Interview with Amy Mortimer

By Brooke Edwards

Amy Mortimer consistently places among the top-10 fastest women in the country at 1500 meters. She was ninth in the 2004 U.S. Olympic Trials, and finished third that year in the USATF Outdoor Championships with a 4:07.58. Last summer, Mortimer posted a new personal record with a 4:06.55 at the Olympic Meeting Thessaloniki in Greece.

After 12 times as an All American at Kansas State University, Mortimer, 26, has spent the last two years as a volunteer coach for the track and field team at Boston College while pursuing her masters degree in accounting.

Though she originally hails from the “Little Apple” of Manhattan, Kansas, Mortimer will be in the Big Apple to compete in the Continental Airlines Fifth Avenue Mile on September 29. As she prepares for her second appearance at the event, she spoke with Fast-Women.com about her new coach, her favorite race, and her Olympic dreams.

Editor's Update Mortimerran an incredible race, with a runner-up finish and a time of 4:23.6.

Fast-women.com: The last time Fast-Women.com spoke to you, you said you were planning to leave Boston at the end of the summer. Where are you based now??

Amy Mortimer: I’m in Providence now. At the time I wasn’t sure where I was moving. But my reps at Reebok kind of suggested that I come talk to Ray Treacy at [Run] Providence. And I came down to meet with him and really liked what he had to say. So I decided to stay out here on the East Coast.

FW: You’ve talked before about the winters not being your favorite thing out here. Did you consider moving to any of the warmer climates?

AM: Yeah, I was kind of hoping to get away from the winters. But there’s no perfect place anywhere. Having a good coach was more important to me than being somewhere warm.

FW: And how was the transition from working with John Mortimer [her coach from 2004 to 2006] to working with Ray Treacy?

AM: Well, I went through a lot of transitional things just moving down here and moving to a new city. It wasn’t that far away from Boston, but it was kind of stressful. I felt like I was finally getting my bearings in Boston and then I moved to a new place. And then I started working in the fall, too. It was just part time, but I think that, combined with training with new people and everything, made it kind of hard at first. But now I feel like I’m finally starting to settle in.

FW: You recently completed your masters degree in accounting at Boston College. Was your summer job in that area, and are you still working?

AM: Actually, I’m not working right now. I tried it out for a while. I just had a temp position. But it was just kind of hard to balance work and running. Ideally I would like to work a little bit, but it’s hard to find a perfect situation. I got pretty lucky. My temp job was kind of in the field I want to go into and I really liked my job. It just took away from running a little too much.

FW: You helped coach the track and field team at Boston College for a couple of years. Do you think you would like to coach again at some point, or did you get that out of your system?

AM: I really enjoyed working with the kids at Boston College. But I don’t know if I would be such a good coach [laughs]. I don’t really have a lot of patience. The kids were really great there and I miss them. It might be fun in the future, but I think it also could be pretty tough. Every year your job is kind of dependent on how some 18- to 21-year-olds are running.

FW: What about new training partners since leaving those Boston College kids?

AM: I have tons of them now since I moved down to Providence. Kim Smith, Mary Culen, Roisin McGettigan, Amy Rudolph, and Marie Davenport are all in my group here. And then there are also some other girls that were on the Providence team who are still in the area and who still run. So it’s been great.

FW: Is there anyone in particular who inspires you as a runner?

AM: It’s just amazing to watch Kim work out because she does stuff you wouldn’t think was possible. During some of her workouts, I think, “I can’t believe I just saw that!” and I rub my eyes.

The girls are very good for me to be around because they are very serious about running. In Boston I was the only person I knew who was doing it full time professionally. So it’s nice to be surrounded by other people. I feel like it helps elevate my running a little bit.

FW: Now that you’ve settled into this new routine, do you feel set to have a strong season?

AM: Yeah, I think so. I mean, a lot of it’s luck too, staying healthy and everything. But my training has been going really well. I had kind of a frustrating indoor season. But then the outdoor thing kind of came around and all summer I felt like I was running stronger than I ever have. So I’m pretty excited to see what happens this year.

FW: You’ve been showing up to some of the longer distance races, getting in some 5Ks. Do you enjoy those longer races, or is it all just in preparation to better your 1500-meter time?/p>

AM: I’m mostly using them as training. I mean I ran the 5K in Providence this last weekend and I forgot how bad 5Ks hurt. So I can’t really say I enjoy the longer distances [laughs]. I think I would if I was training more for them. And maybe eventually I’ll move up. I feel like I have a lot of strength and I can do well at the longer distances. But right now I don’t feel like I’m tapped out in the 1500 yet.

FW: Next weekend, you’ll be competing for your second time in the Fifth Avenue Mile. You raced in 2005, and then didn’t come out last year. What brought you back to the race this year?

AM: It’s probably one of the most fun races I do. New York Road Runners does a good job making us feel welcome and taking good care of us. And I love road miles. I wish I could do them all the time, actually.

FW: In 2005 you placed fifth with a time of 4:30.3. Last year, that time would have had you tied for second with your Run Providence teammate Kim Smith. Do you wish you’d competed last year?

AM: I really wanted to do it. But I was just coming off my break and just starting to work with Ray. And Ray didn’t feel like I was ready to race yet. So I try to let him be the boss. It takes a lot of the stress off me.

FW: Sara Hall won last year. You guys have placed pretty close to each other in a few races lately. Is she someone you look at as a major competitor right now to keep an eye on?

AM: Yeah, she’s always tough. She busts out some good performances when you would least expect it. I would never count her out of a race.

NYRR puts a really good field together. I’m going to have to be on my toes!

FW: Any plans to do anything fun while you are in town?

AM: We’ll probably go out afterwards. I just love being in New York this time of the year. It’s so pretty down there.

FW: Beyond this weekend, you’re still obviously working to qualify for the 2008 Olympic team. Can you speak a little about what you need to accomplish to qualify?

AM: Well, I need to get the “A” standard this spring. I missed it this summer by two-tenths of a second. And last summer I missed it by five-hundredths of a second.

FW: What is that time now?

AM: The “A” standard for the Olympics is 4:07 flat. They’ve been moving it back. It used to be 4:05.8. But I think it’s just been a little too high of a standard.

At World Championships they weren’t able to do three rounds in 2005 because there weren’t enough people. So, they just did two rounds. I think they would rather do three rounds and fill out the field.

FW: And do you feel confident that you will make that time?

AM: I feel like I’ll be in good enough shape to get it early in the season, and then hopefully to run even faster at the Trials. But the women’s field at the 1500 is going to be tough. Distance running in the U.S. has really come a long way and everyone’s really running fast. So now I’m just going to have to show up every day and do my work, and hopefully things will go well.

Interview conducted on September 18, 2007, and posted on September 24, 2007.