by Clay Shaw
FEBRUARY 24, 2020—-Christine Ramsey of Philadelphia has been a really good runner for a long time. February 29 will be her third U.S. Olympic Marathon Team Trials. This time she qualified at the California International Marathon (CIM) in Sacramento with a 2:41:12. She is excited about Atlanta and ready to race.
Christine was one my elite runners who ran the Baltimore Marathon in the prize money days. She has also won the Race Against Racism 5K in Lancaster, PA the past two years. She has lived in Baltimore and New Haven in addition to Philadelphia and will have fans from those areas cheering. When not running, Christine is a Mental Health Epidemiologist/Associate Research Professor/Health Science Specialist. Runner’s Gazette wishes her the best in Atlanta.
Clay asked Christine a few questions and here’s what she had to say.
CJS: How has training been going in one of the mildest winters I can remember?
Training has been a challenge, but overall, I’m really happy with how it has gone. Qualifying at CIM in December, it was a quick turnaround, with only 12 weeks until the Trials. My primary goal has been to get to the start line healthy, so I needed to give myself four weeks after CIM to fully recover. In the past, I’ve made the mistake of training too hard too soon after a successful marathon and ended up getting injured, so I was very cautious this time around. With only six weeks of training at full volume and intensity, every session was critical. I was especially grateful that the weather didn’t add any additional surprises or setbacks.
CJS: Since this is your third Olympic Trials Marathon, what are your feelings and goals and how will experiences of Houston and Los Angeles help?
This will be my first time going to the trials fit and healthy, and I could not be more excited about it. Both Houston and LA were somewhat bittersweet experiences. It was a huge accomplishment to make the Trials both times, but also disappointing knowing that I was toeing the line with an injury in Houston and just coming back from a long layoff and not being very fit in LA. These experiences have made me even more grateful and excited about Atlanta. I think I’m also in the minority of people who are very excited about the course. I tend to do well on hilly courses, with my best marathons being Baltimore, New York City, and Twin Cities, so I think the Atlanta course suits me well. My goal is to fully take advantage of my current fitness and experience to run a smart, tactical race, staying mentally tough from start to finish.
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