Shireen can you tell us a little about your background, how you got into running, early influences, coaches etc.
I started running when I was 13 with my parents who attended the local harrier club. (My parents still run and they are now in their 60s) Dad was a very good runner in his University days representing Scotland in cross country and track. Initially I would just turn up for races or club runs with no training in between. I soon learned that in order to achieve I needed to train but tried to get away with doing as little training as possible. My first coach was Noel Matthews who I was with up until 3 years ago when I changed to Kevin Ross. One of the good things about Noel's coaching was that you were never over trained and that's probably why I'm still in the sport today. Noel would always give me Fridays off and I would rarely exceed 100km a week and only 70km during track season. I really needed a change. I've had an increase in mileage and intensity since moving to Kevin and I keep improving my times. The first time I raced overseas was in Austria at World Mountain Champs in 1996. I was very green I was astounded to find out that most of the team was training twice a day and this included leading up to the race!!
When do you first realise your were better than most? What distances did you prefer initially, what about now? Has the marathon become you focus?
I don't think I'm better than most. I think everyone has different strengths and its a matter of finding what those are, and what type of training suits you best to maximize performance. Initially I enjoyed the shorter distances but found I was better suited to the longer distances. I particularly like racing 10kms on the road and half marathons. I can't say that I enjoy marathons as I haven't had an enjoyable one yet. I still want to have another go at the marathon. However they take a lot of recovering from and I need to assess my racing schedule to see which one fits in best. I guess I'm feeling a bit negative about the marathon as I felt disappointed in my result.
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Your recent win in the Buller Gorge 1/2 marathon in 73 mins was a more than useful result, how much confidence did this give for the Nagoya marathon? Was qualifying for the Games your primary focus?
Everything in Buller went right for me on the day and I felt good the whole way. I also had a group of guys who were running my pace so that really helped. Yes it did give me confidence for Nagoya. Qualifying for the marathon has been my primary focus this season. However it certainly didn't happen in Nagoya which has left me feeling a bit disillusioned. The other New Zealanders (Leanne McPhillips and Melissa Moon) and Aussies Susan Michealsson and Sheryn Rhodes all felt the same. We really didn't know why we didn't run the time as we all felt we were in reasonable shape going into the race.
Can you tell us about the Nagoya marathon? Was this your first marathon? What did you learn?
Nagoya marathon is a Japanese event with 250 runners. 75 of these DNF (didn't finish) as they are pulled out of the race as the roads open up again. Running in Japan is incredibly popular so there are large crowds of spectators watching the race. Unlike most other international marathons however the Japanese are very reserved so you don't benefit from the energy from the crowd. The crowds in Boston really give you that extra boost which is much needed.
Nagoya was my 3rd marathon, I ran my first one last year. I really don't know why I ran a pw (personal worst) I guess I learnt that the marathon is a race where everything has to go right on the day and you have to be incredibly strong mentally. I think I ran too many marathons in a year. 2 marathons a year is ample as they take so long to recover from. I guess that's why I'm currently injured.
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Tell us about what it's like being a top class female athlete in NZ. What makes it difficult to step up to international level? Tell us some of the hurdles you have faced over the last few years. What one thing would you change if you could?
Living in Dunedin means I suffer from geographical isolation - having to travel further to races, airfares are more expensive and we until this month we only had the option of flying with Air NZ. Most international races are so far away as well so we have further to travel than most countries. I do however love the variety of training terrain that Dunedin offers. Like most athletes I work 32-40 hours a week. Until last year I worked shift work sometimes a 15 hour day finishing at 5am and up to 70 hours a week in the Post Anaesthetic Care Unit. So struggled to fit my training around this. Shift work also weakens your resistance to infection. Last year I ran NZ 10km track champs with whooping cough, initially diagonsed as exercise induced asthma. I find I'm much healthier now without the shift work.
Lack of funding is the biggest hurdle. Even if you get chosen to represent NZ at World Champs you end up funding the trip yourself as well as having to beg for leave without pay so you can compete. I always feel excited that I've been chosen then reality sets in. I hate having to ask for time off as it means we're short staffed. The one thing I would change is trips to World Champs should be funded.
Tell us about your rivals in NZ athletics. Do you respect some more than others?
I never like to under estimate my competition. There are always new runners coming through to be wary of. I guess I respect my rivals for the strengths they possess for example I respect Melissas ability to perform over cross country and mountains, Sarah Christies' ability on track and road, Gabby O'Rourke and Megan Edhouse in the marathon.
What is the plan for the rest of 2002 and beyond?
I've had a achilles tendon injury since the marathon, so I'm just trying to keep some form of fitness. I liked to improve on my 29th placing at World Half Marathon Champs 2000 and also run World Mountain Champs (if I get selected as I'm unable to run NZ Champs).
Many thanks Shireen for taking the time to complete this and best of luck recovering from the achilles injury.
Cool Running 09.04.02.
