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Interview with Michelle Rorke

Posted on April 25, 2006, Interview conducted April 25, 2006

By Alison Wade

Michelle Rorke first made waves on the national running scene in high school, as a member of Bronxville (NY) High School's national record-setting 4 x Mile relay. Despite not joining the track team until late in her high school career, Rorke set personal bests of 9:49 (3,000), 4:49 (1,600 split), and 2:12 (800 split), which made her a highly sought-after recruit. Instead of going the Division I route, Rorke opted to attend Williams College, a Division III school with about 2,000 students in the Northwest corner of Massachusetts.

Rorke ran well in her first two years at Williams, highlighted by her sixth-place finish at the 2002 NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships, which helped Williams win the team title. After studying abroad in the fall of her junior year, Rorke opted to forego the spring track season and run the B.A.A. Boston Marathon instead. Though it's not unusual to see college runners compete in Boston, it is unusual to see them finish in the top 20. In warm conditions, Rorke covered the course in 2:50:10, which was good for 18th place, and a marathoner was born.

Rorke returned to the Williams cross country team in the fall of 2005 and helped the team to a runner-up finish at the NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships with her 17th-place individual finish.

Less than three weeks after her 22nd birthday, on April 17, 2006, Rorke returned to Boston and one-upped her 2005 performance with an Olympic Trials-qualifying 2:43:08, which made her the third U.S. finisher and placed her 17th in the women's field.

Rorke will graduate from Williams in early June with a double major in English and History.

Most of the college-aged runners we know think a 10,000 on the track is too long. What made you decide to do Boston last year instead of running track?
Boston seemed like the perfect way to ease myself back into competition after spending the fall of my junior year studying abroad.

What was your goal in your first Boston?
I hoped to break 3:00.

How did you change your training, if at all, during your Boston buildup in 2006? What kind of mileage did you do?
I mixed in a little more tempo running and increased my mileage by about 10 miles a week. I worked up to just under 85 miles a week.

What was it like doing the elite start?
It was incredibly exciting and intimidating. In the end, though, warming up with women who I knew would be running nearly a minute per mile faster than me almost took off some of the pressure. I felt more like a tourist than a competitor and was able to go out and just enjoy the crowds and the course.

What have you learned about strategy on the Boston course?
I wanted to do the first half between 1:20 and 1:24 and then feel my way from there. I went through in 1:22 and felt good enough to pick it up a little from there.

What has the reaction to your 2:43 been like on the Williams campus?
It's been fun having people congratulate me. I think they hear "Olympic Trials" and assume that means I have a chance of actually going to the Olympics. Most people don't realize that 100 plus runners will be chasing three spots. I have to explain how big a gulf there is between 17th at Boston and 10th at Boston.

What kind of marathon training schedule do you follow? Do you have a coach?
Pete Farwell, my cross country coach at Williams, is a 2:20 marathoner and a Boston veteran. He gave me some good training guidelines. I am not good about doing really structured workouts on my own. I did one 800 workout in February and then couldn't get myself to back to the track.

My schedule was very flexible. I took a day off every week and used the great hills around Williamstown to give my long runs some intensity.

Did you have any marathon training partners?
No. I wish I did. I have always loved running with a group, particularly for workouts.

How did it feel to run cross country in the fall? Do you think the marathon training helped/hurt your season?
The marathon left me incredibly excited about training for cross country, but I think it also left me with the beginnings of the stress fracture that took a big chunk out of my summer training.

Is there any tension on campus regarding the fact that you've skipped the track season for the past two years?
I don't think so. From my sophomore year ambivalence about running to my decision to train for marathons, my coach, Pete Farwell, has been incredibly understanding and supportive.

Prior to your first marathon, was there anything that led you to believe that you would be good at that distance? Are there any other marathoners in your family?
Many of my aunts, uncles, and cousins have run marathons. My father ran six Boston Marathons in the 70s, the London to Brighton 52-mile race in 1974, and did the Ironman in 2004. I always assumed I would run one eventually.

What was the longest run you ever did in high school? How about before you began your training for Boston 2005?
I did an occasional 10 miler during cross country season. I think the longest I did before the winter of 2005 was 14 miles.

You were a very good runner in high school as well, and we imagine that a lot of Division I coaches would have loved to have you on their teams. What made you decide to attend Williams and go the DIII route?
I liked the idea of a small school with small classes and a faculty that is really involved with its students. Plus, after two years of suburban running, I wanted to run on trails in the woods. Four years later, I couldn't be happier with my choice. I feel like I've received a wonderful education, and I still love the views on my runs.

Speaking of your high school background, you were on some great teams at Bronxville with Caroline and Catha Mullen, but are we correct in thinking that you also participated in other sports and that you weren't always a full-time runner?
Yes, I played field hockey in the fall and soccer year-round. My junior year, I quit field hockey to run cross country, and my senior year I finally gave up soccer and ran my first season of outdoor track. I'd always liked to run, but I never would have decided to run all three seasons if it hadn't been for our coach, Jim Mitchell. I'd been hearing about Mitchell's relays since I was in elementary school, and the chance to be on one of those teams with the twins was impossible to turn down.

Rumor has it at the 2008 Olympic Marathon Trials will be in Boston. Can we expect to see you there?
Yes. I am very excited.

What's next for you running-wise? Do you have any other races planned?
I don't have any more races planned, but I'd like to run some shorter races this summer and then maybe choose a fall marathon.

Do you know what you'll be doing next year or where you'll be living?
I am looking for a job in book publishing in New York. I worked at Simon & Schuster as an editorial intern last summer and loved it.

Have you given any thought to joining one of the post-collegiate training groups, like Hansons, ZAP Fitness, or one of the Team USA groups?
I don't really know very much about those programs. I think 2:43 puts me in a kind of limbo: it is fast enough that I'm excited to see if I can improve but not fast enough to warrant dropping everything and training full time. Also, I am really looking forward to starting a career. I was able to get my workouts in before work last summer, and I hope to be able to do the same after graduation.