Interview with Abdi Abdirahman

by Mario Fraioli

Abdi Abdirahman, 29, will be part of a star-studded men’s field at this weekend’s NYC Half-Marathon presented by NIKE. The Somali native, who lives and trains in Arizona with his long-time coach Dave Murray, has been tearing up the track in Europe this summer, including a 10,000 meters PR of 27:22.81 in finishing seventh at the Thales FBK Grand Prix meet on May 28 in Hengelo. He followed that up with a 5000-meter personal best of 13:18.89 while finishing 10th at the Norwich Union Grand Prix in London on July 28.

Abdirahman, who gained U.S. citizenship in 1999, is a two-time national champion in the 10,000 meters, and represented his country in the event at the last two Olympics. He is also the two-time reigning national 10-mile champion, and is a veteran of two marathons, both at New York City, where he finished fifth in last year’s race in a PR of 2:11:24.

Mensracing.com caught up with Abdirahman before he headed to New York on Thursday for this weekend’s inaugural event.

MensRacing.com: First and foremost, you’re part of a stacked field at the inaugural New York City Half-Marathon Presented by NIKE this weekend that includes fellow Olympians Alan Culpepper and Meb Keflezighi. I imagine you’re pretty excited
Abdi Abdirahman: Yeah, man, I’m excited. It’s going to be a great race. I’ve been training in Flagstaff for four weeks now since I got back from Europe, and everything has been going really well. My workouts have been longer and faster, and everything has just been going really well. I’m ready to race.

MR: Given your track success earlier this summer, why race on the roads this weekend in New York instead of taking a shot at the American 10K record in Brussels?
AA: I was planning ahead of time to run a fall marathon after racing on the track this summer. That might still happen, but none of the marathon organizers have approached me with an offer yet to come to their race, so I don’t know what’s going to happen. At this point, I wish I was going to Brussels, because I’m in much better shape than I was when I ran 27:22. Much better. There’s no question if I can get the American record; the only question is how low I can go, you know? But it’s just another race—my main focus right now is the half marathon this weekend. I have no regrets. It’s a great race, a great atmosphere. The organizers are great, the people are great, and the city is great. It’s just going to be a great race, and I’m glad to be a part of it.

MR: So you think if it weren’t for committing to the half marathon this weekend, the American record in the 10K was well within your reach?
AA: Definitely. I would have liked to get the American record, but I don’t worry about it now. Next time I’m on the track, I’ll get it. It’s just a question of where and when that’s going to happen.

MR: I know you don’t have any commitments yet, but is the half marathon this weekend setting you up for a full marathon sometime this fall?
AA: To be honest, I don’t know. I have no idea right now. I just want to focus on this [half marathon]. I might go back over to Europe and run another 5K, or run a marathon. It’s a possibility, but I won’t say definitely because no one’s approached me yet. We’ll see what happens—I have to sit down with my coach and [my agent] Ray Flynn and see if there are any offers and if it’s in my best interest.

MR: You’ve run two marathons now, both at New York each of the last two years. What is it about New York that’s appealing to you, and is there a possibility you could return to the Big Apple again this November?
AA: New York is a great race. I just love that race, man. I love the city and the people, and Mary Wittenberg, and Dave Monti, and everyone else there have always treated me great. The door is always open to New York and other marathons. The goal is to run fast; it doesn’t matter where. I’m really not worried about it. Everything is going well right now; I’m just so happy that everything is going well.

MR: You ran 27:22 over in Europe earlier this summer which was about a 10-second PR for you. Talk a little bit about that race.
AA: The 27:22 was a great race, but the competition wasn’t as good as I would have hoped. I knew we were running fast, but it wasn’t fast enough. I thought I was on American record pace until four or five laps to go, but it was too slow. When I finished, I thought I could have went 15 to 20 seconds faster, the way I felt. The next day, I wasn’t even sore. I was relaxed and feeling great.

MR: At U.S. Nationals you dropped out of the 10K with only a few laps to go. What happened there?
AA: The 10K at USA Nationals didn’t go well. Those guys ran a great race. I had a hip problem, and it was unfortunate that I got injured with two laps to go and had to stop.

MR: Was it after that race that you decided to shift your focus to the roads, and if not, when did you make that decision?
AA: No, no. I went back to Europe after USA Nationals, and after I ran 13:18 in London, I came back to Flagstaff and started training for the half-marathon and the marathon. I’m keeping the possibility open for a marathon, but even if it doesn’t happen, it’s not the end of the world. I’ll just take a break and recover a little earlier than I planned to and start focusing on the marathon trials.

MR: Well, that’s almost my next question. You made the Olympic team in 2000 and 2004 in the 10,000. Will the focus heading into ’08 be the marathon, then?
AA: That’s the main goal, that’s the bread and butter race for me. The trials are in November [2007], and I want to make the Olympic marathon team. If it doesn’t go my way, then there’s always the 10K, but I want to run the marathon. There’s going to be a lot of good guys in that race, probably eight or nine guys fighting for three spots on the Olympic team. The thing with the marathon is that anything can happen. You have to be ready for anything.

MR: How has your training changed since you returned from Europe and turned your focus toward the half-marathon this weekend and a potential fall marathon?
AA: Everything is just longer, man. The long run is longer, intervals are longer, and the tempo runs are longer. It’s the same type of training, just longer and slower, but not much slower. It’s still pretty fast.

MR: What kind of mileage are you running now that you’re preparing for the longer races, and what are some examples of specific workouts?
AA: A lot of two-mile repeats or something like eight times a mile. Before, I was doing up to eight-mile tempo runs, and now I’m going 10 miles or longer. I’m doing two long runs a week, like 20 miles. I’m running between 110 and 115 miles per week right now.

MR: I read in a previous interview that before your first marathon in 2004, you were training upward of 140 to 150 miles per week. Were you really doing that kind of mileage, and have you got up that high in your most recent buildup?
AA: Last year I got up to 130 before New York and yeah, I was doing 140 to 150 before my first marathon, but I learned from that. It didn’t work too well for me, but I didn’t know what to expect. I got in real good shape, but I almost didn’t make it to the line. I’ve learned that the most important thing when getting ready for the marathon is staying healthy. You’ve got to train smart and be 100 percent healthy on race day.

MR: You were a 13:40 and mid-28 guy in the five and 10K coming out of college. You’ve taken huge chunks of time off both of those PRs since then, particularly in the 10K. To what do you attribute your overall progression?
AA: I want to give credit to coach [Dave] Murray. I’ve been with him since ’96, and it’s just doing the same things that work for me and training smart. He’s a great guy, a great motivator. I’ve talked to some other people and learned different things from other great coaches, but I know what works for me. I also want to thank Ray for helping me out and putting me in the right races where I have the opportunity to run fast. I think the biggest key has been staying healthy, training smart, and also all the people in Flagstaff and at the University of Arizona who have always supported me.

MR: You’ve been competing in this sport at a high level for a number of years now. You’ve won NCAA titles, national titles, and made the Olympic team. What else would you like to accomplish before your career is over?
AA: I dunno, man; there are still a lot of goals. I want to make the Olympic team in 2008 for sure and do well there. If I can medal that would be great, but if not, then set a personal best. I just want to run fast and be happy. Those are the biggest goals.

MR: How about after you’re through running?
AA: I have a lot of things in mind. I definitely want to stay in the sport and stay involved with long-distance running. I want to open a sports bar in Arizona, that’s one of my main goals. It’s going to be called the Arizona Hall of Fame Bar and Grille. That’s my main goal after running.

MR: That takes care of just about everything I wanted to cover. Before I let you go, is there anything else you would like to add?
AA: Yeah, one more thing. I want a lot of U.S. people and coaches to recognize the young guns in the sport like Matt Tegenkamp. It’s been a long time since Americans have been running this fast, and it’s great to see. He’s PRed in every race he’s run this season—in my mind, he’s the U.S. athlete of the year. He’s run 3:36 [for 1500 meters], 7:34 [for 3000 meters], and 13:04 [for 5000 meters]. There hasn’t been anyone in this country who has done that in a long time. He deserves that award this year instead of just giving it to some sprinter again. He’s going to motivate a lot of the young guys to really go after it like he has. He even motivates me. I was already motivated, but he motivated me even more. When you see someone running that well, it’s motivating. He shows the hard work, discipline, and sacrifice it takes to be successful. He’s showing the other young guys that you need to go out there and get it, instead of waiting and talking. Success isn’t just going to be handed to you.

Editor's Update: Abdirahman fran most of the NYC Half-Marathon Presented by NIKE with Meb Keflezighi and Tom Nyariki. He finished the race in third, with a time of 1:01.34. To read the NYC Half-Marathon story, click here.

Interview conducted August 23, 2006, and posted August 25, 2006.