Interview with Molly Beckwith
Though she was a very competitive runner within the Big Ten and the NCAA, few followers of the sport had heard of Indiana University 800 meter runner Molly Beckwith at the beginning of the 2009 outdoor track season. In just one race, Beckwith dropped her 800 PR from 2:04.38 to 2:02.51, simultaneously making a name for herself and raising expectations. Though her collegiate season ended with a disappointing semifinal race at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, she will race again at the USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon, beginning June 25. Beckwith's breakthrough 2:02.51 800 came at the Billy Hayes Invitational on her home track on May 8. Beckwith won the race by more than two seconds.
The Worthington, Ohio native was a standout soccer player for the Ohio Premier Girls Soccer Club in high school, as well as a 200 meter state runner-up in her one full season of running track. She was recruited by Indiana University to play soccer, but after undergoing the fourth surgery of her soccer career in her first year at IU, Beckwith traded in her soccer cleats for a pair of spikes, and walked on the IU track and field team. We caught up with her shortly after the NCAA Championships, before she headed out to Eugene for the USA Championships.
EliteRunning.com: Are you at home now, or are you still at school?
Molly Beckwith: I'm still at school. We leave for the USA Championships
on Tuesday, so I'm still in training.
ER.com: This was a breakthrough season for you, but I imagine you weren't
quite satisfied with your NCAA performance. Can you tell us what you were looking
to do at NCAAs and what you think might have gone wrong?
MB: I think what happened was that my expectations were that I was going
to run just as well as I had when I ran 2:02, which was my fastest time. I didn't
really put into my head that I ran 2:04 consistently before that. I was expecting
to do something that I had only done once before at the national meet. So when
I went to the national meet and I was running 2:04s, I was surprised, but I
really shouldn't have been. I was kind of disappointed with how my last race
went at NCAAs. It was a little bit clustered and I wasted a lot of energy throughout
the race.
ER.com: So you think it was not necessarily a fitness issue, but more of
a problem with strategy?
MB: Definitely. When you get to that level, there's no room for error. I
was running in lane three for the majority of the race and I lost in the last
100 meters. I'm not sure fitness has much to do with it, but it was definitely
strategy.
ER.com: Do you wish you had run another 800 before NCAAs, or did that not
really matter?
MB: Yeah, I think that would have been helpful. I ran the 800 at Regionals,
I ran 2:04 twice. I knew I could run faster than 2:04, it just would have had
to be the perfect race for me to calm down, sit behind people, and then kick
at the end. But at nationals, you can't really sit behind because you're going
to lose, and I think that was the thing that set me back a little bit.
ER.com: What was the logic behind running the 400 instead of the 800 at
the Big Ten Championships?
MB: My coach and I talked about it. We had a few girls who he thought would
make the finals in the 800, and we didn't have anyone to run the 400, so it
was a 'what's best for the team' kind of thing. He thought I could be top three
in the 400 as well as the 800, and he told me I'd be running seven more 800s
after Big Tens, so he didn't see any reason why I should push it and run two
more 800s that weekend.
ER.com: What is your fastest 400 time?
MB: My fastest is 54.13, which I ran in the prelims at Big Tens.
ER.com: This will be your first time at the USA Championships. What is your
goal for the meet?
MB: Honestly, I think my biggest goal is to PR at USAs. I know that the
level of competition there is going to be better than it was at [NCAA] nationals,
but my coach reminded me that the majority of people I'm going to be running
against are the same people I ran against at nationals, just because we have
world-class athletes in there. I'm just excited to run the race strategy that
[Coach Ron Helmer] picked for me and hopefully stick with the top dogs in America
and run a PR—that would be my biggest goal there.
ER.com: Do you go into an event like that thinking you're going to run as
hard as you can in the first round, or do you save something?
MB: Definitely. Going into USAs, because I've never been there, I'm going
to treat every race like it's my last race. At nationals, in the prelims, I
knew I just needed to get top three and it was definitely a very relaxed quarterfinal.
I ran the semis at nationals the same way I would have run the final, so I guess
I didn't hold anything back there.
ER.com: When you ran 2:02.51 earlier this season, how far did the rabbit
take you?
MB: The rabbit took me through at 58 and she went about 550 meters. We were
supposed to be at 58 and then 1:29 or 1:30 [for the 600]. I could tell at 500
meters that she was slowing down a little bit, so I passed her at 550 and came
through the six at 1:30 flat. There wasn't really anyone close to me—I
think a girl ran 2:04 behind me, but it was the weirdest race. I really didn't
feel like I was going that fast. I was shocked when I crossed the finish line.
ER.com: Can you tell us a little about your soccer background?
MB: My main sport in high school was soccer, and I was recruited to play
at IU and some other good schools—Ohio State, Kentucky, and Georgia. I came
to IU and I played soccer just for the fall season and I realized that my left
knee was really, really injured and that I couldn't run on the grass—the
cutting, the planting, and all that stuff that comes along with soccer was just
too much for me. I decided at the end of my freshman year to get my last surgery
and I just quit. I talked to the track coach and walked on to the track team.
ER.com: So did you run at all during your first year, or were you still
recovering from the surgery?
MB: I was recovering from surgery, because I had it in the spring of my
first year. I recovered all summer, did all of my physical therapy and stuff,
and walked on to the team in the fall of my sophomore year.
ER.com: When you first started, did you struggle, or would you say that
you were a natural in the beginning?
MB: When I was in high school, I ran track for one year and I could tell
you that I was a natural; people told me not to quit. But after getting really
out of shape, gaining 20-30 pounds as a soccer player—I was built like
a soccer player then—sophomore year was a really hard transition year for
me. I'd never dealt with being not even close to the top of the team; I was
taken aback by it. I guess I didn't have my priorities in line my sophomore
year. At the end of the Big Ten Championships, I told myself that I was never
going to let myself feel that failure that I felt that day. That was kind of
the turning point, so it took my whole sophomore year of track to realize that
this was something I really wanted to be good at.
ER.com: When you had that turning point, what did you start doing differently?
MB: I think the main thing I did was that I took the summer and I used it
for training—I didn't use it as a big vacation. I started running mileage—that
was something I had never done before. I probably only got up to 35-40 miles
[per week] and then, last summer, got up to 50. I ate healthier, and I probably
lost 20 pounds between my sophomore and junior year. I just did exactly what
my coach told me, got back into shape finally, and started working like a runner
instead of a soccer player.
ER.com: Did you ever consider trying a different sport, or was the backup
always going to be track, in your mind?
MB: I never thought about anything up until that. Once I started having
success with track, I realized that it was just the beginning for me and there
were so many more things I wanted to do with the sport. My coach always tells
me I'm a two-year-old runner. I've really only been training at a high level
for a few years now, so he's excited about the future that I have, because he
gets to coach me and figure out what I can do.
ER.com: You mentioned that you ran for one year in high school. Which year
was that and how did you do?
MB: I ran my freshman year. I ran 55 in the 400 and 24 in the 200. I got
second in state in the 200 and I false started in the 400 [laughs]. I actually
ran a little bit my senior year, but I had already committed to IU to play soccer,
so in the spring, soccer was my first priority. I was half at the track meets,
but just played soccer for most of it. It was kind of a side thing to stay in
shape.
ER.com: When you were a soccer player, were you noticeably one of the faster
runners on the field?
MB: Yeah. I played forward, which is the main position where you score goals
and run past people. It was definitely something that coaches noticed and a
lot of people told me I should still run track. I pushed it out of my mind,
though, because I never had the passion for track that I had for soccer. But
then I realized that emotionally, I did care about it, but I needed to control
how I dealt with pre-race nerves and stuff like that; that was my biggest problem.
ER.com: And do you feel like pre-race nerves are not as much of an issue
now?
MB: It's definitely 100% better. There are still some things, not really
with nervousness, but with my confidence that I still need to work on, but that's
just coming from me being such a new runner and going to these really big meets...USAs
is really going to help me be able to deal with the biggest races in the country.
Having to deal with that over and over again is going to help me out.
ER.com: Were either of your parents athletes?
MB: Yeah, my dad played football his first year of college, but then he
transferred...both of my parents ended up at Bowling Green. My mom was a really
good swimmer and gymnast in high school. They were both really good athletes
in high school.
ER.com: And do you have siblings who play sports?
MB: Yeah, my sister played soccer as well; she played at the University
of South Alabama.
ER.com: Have you had any injuries since you started focusing on running?
MB: Nope. I had my last surgery my freshman year, on my knee. I decided
then that I would never have another surgery and I would stay injury-free. I've
stayed almost completely injury-free, minus plantar fasciitis and stupid things
like that, but I'm very happy with how I've been feeling.
ER.com: Do you feel like track has now filled the void that quitting soccer
created, or do you feel like you'll always miss soccer?
MB: A lot of people ask me if I miss soccer. I think just because I've gotten
out of the habit of going to practice and games. I don't really miss the sport
of soccer until I go to games and watch it. If I watch a college game, I'll
miss it a little bit. I'll notice the difference between in high school, when
I played club soccer, I didn't even play for my high school team—I missed that
much more than I missed college soccer. I didn't really love college soccer,
but I love college track. I like competing at that level, I like how the practices
are run, I like the people that I run with a lot more than the people I played
soccer with in college. In terms of missing it, definitely not as much as I
thought I was going to.
ER.com: Are there people on the IU team who can challenge you in workouts?
MB: There's a 400 runner who has graduated, she's just training for the
USA meet now, and she and I do a lot of our workouts together. In terms of half
miler workouts, I'm kind of on my own. If I do a little bit more distance work,
I go with the distance girls, who kick my butt because they're distance girls
and I'm not the best at distance. But next year, we're getting a girl who's
run 2:07, so I think she'll be my new training partner and I'm really excited
about it.
ER.com: And you're going to run cross country next fall?
MB: Yup.
ER.com: Are you going to do the whole season all-out?
MB: Yes. The first two weeks of cross country season is when my knees hurt
running on grass. That's the reason I couldn't play soccer anymore, because
of the cutting and the uneven surface of the grass, but it goes away, I noticed
that last season. I had about five or six practices and after that, they become
used to it and my knees stop swelling and stop hurting. [Coach Helmer] told
me he's going to go a little bit easy on me, but he's going to throw me in the
big races like Big Tens, Regionals, and hopefully Nationals. I probably won't
run in every meet, but I'll definitely be in there in some big meets.
ER.com: How will you change your training this summer? Will you run a lot
more than you have in the past, or is 50 miles per week right about where you
want to be?
MB: I haven't really talked to my coach about that yet, but I think right
around 50 is pretty good for me in the summer. I actually only hit that a few
weeks last summer and I was dead, which is sad because some of the girls are
running like 80 and I'm sitting here running 50. But yeah, I think I'll do a
little bit more. I'm in a lot better shape than I was last summer, so I can
probably go a little faster, but I really don't think I want my mileage to go
any higher than that, until [Coach Helmer] tells me that it needs to.
ER.com: Do you think you'll take a break before gearing up for cross country?
MB: Yeah, I think after this next meet, I think you take two or three weeks
and I usually run four miles every other day and take the off days completely
off.
ER.com: Did you have a different coach your first year at IU, or was Ron
Helmer already there?
MB: No. When I first started running, I had Judy Wilson, the previous cross
country coach, coaching me. My sophomore year is when the coaching change came
and the staff was completely cleared out, minus our pole vault coach, Jake Wiseman.
The transition from coaches has been probably the best thing that the program
could have asked for. Finally our team is combined. Instead of having a men's
coach and a women's coach, we have a head coach who coaches everyone, so that's
the biggest thing that helps the program. The team gets along better, [their
performance] has gotten better, with kids stepping up. The scholarship situation
wasn't that good before I came here—they kind of gave full rides out very
quickly to people that they didn't really know were going to be successful in
their college careers. So getting that straightened out and everything...everything's
great with the new coaching staff, it was a really smooth transition.
ER.com: What do you hope to do with your Exercise Science degree? Are you
spreading it out over five years, or are you doing any graduate work now?
MB: I'm going to go to Physical Therapy school. They do not have one at
IU, but they have one at IUPUI. I'm going to apply to schools this summer, and
then I'll find out if I get in next fall/winter, but I'm spreading out my undergrad
over five years, so next year is a really light load for me.
ER.com: Do you ever think about running professionally someday? Is that
something that would appeal to you?
MB: I had thought about it a little bit during the year, and it wasn't until
I ran the 2:02.51 that I actually started thinking about it seriously, because
my coach had started mentioning it to me. I think if the opportunity came for
me to do that, I definitely would take it. I'm almost positive that I'm going
to continue training after college. [I'd like to] train with my coach for USAs
next year, and maybe the 2012 Olympics. It's definitely a possibility. I haven't
put much thought into it because this has all happened pretty fast, but I'm
planning on it and I can defer my admission to my physical therapy schools for
a few years if I want to.
ER.com: Have you gotten a lot more attention since you ran 2:02.51? Have
there been a lot more people noticing you or calling you?
MB: Yes, definitely. It was so weird when it happened; I felt like I was
in a dream, because I felt like my life had completely changed because I had
gone from being a good runner to an excellent runner. I had plenty of attention
on me and it was kind of weird timing for it because I was still in the middle
of my season and I was shocked that I had done that. I was like, 'Uhhh...I don't
even know what to say right now.' It kind of humbled me, actually, because I
went to nationals and I got DQed in the semis, so it was a little bit overwhelming.
ER.com: What was the DQ for? We saw a rule number listed in the results,
but didn't know what it meant. Obviously you weren't shoving anyone off the
track...
MB: It was that I stepped on the line before we cut in.
ER.com: Some say that once you have a breakthrough performance, your first
goal should be to try to match that performance before you focus on improving
upon it.
MB: I'm always trying to figure out what I did that day, and I think I figured
it out—there was no one around me, I had a rabbit, I was so relaxed—it was
like a workout for me, because the girl who rabbited for me is my training partner.
ER.com: What are your plans for the summer, once USAs are over? Are you
working or doing anything fun?
MB: I'm actually taking a class; I'm taking physiology. It starts this Friday,
so I'm going to have to miss the whole first week of class for USAs. It's a
pretty hard class—it's a five-credit course—so it's going to be gruesome.
I'm going to focus on that, stay here, and hopefully start lifting a lot. I
haven't been lifting that much because the races and training kind of wear you
out. I feel like I'm weaker during the season, because my races have worn me
out, but definitely I get on top of the lifting during the summer, because I
don't care how it makes me feel. So that's my plan for the summer. I think I
might pick up a part-time job. It sounds weird but I'll actually have more time
to work in the fall because my classes are so late, so I'm thinking about working
at a physical therapy practice. They have openings for water therapy, so I think
I might apply for one of those jobs.
ER.com: Would you say your interest in physical therapy comes from having
to deal with so many injuries early on in your athletic career?
MB: Definitely. I think because I've had so much personal experience dealing
with coming back from surgery or dealing with injuries in general, I think that
I'd be able to help people. I know mentally what's going on and I know physically
what's going on.
[Above photo by Randy Miyazaki/TrackAndFieldPhoto.com. Interview conducted June 17, 2009.]
