Q and A with Ramble Champion
By Edward B. Colby Thursday, May 6, 2010
Posted May 05, 2010 @ 04:05 PM
DEDHAM —
Brian Harvey, a Boston University graduate student who runs for the Boston Athletic Association, easily won last Sunday’s James Joyce Ramble 10K with a time of 30:43 – breaking the tape nearly a minute ahead of the nearest competitor.
Just the weekend before, on April 18, Harvey placed second in the BAA 2010 5K. But he says he is most proud of his second-place finish in the 5K at the 2009 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Harvey recently graduated from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, where he competed in varsity cross-country and track.
Q: Did you think you had a good chance to win the Ramble coming into it?
A: I knew I had shot a winning the Ramble coming into the race, but it of course depended on who showed up. A lot of the best local runners did the Boston Marathon (the previous) Monday, so that took out a lot of the usual competition. Once I saw the competition at the start line, I figured it would be close race between Mark Miller and me for the win.
Q: Given that this was your first 10K, what was your strategy during the race? Was it tough to shake off former champ Mark Miller?
A: This race wasn’t technically my first 10K race, as I ran a couple 10K cross-country races this fall. However, this was the first road 10K I have done, and road races are significantly faster than cross country due to the even terrain. Therefore, this time was a more than 50 second improvement over my previous best.
My strategy coming into the race was to sit behind the lead pack for the first 5K and then reevaluate based on how fast it was and how tired the other people looked. For a little more than the first mile, I ran right behind Mark, letting him block the wind. The first mile was a little faster than I would have liked, as we came through in 4:45. At that point, I decided to take over the lead from Mark because the wind was pretty strong and there is an unwritten rule in racing that you take turns blocking the wind, especially since I know Mark and we both run for the BAA. I figured Mark would go right with me but by about the two-mile mark I found myself all alone, despite slowing down the second mile to 4:55. The rest of the race I was just chasing the lead truck, which actually helped push me to go faster. There was a couple times during the race that I almost passed the lead truck since it was forced to go slowly around tight turns.
Q: What was your hardest mile, and why?
A: Honestly I felt pretty comfortable throughout the entire race and no one mile felt any tougher than the others. The hills on the course were generally pretty short so I tried to power up them quickly and they didn’t really break my rhythm. As a runner, you sometimes just have days where everything comes together and you feel like you could go forever. Sunday was one of those days, and it’s days like those that make me love running.
Q: What’s your favorite unique aspect of the Ramble?
A: The Ramble is definitely one of the most unique races I’ve run in my life. The town really seems to get into the race and there are fans cheering throughout. The actors reading James Joyce passages along the course was also an unexpected treat, and put a smile on my face at around a half-mile, when I heard the first reading.
Q: What do you find more taxing – running a sub-5:00-mile 10K, or reading “Finnegans Wake”?
A: Without a doubt, reading “Finnegans Wake” is more taxing. I’m an engineer. English was always my least-favorite class. I speak in numbers and equations, not prose.
Q: What are you training for next?
A: My next race will be May 15 at the New Balance Boston Twilight Meet at UMass-Lowell where I will be racing another 10K, this time on the track. I’m really looking forward to this race because it is my first track 10K and I think I am capable of going about 30 seconds faster than I ran on Sunday. The track is faster than the roads and there will be great competition in this race.
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