PUBLISHED 10/31/2007
Eight of the Marathon Trials runners qualified for the Trials with 10,000-meter times rather than marathon times, and several of those have never run a marathon. In other words, they're in the Marathon Trials even though they can't call themselves marathoners yet. It seems strange, but even the hard-core veterans admit it's a good way to entice fresh, young talent to the marathon. One of those non-marathoners, Josh Rohatinsky, has even attracted a fair amount of "dark horse" attention.
Another one, Matt Gonzales, hasn't attracted attention, but perhaps should. Here's a runner who has finished second in the Gate River 15K (2006) ahead of guys named Abdirahman and Culpepper. He's finished second in an NCAA XC Championships, ahead of guys named Ryan Hall and Matt Tegenkamp. He raced strongly on the Central Park loop in May, with a 28:50 in the Healthy Kidney 10K, and in early October was the fifth American in the Twin Cities 10 Mile in 48:41. The smallish (5' 4", 117lbs) Gonzales has personal bests of 3:42 for 1500, 13:35 for 5000, and 28:17 for 10,000. He lives and trains in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and attended the University of New Mexico.
Runner's World: What gives you confidence that you're going to run well on Saturday?
Matt Gonzales: My training has gone really well. I'm completely injury free and healthy. I've done four 24-milers in 2:10 to 2:14. I'm small and I like hills, so I think I'll handle Central Park better than some bigger runners. I'm patient and steady and don't blow up in races. There's no pressure on me because no one's expecting me to do anything. And I watched the ING New York City Marathon last year, which was my first trip to New York, and I learned what you have to do to deal with all the energy in the New York.
RW: You haven't won a lot of big races, but you've had some very good races. What do you think is the best race you've ever run?
MG: I think that was the Gate River 15K in 2006 when I was second to Meb. I ran the first 5K with him and Abdi, but then Meb made a move, and I knew I couldn't match it. Of course, Abdi went with him, and I eventually caught him just before the finish. Alan Culpepper and I worked together to make up the ground on Abdi. I thought I was really on the move that spring, but then I got injured in an accident in Mexico. It wasn't a running injury. I got shoved into a rail, and twisted my ankle, and then developed plantar fasciitis after that. I was out for basically a full year. I got started training consistently again in February this year, and have been building up since then. We decided that I would run the Marathon Trials because that gave me a solid focus for the end of 2007.
