Interview: Alan Culpepper

by Mario Fraioli

Two-time Olympian Alan Culpepper will make his second-straight Boston Marathon appearance on April 17, highlighting a strengthened American field that also includes 2004 Olympic silver medalist Mebrahtom Keflezighi and Brian Sell, who finished ninth at last year’s World Championships in Helsinki. Culpepper ran 2:13:39 to finish fourth at Boston last year, the highest American male finish since Dave Gordon’s fourth-place finish in 1987.

After running a 2:09:41 debut at the LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon in 2002, Culpepper won his second marathon at the 2004 Olympic Trials in Birmingham, Alabama, crossing the line in 2:11:42 to outdistance Keflezighi by five seconds. Culpepper went on to finish 12th at the Athens Games in 2:15:26, making him the second American finisher behind Keflezighi. Culpepper, who finished a disappointing 12th at Chicago last fall in 2:13:20, ran a 5,000-meter track PR of 13:25.75 last summer at the Norwich Union Grand Prix meet in Sheffield, England.

Culpepper and his wife, two-time Olympian Shayne, are parents of 4-year old Cruz and are expecting their second child in June.

MensRacing.com: A few weeks back, you ran 1:03:11 to finish third against a handful of African runners in an invitational half-marathon held as part of the Freescale Austin Marathon weekend in Texas. With only four other guys in the race and some pretty cold weather to boot, how did you feel about your effort that day?
Alan Culpepper: Overall, I was pleased with it. I got what I needed out of the race. Basically, I was using it as a fitness test with numerous miles faster than [marathon] race pace and lots of downhill running to get me ready for Boston. I’m right on track, honestly. The weather threw me off a little bit. Everything was going great until mile 11, where, with the wind, cold and ice sections on the bridges, I ran a 5:30, but then I was able to get back on pace the last two miles. The race itself was a little different with such a small field. I actually ended up running 12 miles of it by myself, but aside from the 11th mile, I couldn’t have been more pleased with it.

MR: So you were using Austin as specific preparation for what you’ll face next month in Boston?
AC: Exactly. After my experience last year, I knew that I needed to practice running sub-race pace on a course with lots of downhill sections. The timing of it was right and the course was great. The race director, John Conley, did a great job and was very accommodating. He put on a great event.

MR: Last year, you ran the U.S.A. 15K Championships in Jacksonville as your final tune-up race before Boston. Are you planning on heading down there again this year?
AC: Yes, I’ll be going back to Jacksonville the second week of March. After that, I’ll have five weeks until Boston, so I’d like to get in three more solid weeks of training and use the last two to rest up and get ready to go. I’m hoping to get the competitive mindset going, but more so I’m trying to advance my fitness through racing. I really believe this will benefit me for Boston. [Editor’s note: Culpepper finished 4th in Jacksonville in 44:13.]

MR: Last fall you ran 2:13:20 at Chicago, which was a disappointing race for you. What happened there, and did that race force you to make any changes in your current training approach leading up to Boston?
AC: Chicago definitely forced some changes. Chicago was unique in that I got sick in the two or three days leading up to the race, which is the first time I’ve ever actually gone into any of my marathons feeling worn down or fatigued. I was really fit leading up to the race, but went a little bit over the edge. The weather was great here during summer and early fall, and I overdid it a bit. Everything was just falling into place so perfectly without interruption, where in my other marathons, little hiccups would surface which would force me to take it easy for a week or so, and may have saved me from overdoing it. Heading into Chicago, I was very confident, but for me to get sick right before the race indicates that I was already in a hole. It was definitely a big disappointment and one that forced me to make some changes moving forward.

MR: Having run Boston last spring, what, if anything, will you do differently leading up to the race this year?
AC: I don’t know if I’ll do anything differently. Mentally, I know what to expect, and I have a good idea how the race will unfold. After last year’s experience at Boston, I have a better idea of what’s going to happen in the race and can prepare accordingly for what I’m going to face out there on the course.

MR: In recent years, a lot of top American runners have bypassed Boston in favor of chasing fast times at other marathons. This is your second-straight go around at Boston. Why come back rather than go to, say, London?
AC: That’s a good question. Basically, I came out of Chicago last fall disappointed with my time and just how I felt during the race in general. A lot of that had to do with worrying about the pace and I decided afterwards to head in a direction where I just wanted to compete rather than chase time. Boston will be a good opportunity to do that. I do well in situations such as the Olympics, the Trials, or a national championship race when it’s just a matter of competing against the people in front of you. I’d rather race than worry about hitting splits.

MR: This year, Meb, Brian Sell, and some of the other Hanson’s runners have committed to Boston. What does their addition to the race mean for marathoning in this country, and what effect, if any, will their presence have on your race strategy?
AC: I think it’s a good sign and an indication of the great direction we’re going in for the next four to five years. For me personally, it’s a benefit to have those guys around me in the race because I’m familiar with who I’m up against, which makes it easier to respond to moves and react to whatever else might happen out there. I was happy to hear that Meb was coming. He’s a good person to key off of in races because he helps me to bring out the best in myself. Brian has been running great, and it’s good to have him in there as well. When you’re the lone crusader out there, it makes the task at hand more daunting.

MR: Switching gears a bit, last summer you traveled to Europe for two track races, the first a 5,000-meter PR of 13:25.75 at the Norwich Union Grand Prix, and the other a DNF at the Bislett Games in Norway. What was the reasoning behind running those two races?
AC: The goal with those races last summer was to mimic what I did in 2002 before my first marathon at Chicago, which was to get in as good of 5K shape as possible within a limited time frame, and then begin my specific marathon preparation. I wanted to get back to those things that made me good in my first marathon, which is getting that feeling of running fast down first and then building strength and using that to my advantage. As for the races themselves, I was happy to PR at Norwich but not overjoyed with it. My 5,000-meter PR is still the one with the biggest asterisk next to it, but it was good to get the spikes back on and run 60 seconds for the last 400.

The second race at Bislett was a great atmosphere and I was glad to be a part of it, but I still hadn’t recovered from the first race and was trying to sneak in workouts between traveling and everything else. I’ve never been good at racing multiple weeks in a row and I was just pretty wiped heading into Oslo. After the first couple laps I just knew it wasn’t going to be a good day.

MR: So can we expect to see you back on the track again this year?
AC: I’m planning on getting on the track this year and definitely next year. I don’t want to get in that rut of just doing two marathons a year. It’s not the right path to running well in 2008 when it counts. I have to stay close to my roots, which is on the track. An April marathon takes a lot out of you and takes a while to bounce back from, so I have to be careful with my recovery after Boston and not jump into things too quickly.

MR: Last but not least, you and your wife, Shayne, are expecting your second child this coming June. Do you foresee this new addition to your family having any effect on training and racing for either one of you?
AC: It certainly will not have any negative effect. We are very excited to have another child and are already making the necessary arrangements. Cruz will be four soon, and he is quite self sufficient at this point. We already have child care arrangements in the works for those days when we need extra help. Shayne has her comeback plan in place, and having already gone through this process before, she feels very confident. Like with Cruz, I foresee having another child only having positive effects on our lives and out running. We’re very excited.

Editor's Update: Culpepper finished the Boston Marathon in fifth place, with a time of 2:11:05.

Interview conducted March 1, 2006, and posted March 23, 2006.