Projo Running Blog

BY CAROLYN THORNTON
JOURNAL SPORTS WRITER

Just months removed from an outstanding running career at the University of Hartford, 22-year-old Liz Foster of Ellington, Conn. enjoyed a successful marathon debut, finishing fifth overall and posting a 20-minute margin of victory en route to taking the women's title at the Amica Marathon in Newport last Sunday.

Photo/University of Hartford
Liz Foster

Foster, who is serving as a part-time assistant coach for the Hawks' track and cross-country programs while she pursues her Doctorate in physical therapy, shared her thoughts on the win with the Providence Journal earlier this week. Here's what she had to say:

Q: I see you only just graduated from the University of Hartford this year. How were you able to tackle a marathon so soon after a collegiate track and cross country career?

Foster: I was a distance runner all throughout college, so I was used to doing a lot of miles every week. Basically I just increased my long run each week and added about 20 miles to my weekly schedule, which my body responded really well to. I am in grad school right now, so my training wasn't as strict as it has been in the past as far as doing race-specific workouts. Because of that I wasn't completely confident on what my mile splits should be during the race. I was just doing the marathon for the experience, but it ended up being a great race.

Q: I know the conditions were pretty challenging on Sunday. Can you take us through the race?

Foster: I went into the race prepared for the bad weather conditions; for me it is always important to make the situation positive before/during any race. I just kept telling myself that a lot of people were going to let this weather effect them, but I wasn't going to. The first 11 miles were not bad at all, I had some nice people to talk to and the course was pretty sheltered from the wind. The rain and temperature was fine, but the wind was the tough part. From mile 12 to 17 were the worst because the course was all along the water and there were no trees to block any wind or rain. There were a lot less people because the half finished, and everyone I saw looked absolutely miserable. After mile 17 the course went away from the water and onto streets with trees. This was the best part of the race for me, when I realized that I could make it and I wasn't going to "hit any wall," like everyone told me would happen. I was actually able to negative split from about mile 19 to the end.

Q: Did you go into the race feeling you had a legitimate shot at winning?

Foster: I saw the results from last year and knew I wanted to go under 3:10, so I knew it was an option. Unless winning is totally out of the question, I always like to keep it in the back of my mind and allow myself to believe I have a shot. I mean if I don't believe it, then it definitely won't happen.

Q: What's next for you in terms of running? Where do you see your running career going from here?

Foster: This race was a real confidence booster, because the weather conditions were so bad, I wasn't able to get the best of training in, and it was my first marathon race. After I finished I thought of many things I would have done different, and I know more on what my race strategy would be next time. It is actually one of the only races I have done since I graduated, and I realized how much I miss racing!
However, my next race is going to be the Disney Half Marathon in January and then I am thinking of doing a winter and spring track season. I would like to continue to do 10Ks, 5Ks and steeples, not sure if I want to put all my running efforts into marathons just yet. Boston in the spring is still an option, but I am not going to make any decisions about the spring until after my next race in January.

 Tags  Amica Marathon Liz Foster

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