it, not only in practices, but after the race. A lot of times after a marathon I know I’m going to have a month of vacation time so I don’t take the ice baths or stretch or get a massage, I take a complete vacation from — from the monotony of recovery and training all together.

So after Boston, knowing that I want to make a turnaround to track season, I am going to take some time off, but maybe focus a little after the race on a nice massage and the ice baths to help my legs recover, but I’m really — I really believe that the preparations that I’ve been doing have prepared me for the ruggedness of this course, the challenging hills of this course.

Larry Eder: Okay, thanks a lot.

Operator: Our next question comes from Paul Christman from “Running Stats.”

Paul Christman: If you feel up to it, could you just tell us a little bit about a day in the life in Mammoth, and what you eat for breakfast and lunch, and how you relax and how much time you spend resting, or whatever you do in a day, a typical day in Mammoth?

Deena Kastor: It’s quite boring, Paul. I’m not sure I should reveal how boring our lives are. We have — get up in the morning and immediately have breakfast, whether it’s a bowl of oatmeal or a bagel, some tea or coffee, and then get out the door and walk the dog. After walking the dog I get ready for practice and I get on the massage table in Andrew’s office and he gives me a light massage and a hard stretch session.

Then we head to practice. We meet the team at the Looney Bean, our little coffee house in Mammoth Lakes, meet the team at the Looney Bean and head to wherever the practicing venue is that day.

So it’ll either be an easy ten to 12-mile run on the dirt roads or a hard workout on the pavement. Intervals or a long run.

After practice make sure we come home and fuel up quickly and refuel quickly and get on the massage table again for a post-workout massage. Get in bed for an hour or two nap and wake up to have another snack and prepare for a second run of four to six miles. Then meet my teammates at the Snowcreek Athletic club to lift weights and do a core session. And come home, make some dinner and go to bed soon after that.

So we’re waking up around 6:00 in the morning and going to bed around 8:30.

Paul Christman: Well, that doesn’t sound boring to me, but anyway, thanks.

Deena Kastor: Yep.

Operator: And we have a few questions from Debra.

Debra Maxfield: Hi, Deena, this is Deb from John Hancock and I have a couple of questions. From a human interest perspective, what keeps you passionate about what you do and getting up every morning to run and just keep giving 100%?

Deena Kastor: The one — only one thing that keeps me passionate about — about what I’ve been doing for so many years of, going on 23 years of running now, is sitting down with my coach Terence, Ray Flynn, my manager, and my husband Andrew, my training partner Mike. Sitting down and making our goals for the year, that narrow focus. For this year it was the Boston Marathon.

So it’s every morning that I get up. And some mornings a little tired from a — from a big week or training, or whatever it may be. Maybe it’s that the sun’s not shining so it’s a little gloomy outside and uninspiring to get out, whatever the case may be, it’s that thought that the work needs to be put in. And it’s — just knowing that Boston is coming up and lurking in the future and that I need to prepare for it is inspiration enough to get out the door and get the work done.

And in saying that it’s never about myself, when we make a goal as a group, we make it together. So I know that my coach and my husband and training partners and my teammates are relying on me to be at practice every day and to give my best. So we’re all — I mean our sport seems pretty individual, but we’re definitely out there working together.

Debra Maxfield: Great, thank you.

Deena Kastor: Yep.

Operator: And our next question is from Bob Fitzgerald from “New England Runner.”

Bob Fitzgerald: Hi, Deena. I would be curious to know when the last time you ran on Nantasket Beach was, but let me actually ask you, for our readers, when will your taper for Boston begin, and what exactly will that entail?

Deena Kastor: That’s a good question. A taper isn’t very — our taper isn’t very extreme. Probably the week leading up to the race I would drop my mileage from may lurking around 100 to 110 miles, I would drop it down to say about 80 miles for the week, but keep some of the intensity up, still do some mile repeats and faster sessions, so my legs don’t get flat, but nothing that’s going to create too much lactic acid.

So that last week is just a fine balance of getting in some speedier work and not allowing yourself to get too sluggish before the race. So keeping a little pop in our step and — and really it’s all about getting in the — the last week getting in proper fuels so that you’re storing the carbohydrates you’re going to need for the marathon distance and staying off your feet in between runs so that your legs are resting. All these things combine in order to — in order to prepare for that one day.

The last time I ran on Nantasket Beach was in 2003.

Bob Fitzgerald: Oh, okay. Have you and Terence discussed any strategy for running Boston’s hills, specifically and especially the downhill portions of the course?

Deena Kastor: Terence, do you want to answer that? Oh, is that for me or Terence?

Bob Fitzgerald: Well, either one of you. Terence will do.

Terence Mahon: Yeah, I mean in terms of the strategy for us, we actually — that was part of the thing for using an event like the Gate River Run, with the 15K, if you know anything about that race, you’ve got a mile-long steep uphill and a mile-long downhill. And so we created a little challenge for ourselves in there to see how could she turnover off the hill coming on the downside. And she actually ran a 4:49 mile coming down that hill.

And our biggest thing with looking at Boston is not so much for her, since she’s a great uphill runner, but can she make — then make the transition over that last 10K to run really fast on the downhill.

So in training we’ve been trying to throw things like that at her, where we’ll make her — we’ll challenge her up a hill where we know — the goal is just to try to get up it, and then how fast can we run coming off the hill?

So we’ve done that in tempo runs, in long runs, as well as pick certain races to go after that aspect.

Bob Fitzgerald: Well, thank you both, and good luck in Boston. I look forward to it.

Deena Kastor: Thank you.

Operator: Thank you for joining us. Before we close I’d like to turn this back over to Debra Maxfield of John Hancock.

Debra Maxfield: Thank you, Deena, Terence, and Ray for participating in the call today. It was a great pleasure to hear from you. Thanks, also, to all of you in the media for asking questions and for calling in. We at John Hancock look forward to seeing you all in Boston on April 16th for the Boston Marathon. Thanks again and have a great day.

Released by: John Hancock Financial Services