Interview with Anna Willard

By Brooke Edwards

Would you compete in the steeplechase for the first time after only two weeks of practice? Would you meet your future husband in an ice bath? Or change the streak in your hair to bright purple, days before you set off for the Olympics?

For Anna Willard, the answer to these questions is yes, yes and yes.

Willard, 25, set an American steeplechase record of 9:27.59 during the U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Track & Field in Eugene, OR, on July 3. The performance also qualified her to compete in the first-ever women’s 3000-meter Olympic steeplechase.

In 2007, Willard’s steeplechase earned her the NCAA championship, a runner-up finish at the USA Outdoor Championships, and a place on the U.S. team for the IAAFWorld Championships in Osaka, Japan.

While pursuing her undergraduate degree at Brown University and a master’s degree in sports management at the University of Michigan, Willard set a dozen collegiate records. She was also a five-time Big Ten Champion, with bests of 4:15.93 in the 1500 meters and 16:23.57 in the 5000 meters.

Two weeks after her impressive performance at the Trials, Willard traveled to Europe and broke her own steeplechase record with a 9:22.76 in Heusden-Zolder, Belgium. She also posted a personal record in the 3000 meters by running 8:58.06 in London.

During a four-day stint at home in Ann Arbor, MI—before setting out for Beijing—Willard squeezed in a phone call to New York Road Runners.

New York Road Runners: I hear you ran your first steeplechase as a bit of an accident, filling in for an injured teammate, and then set a school record?

Anna Willard: Our steeplechaser at Brown was injured my junior year. I was training for the 800 at the time, but decided to just give the steeplechase a try. I did two weeks of workouts, or maybe three, and I responded really well to it. Or maybe I just started taking things a little bit more seriously that year anyway. But it went really well.

NYRR: I would say so. What made you stick with the steeplechase?

AW: I don’t know. I really like the distance of the 3000 meters. I think that’s probably a good distance for me. And the steeple is a lot easier than a flat 3K, I will say. But over the 800… I think it’s just that I might be able to run 1:59, maybe 1:58, if I trained really hard for the 800. But ultimately, where does that get me in the world? I think I have the ability to go a lot further in the steeple.

NYRR: Can you recap your race at the Olympic Trials?

AW: I approached the Trials similarly to the national meet the year before, as far as the mental preparation. I was so focused on winning and thought it was going to be a really tough race and a neck-in-neck battle the whole time. And then both times, I basically made the same move and it worked. I took the lead in the second-to-last water jump. I sat on Lindsey Anderson at NCAAs and then at the Trials I sat on Jenny Barringer. I made my move and didn’t look back. I was very happy that it went according to plan.

NYRR: I read that four years ago you were waitressing and watching the Trials on TV.

AW: It’s pretty crazy to think about how much things have changed in four years. I had two jobs in Cape Cod, and so I would go waitress and then come back and maybe go for a run and then watch the Olympic Games on TV. Or I’d somehow hold my run off until 9:00 p.m. after the events were over. I felt like such a spectator then, and now to be participating…

NYRR: Have you been to China before?

AW: No, I’ve never been to China.

NYRR: And when do you leave for Beijing?

AW: On Thursday the 31st.

NYRR: What is your schedule like while you’re there? Do you get to practice on the track at the stadium ahead of time?

AW: I don’t think I’m actually going to be able to get on the track before we compete. They’re usually pretty much on lockdown until you’re allowed to go for your race. I know at the Worlds they had a bunch of different practice tracks, where you need a special credential to get in. I think that’s the same scenario here. Actually I won’t even be able to see the track, I don’t think, until I’m competing on it because I’m the first day. But it’s cool. A track’s a track. It’s not like it’s going to be square or anything.

NYRR: Do you have any time to squeeze in some touristy stuff while you’re there?

AW: I kind of want to approach the Olympics and this whole season a little different than what I did last year. Last year I went to Japan and it felt a little bit more like a touristy vacation and I wasn’t as focused on the race as I should have been. This year, I’m actually leaving a little before the end of the Games. I’m leaving on the 20th. I’ll be able to see some of the other athletic competitions, like track and whatever I want to go to. But as far as touring around, I won’t do that much. I’m trying to keep the focus mostly on running and running well. But I would love to do the Great Wall.

NYRR: Do you set a time goal for yourself for events like this? Or a finishing place?

AW: I think it’s a lot less about time as it is about place. That’s more important, just to focus on making the finals. And then honestly when I get in the final I’ll just run as hard as I can. Maybe come up with a race strategy if possible. But really I think it’s just going to be about keeping myself in contention the whole time. Relying on my kick, because I know I have a good kick.

NYRR: What does it mean to you to be a part of the first women’s steeplechase in the Olympic Games?

AW: I think it’s really exciting. I guess a lot of times when people ask me I don’t know what to say because I feel like even if there wasn’t a steeplechase I would be able to compete in a different event. But I think what you just said is really where it hits home the hardest, where it’s becoming legitimized, I guess, because it’s the same as the men. It always really bothered me that women run less in cross country in college than men do. So to see that it’s becoming equal is really important to me. It’s really cool to me to think that I’ll be able to look back when I’m 50 or 60 and see my name in the record books. I think it’s a good step.

NYRR: I interviewed your new fiancé [former Stanford steeplechase runner Jon Pierce] in February, when his dreams of going to the Olympics were still high. After his back injury hindered his performance at Trials, how much does that impact your joy in going to the Games? Will he be going to Beijing with you?

AW: It is disappointing for Jon. The season didn’t play out the way he hoped. It was good that he still had two really good PRs, in the 10K and the steeple. But I think he fell pretty short of his bigger goals. So it’s definitely hard for him. But he’s really, really supportive. He actually just flew up here yesterday and he and I are packing up my apartment. He’s really helpful and he keeps me centered, so it’s great to have him around. We don’t have a competitive relationship in any way.

Also I’m really excited that he is going to the Olympics because my family’s not going. I grew up in Maine on a small farm, so for them to go to Eugene, that was a big trip. So for them to go to China would be completely overwhelming.

NYRR: Can you give us a hint as to what your hair might look like during the big event?

AW: I did change it, actually. I got it done yesterday. Instead of pink it’s purple. I’ve got to keep people on their toes.

NYRR: I heard that you were suffering from some pretty serious shin pain earlier this year. Is that something you still have to pay attention to or make adjustments for?

AW: Funny you ask me that, because after all the travel in Europe and not being able to do ice baths and getting out of my routine, my hips got all out of alignment again. And that was the original problem with my shins hurting. I have imbalances that I need to stay on top of by doing those exercises, no matter what part of the season I’m in. So it’s humbling, I guess.

NYRR: How did things go in Europe?

AW: It was a good trip and a bad trip at the same time. I feel like I didn’t accomplish what I wanted to. I got two PRs, but it still wasn’t as fast as I was hoping. 8:58 is not that fast in the 3K, compared to my steeple time. It should be faster. I think people say if you’re a good hurdler it’s about a 35-second difference. So 9:22 minus 35 should be 8:47, right?

NYRR: Sounds like you have some pretty high expectations for yourself. Have you been training in Ann Arbor?

AW: Honestly, I really haven’t had that much time to do workouts. I did two workouts before I left for Europe and then one-and-a-half while I was there. And then today I’m doing my first one since I’ve been back here. I’ve always been a strong believer that you don’t have to knock it out of the park in any single workout. It’s just consistency, and trying to keep some aerobic workouts in. We’re doing a tempo today. I think that’s where it helps me the most, to get stronger.

NYRR: And what about dreams for the 2012 Olympics? Is there a different event that you want to try to focus on after this?

AW: I don’t know how long I want to continue to do the steeple. I don’t know how sustainable it is. It is pretty hard on your body. So I would like to see how much I can improve in other events around steeple, like the 1500 and the 5K. I want to at least make myself available to some other opportunities, to do a different event or maybe double, so that at least I wouldn’t feel like I was only pigeonholed into the steeple from here on out. That’s why I try to mix it up a lot and not run the steeple in all three races in Europe. I feel like it bangs up your body a lot. I want to make sure I stay healthy for a lot of years to come. But I don’t know. Four years is a long time away and I think a lot can change between now and then.

Interview conducted July 29, 2008, and posted on August 14, 2008.