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Ann Alyanak competes in the 2006 USA 20k Championships.

Interview with Ann Alyanak

Posted on April 22, 2007, Interview conducted April 17, 2007

By Alison Wade

As a fifth-year senior at Purdue in 2002, Ann Alyanak—then Ann Stechschulte—qualified for her first NCAA Championship meet. She finished 15th in the 10,000 meters, a race which was won by NC State's Kristin Price. A little less than five years later, Alyanak and Price would meet again at the 2007 Boston Marathon, which would become another turning point in both of their careers. The two ran together for much of the race and turned onto Boylston Street together, but Alyanak was slightly stronger in the end, outkicking Price in the homestretch. Alyanak finished ninth overall in a big PR of 2:38:55, and was the second U.S. finisher behind Deena Kastor in the race which also served as the 2007 USA Women's Marathon Championship.

Alyanak's time in Boston, run in wet and windy conditions, was a personal best by more than nine minutes, improving upon her 2:48:04 from the 2005 Twin Cities Marathon. Since 2005, Alyanak has set PRs in the 5k (16:34), 10,000 (33:35.64), 15k (53:03), 20k (1:10:32), and half marathon (1:14:24).

Alyanak, now 28, still holds Purdue's outdoor 5,000 meter record of 16:19.87. As a fifth-year senior, Alyanak won the 2002 Big Ten 10,000m in 34:01.58, becoming the first and, to date, only woman from Purdue to win that title.

Alyanak graduated from Purdue with a degree in movement and sport science. After spending one year in medical school, she opted for a coaching career instead. Alyanak served as an assistant coach at the University of Dayton for one year before she was named the head women's cross country and assistant track & field coach, a position she has held for three years. Alyanak is currently pursuing a Master's degree in Exercise Science. She resides in Bellbrook, Ohio with her husband, Ed Alyanak, who also serves as her coach.

Can you give us an overview of how the [2007 Boston Marathon] played out for you?
We had a huge pack of women and it went out pretty conservatively. I don't think anyone wanted to make any big moves by themselves. There were a few Americans off the front early but back in the pack, there were probably 15 of us together. The majority of us ran together until the halfway point. Melissa White kind of made a surge after the 13 mile mark and Kristin Price and I went with her and just kind of kept it rolling.

I think we caught up to Zoila Gomez pretty soon after that, and then we caught Mary Akor and Chris Lundy. From then on, Kristin and I kind of held a steady pace and pretty much just ran stride for stride the whole way. She kind of pulled us up the hills and we took turns helping each other out with the wind, I felt like, for the rest of the race. Then it just came down to the finish.

When I saw the two of you with less than 600 meters to go, from a distance I actually thought you were Kara Price, because it really looked like the two of you were working together so well. Were you talking at all? Was it somewhat of a team effort—the two of you against the course and the conditions—or were you really racing each other?
I think it was more of a team effort. We didn't talk a ton. There was one point in the Newton hills when Kristin pulled away from me a little bit, but she was kind of looking back and she was encouraging me. She was like, 'Come on Ann, stay up here!' That definitely helped and I kind of knew from then on that we were doing unmentioned teamwork. Neither of us told the other, 'Now it's your turn to lead,' it just kind of happened.

You definitely have that competitive desire too, where you're trying to pull away from someone, but it was great to have her there and work together to get to the finish.

What changes did you make for Boston due to the weather? Did you change your goal pace, how you dressed, or anything like that?
I kind of prepared for everything apparel-wise and brought everything along. I didn't have to change too much, I just wore some half-tights instead of shorter shorts that I was going to wear.

Pace-wise, my husband, Ed, coaches me and we kind of said going out, 'Just throw pace out the window. Just run with the pack, run on effort and what feels good.' I was looking at the clocks, but I actually never took a split on my watch. I really just ran on feel and went with the moves.

It sounds like you knew you were ready for a pretty big PR.
I did. I knew this was probably the fittest I'd ever been. Training had gone exceptionally well, so I knew that I definitely should run faster than I had in my previous marathons.

What about your training indicated that you were ready? And did you do any races that really let you know you were ready?
I didn't do too many races. I did the [USA] 15k Championships in Jacksonville, which was okay. It didn't go great, but it wasn't terrible for being in the middle of marathon training. That definitely felt very fast to me. Ed was really happy with how Jacksonville went, he thought that set me up well, fitness-wise.

I think the workouts we did, some of the longer stuff, just showed that the fitness was there, it was just a matter of getting out there and executing the race.

Was your mileage higher than what you had done in preparation for your past two marathons?
It was a lot higher this time, but it's still not crazy high. I stayed in the mid 80s to I think 97 was my high. I did quite a few weeks in the low 90s. It's just been a gradual progression. I think before the 2005 Twin Cities Marathon, I was only peaking out in the mid 80s. We've just kept it higher since then and gradually built on it.

Is there anything that you learned in your first two marathons that you incorporated into your training or racing this time?
In Twin Cities, looking back on it, the effort was too hard for me, it shouldn't have felt that hard at the beginning and I kind of cracked at the end. Also, my nutrition wasn't right at Twin Cities. We figured that out with tips from other marathoners, and it was just right on Monday [in Boston].

Were you just taking in fluids, or did you eat anything?
I just took Gatorade the entire time.

You're already back at work. Did you have to go home right after the race?
I did. We had booked our flights to come back in that night, so I could be at work the next day and I wouldn't miss practice. I had mixed emotions about that after I finished the race. I would have really liked to have been there for the awards ceremony.

Were you at all intimidated when you saw the weather conditions on Sunday night?
I was trying to stay positive about it. My husband and I were kind of laughing about it. I was a little worried Sunday night just because it was almost dangerous out there. But I thought, 'Who knows what it's going to be like by the morning?' And I just tried to keep a good mental outlook on it; I tried not to let it bother me at all.

The wheelchair racers and the elite women got the worst of the conditions, and it got better as the day went along. Did it feel bad out there?
I didn't think it felt bad at all. I don't really mind the rain so much and it was warmer than what they expected. I never got cold, and temperature wise it was pretty nice the entire way.

Have you decided what's next?
Not really. We're going to see how recovery goes. We had talked about maybe trying to get back on the track by June for nationals, but it's really going to depend on how things go in these next 2-3 weeks. I'll probably get some shorter stuff in in the early summer, though.

Do you think this will be your last marathon before the Olympic Trials?
I think it will depend on what happens with the World Championships selections.

How long has your husband coached you?
He's basically been my coach since I finished my collegiate running career, so that would be 2002.

Did you two go to Purdue together?
We did.

Does it work out pretty well, having him as your husband and your coach?
For the most part [laughs]. We try to separate it as best we can. If we're at a workout, we leave the workout there and come home. There are probably times when it overtakes our lives too much and we talk about it too much. But for the most part, it works out really well. What's good for him is that he gets constant feedback from me, so he knows how I feel every day. He can change things on a whim and see how I'm doing, so I think that's a big benefit.

We have some training partners as well, which really helps, and he coaches them as well.

You're still training with Tara and Kara Storage?
Yes. We didn't do as much because we were kind of training for different things this winter, but we tried to get together as much as we could when things worked out.

Is your husband also a runner?
He is more of a triathlete. He actually did the Hawaii Ironman this past October.

What kind of balance does it take to be a college coach and an elite athlete? And you're still pursuing your Master's in exercise science as well?
I'm finishing up my thesis; I'm done with all of my classes. [Balancing it all] isn't too bad. I just try to budget my time. I do most of my running in the mornings, before I come in to work. If I have doubles, I usually do my shorter run after practice, just because you're normally a little more drained at the end of the day. I find it better, for me, to get everything out of the way in the morning.

It's kind of the supplementary work that I don't have a ton of time for, or that I should make more time for. I could probably make time if I wanted to [laughs] but it's probably one of the first things that goes.

I'm very passionate about running so I love being around it with coaching. I really enjoy working with the athletes, we have a great bunch of kids. It all works together. My husband is very supportive on all ends and he really loves it too, so that helps.

Is it hard being a coach and being coached by someone else? Are there times when you think, 'I know more about that than you do!'?
There have been a few times that we've butted heads [laughs]. For the most part it's nice, though, because I wouldn't want to coach myself. I think I'd probably overtrain or not do the right things. But there are times when our opinions differ, but most of the time I go with what he says and I don't think twice about it.

Does your racing ever conflict with your coaching?
I try to make it not conflict. This past fall, we had one big conflict with the World Road Running Championships. I had to be away from the team for a few days there, which I didn't enjoy. I try to race on weekends where we don't have meets. This past weekend, it worked out fairly well because I was still able to go to the beginning of our track meet on Saturday and then fly out later. I really only had to miss practice yesterday [the day of the Boston Marathon].

Can you tell us about your high school running? We read that you started running in seventh grade.
Yeah, nothing serious, I just went out for junior high cross country, basically because my older brother ran. I went to some of his meets and thought, 'Oh, this looks fun!" I did it for fun in junior high.

Did you do other sports also?
Yeah, basketball was really my first love. I had three older brothers and my dad also played basketball, so that's what I did from when I was about two years old. I was always out on our cement slab, playing basketball, when the weather was nice. And then it turned out, when I got into high school, that I was a better runner than basketball player. I still played basketball throughout high school, but I realized that running was going to be a better choice for me if I wanted to do sports in college.

What were your high school PRs and did you win any state titles?
I won the 1,600 meter state title my senior year [for Ohio's Bluffton High School] and an 800 meter title my junior year. I was runner-up in each of those once, and I actually won a state high jump title as well.

In cross country, I think 10th place was my best finish. I never really ran all that great in cross country. I'd say my PRs were pretty modest. I ran 5:03 in the 1,600 and 2:16 in the 800.

And what was your high jump PR?
5-6.

It sounds like you improved a lot your senior year at Purdue.
I did. It was actually my fifth year. I was injured my fourth year there and there was a change in the program, so I had a new coach my fifth year. The men's coach, Mike Poehlein, took over the women's team. I had great coaching my first four years as well, but I think it was just the added maturity and increased training that made everything click that year. Poehlein and I had a great rapport as well.

Finally, do you run for a club right now, or do you have any sort of sponsor?
There's a local running store, in Lebanon, Ohio, that kind of helps us out with apparel and shoes, but it's nothing that's contracted.