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Speaker 1: Thank you, New York. Today we're reminded of the power
Speaker 1: of community and the power of coming together. Athletes, on
Speaker 1: your mark.
Josh Kerr: The first woman to finish for the second straight year
Josh Kerr: here in the New York City Marathon is Miki Gorman, a
Josh Kerr: smiling Miki Gorman. And why not? 2: 29:30, the time for Grete Waitz.
Speaker 2: Look at the emotion of Shalane Flanagan as she comes
Speaker 2: to the line. Pointing to his chest, pointing to the
Speaker 2: USA he so proudly wears across his chest. A great
Speaker 2: day for Meb Keflezighi.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Hey everybody, and welcome to a special edition of Set
Rob Simmelkjaer: the Pace presented by Peloton. I'm your host and the
Rob Simmelkjaer: CEO of New York Roadrunners, Rob Simmelkjaer. And what an
Rob Simmelkjaer: incredible day we had today at the New Balance Fifth
Rob Simmelkjaer: Avenue Mile. Not only was there a new course record
Rob Simmelkjaer: on the men's side by our defending champion, Josh Kerr,
Rob Simmelkjaer: but on the women's side it was Karissa Schweizer pulling
Rob Simmelkjaer: ahead for a win and a spot- on tie with
Rob Simmelkjaer: the women's course record set by Laura Muir back in
Rob Simmelkjaer: 2022. But today, of course was today for runners of
Rob Simmelkjaer: all ages, abilities, and goals. We had more than 8,
Rob Simmelkjaer: 000 runners from age two to 91 sprint their way
Rob Simmelkjaer: down the iconic Fifth Avenue on what was a perfect
Rob Simmelkjaer: fall day. If you weren't at the race and you
Rob Simmelkjaer: weren't able to watch the broadcast live on WABC, you
Rob Simmelkjaer: can actually go and check it out now on ESPN
Rob Simmelkjaer: Plus. It's available there on demand. One of the people
Rob Simmelkjaer: who called that race today was Carrie Tollefson. She was
Rob Simmelkjaer: also there to interview our winners, Josh Kerr and Karissa Schweizer.
Carrie Tollefson: All right, we're standing here in Central Park right outside
Carrie Tollefson: of drug testing where you two can hopefully fill up
Carrie Tollefson: your bottles here pretty fast. But actually right by the
Carrie Tollefson: finish line, we heard you were discussing your races. So
Carrie Tollefson: Josh, let's hear what that conversation was like first from
Carrie Tollefson: you and then we'll come to you, Karissa.
Josh Kerr: Well, I love watching the women's race. It gives me
Josh Kerr: inspiration. The only reason I ran like that is because
Josh Kerr: of how Laura Muir ran a couple years ago. But
Josh Kerr: we don't get to watch the women's race, so I was
Josh Kerr: just asking Karissa how it went and how the race
Josh Kerr: went. So I'm excited to watch it back. But yeah,
Josh Kerr: they set a good stage for us.
Carrie Tollefson: Yeah, you really kind of were patient until 800 meters
Carrie Tollefson: and then you were just like, " Okay, see ya, everybody."
Josh Kerr: Yeah, I felt good going up the hill and I think you
Josh Kerr: can disguise a move at halfway where people think you're
Josh Kerr: going for the halfway bonus and then just keep pressing.
Josh Kerr: So thought it was a good idea and then with
Josh Kerr: 600 to go, I was like, " This is actually a
Josh Kerr: terrible idea." And then before on the go, I was
Josh Kerr: like, "Okay, we got this." So it was fine.
Carrie Tollefson: How do you regroup when you are like, " Oh no,
Carrie Tollefson: I still have quite a bit of racing to go
Carrie Tollefson: and I'm tired."?
Josh Kerr: You just got to rely on the legs a little
Josh Kerr: bit and it ends up only being about a minute
Josh Kerr: left. So you just kind of close your eyes and
Josh Kerr: hope, really.
Carrie Tollefson: Well, it was the huge crowds following you, Josh. There were a
Carrie Tollefson: bunch of women taking pictures and your fiance was so
Carrie Tollefson: graceful, but I mean, it must be really fun right
Carrie Tollefson: now. Everybody is excited for you. They all want to
Carrie Tollefson: give you a high five. What does it feel like
Carrie Tollefson: being here in New York and having everybody know you?
Josh Kerr: It's nice. I think trying to be a bit more
Josh Kerr: of an open book and show my process as much
Josh Kerr: as possible because I don't think this is something that
Josh Kerr: only really, really talented people can do. It's like hard
Josh Kerr: work and consistent days can get you great results and
Josh Kerr: I hope that's what everyone feels like. There was some
Josh Kerr: great masses running today and I hope that us in
Josh Kerr: the men's race, and I'm sure the women's races as
Josh Kerr: well, are all inspiring those athletes to go out and
Josh Kerr: be their best. So that's all that we can do
Josh Kerr: and it's really fun to be able to connect with
Josh Kerr: the fans and the athletes that we're racing earlier.
Carrie Tollefson: You have a big entourage, you have a big team.
Carrie Tollefson: So this team, you always say, " We, we, we." That's
Carrie Tollefson: important to you, your team.
Josh Kerr: Yeah, I think the team's grown every year, but it's
Josh Kerr: people that I've been friends with for 10, 15 years are
Josh Kerr: coming on and helping out as much as they can
Josh Kerr: and it's really nice to look left and right have
Josh Kerr: family members and best friends as part helping you out
Josh Kerr: and being able to bring back gold medals and medals
Josh Kerr: and everything and records and stuff back to them just
Josh Kerr: validates their job and I'm trying to let them be
Josh Kerr: proud of what they do.
Carrie Tollefson: Records, you just said record. You set a big one
Carrie Tollefson: today. 1981, Sydney Maree held it since then and today
Carrie Tollefson: you blew it out of the water.
Josh Kerr: Yeah, I mean, Sydney Maree had multiple records and world
Josh Kerr: records and everything, so I was just looking to etch
Josh Kerr: my name in the history books and I'm at a
Josh Kerr: part of my career where I'm just trying to leave
Josh Kerr: as much of a legacy as I can. Being able
Josh Kerr: to follow in the footsteps at Sydney is massive. I
Josh Kerr: was able to do it in college and I'm just
Josh Kerr: looking to continue to do that as a professional.
Carrie Tollefson: Yeah, and now done. You're all done until next, well,
Carrie Tollefson: what, February maybe?
Josh Kerr: Yeah. I don't know yet, I don't know. I mean,
Josh Kerr: I'm never going to turn down a Melrose call, so
Josh Kerr: we'll see what happens. But yeah, I'm sure I'll do something in the fall.
Carrie Tollefson: Awesome job. Congratulations on everything.
Josh Kerr: Thank you so much. I appreciate it.
Carrie Tollefson: All right, Karissa, your turn. Oh, my goodness. Now, today
Carrie Tollefson: was a big day for you, but you said you
Carrie Tollefson: don't even know if this is the end of your season.
Karissa Schweizer: Yeah, I'm not sure. Yeah, I feel like I'm just
Karissa Schweizer: kind of building some momentum. I had a bit of
Karissa Schweizer: a hiccup in the spring, so it just feels like I'm just
Karissa Schweizer: getting started, so I want to just keep going, but
Karissa Schweizer: I know that's going to bode well for next year.
Carrie Tollefson: Well, walk us through your race a little bit. I
Carrie Tollefson: mean, you were right there up in front or in
Carrie Tollefson: the early stages, but then kind of sat back in
Carrie Tollefson: a little bit. Talk us through the race.
Karissa Schweizer: Yeah, just being a 5K, 10K runner, I was so nervous
Karissa Schweizer: for the start. I was just like, " Oh, just get
Karissa Schweizer: out fast. Go with them and don't panic if it
Karissa Schweizer: feels too fast." But I feel like it was quick
Karissa Schweizer: first 400 and they said... People told me that it just kind
Karissa Schweizer: of slows with the second 400 with uphill. So I just
Karissa Schweizer: kind of was pressing there just to make it more
Karissa Schweizer: of a strength race and then just kind of tried
Karissa Schweizer: to coast it in. I was like, " Okay, we just
Karissa Schweizer: got downhill from here."
Carrie Tollefson: But you really turned it on and you won by
Carrie Tollefson: quite a bit by that last 400. You had something
Carrie Tollefson: left in you.
Karissa Schweizer: Yeah, I kind of just started to kick and then
Karissa Schweizer: when Dorcas came on me, I just was like, " Okay,
Karissa Schweizer: I'm just going to relax and gear up for a
Karissa Schweizer: second kick." And I definitely wasn't expecting to have that
Karissa Schweizer: much left with it.
Carrie Tollefson: Yeah, yeah. So coming here, this is your first New
Carrie Tollefson: York Road Runner event. I mean, a lot of people
Carrie Tollefson: that come to New York Road Runner events come back
Carrie Tollefson: for many, many more races. So can we hear a
Carrie Tollefson: little bit about that?
Karissa Schweizer: Yeah, the energy was awesome. I've watched so many of
Karissa Schweizer: these races and I've always wanted to race one. It
Karissa Schweizer: just hasn't worked out well for me and I had
Karissa Schweizer: so much fun out there, so I'll definitely be back.
Carrie Tollefson: So maybe a 5K in the fall, maybe 26.2 in the future?
Karissa Schweizer: I hope so. I hope one day.
Carrie Tollefson: So when you cracked the tape, though, I mean, you
Carrie Tollefson: ran 4: 14. 8, I believe, unofficially right now. That
Carrie Tollefson: is right where the record was. Was that on your mind?
Karissa Schweizer: Not at all. I feel like even just last night
Karissa Schweizer: I was kind of like, " Oh, you could win this
Karissa Schweizer: thing." So I just was like, " Okay, let's just focus
Karissa Schweizer: on just executing a good race and just believe in
Karissa Schweizer: yourself and give yourself a shot."
Carrie Tollefson: So what do you do here in this big city? I
Carrie Tollefson: mean, you have to go celebrate this, so what are
Carrie Tollefson: you going to do?
Karissa Schweizer: Yeah, I don't know yet. My boyfriend's here and we're
Karissa Schweizer: just going to roam around and we'll probably... Actually, I
Karissa Schweizer: think we're going to go to the Liberty game tonight.
Carrie Tollefson: Oh, that's fun. Well, congratulations on everything. You have been
Carrie Tollefson: on this comeback trail. All of us here in America
Carrie Tollefson: and around the world that are fans of yours have
Carrie Tollefson: been watching you go and run the 5,000, the 10, 000 at the
Carrie Tollefson: Olympic Games again and now winning here at Fifth Avenue.
Carrie Tollefson: Awesome job. Congratulations on everything.
Karissa Schweizer: Yes, thank you for having me.