Our own Ingrid Walters talks to Cal Track and Running News about her being the first woman masters at this year’s Los Angeles Marathon after PR’ing in a time of 3:07.
Is this the first time you have run the LA marathon?
This was my 5th marathon. 4th L.A. Marathon.
Is it your first time running the stadium to sea course?
Yes, the only other L.A. marathon course I ran was the old course that started at 7th & Figueroa.
How many marathons have you run and what is your PR for the distance?
This was my 5th marathon. I ran 3:07.40. I actually PR’d in this marathon by 10 minutes from last year’s Carlsbad Marathon.
Is the marathon your preferred distance or do you specialize in other events?
I prefer the marathon. I run with an elite woman’s running group The Janes and their preferred distances are 5 and 10k’s. I ran a few 10k races throughout my training and it helped my marathon a lot. I was able to sprint the last mile.
How did the hills affect you in the race?
I knew the hills in the beginning of the race were going to be challenging, so I ran those exact hills a few weeks before the race and I’m glad I did! A huge part of my training was running hills in the Santa Monica mountains, so I was prepared for them. Mile 20 at the VA Hospital was a little challenging because there were a few hills. The last thing you want are hills towards the end!
What were the most favorite and least favorite parts of the race for you?
My favorite part was the start. It was such a well organized race. I was able to start in the very front and seeing the elite male and female runners and the wheelchair racers was really inspiring.
My least favorite part..haha…the VA Hospital hills at mile 20.
What was your race strategy and did you follow it or adjust it during the race?
My only goal was to run faster than I did last year in Carlsbad. I started out a little fast but I was feeling good so I went with it. I knew I had about 10 seconds to use once I started feeling tired, so I slowed down between miles 14 and 20 without compromising my goal. This also gave me the energy to blast through the last 5 miles.
