He ran for UCLA in the mid/late 1990s, and among his many accomplishments, Meb is a 3 time national cross country champion, he won the Silver Medal at the 2004 Olympic Marathon, and last year he was the first American to win the New York City Marathon since 1982.
We had some scheduling difficulties, but Meb was able to find a few minutes for us to chat and to teach me that I really need to test software out the first time that I use it. I’ve used this software to record phone interviews before but this was the first time I’d used it for video and I don’t plan on doing so again. The quality will be slightly better if you download the original file, which is formatted for the size of an iPod Touch. Thankfully, you can hear us just fine:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYHRkn3GaQY
Blaine: I know that it’s been 3 years, but now that you are healthy again we missed you at the Beach to Beacon this year, any chance you’ll come back for another fast 10k?
Meb: It’ll be fun. The Beach to Beacon was a great race for me. And Joan Benoit [Samuelson], who I admire a lot, has been asking me to keep coming back but hopefully maybe I will next year. She’s a great lady and in fact she is the forward writer for my book, so we have some special connection with that.
She made it almost contingent that I come back to the Beach to Beacon, so we’ll see. Now it’s a fun race and I still talk to the host family that hosted me there, Bill and Dina and they’ve been gracious and said, “Hey, anytime you want to come to run the race or just for vacation,” I’ve been invited. I’d like to do it one or two more times.
Blaine: Yeah, well we’re looking forward to it. If you do come up, give me a call. I’ll go for a run with you.
Meb: That will be fun. That will be great.
Blaine: For runners from underdeveloped nations, a win at a major marathon like New York can be life changing not just in the running community but financially as well. How do you compete consistently against athletes with such high stakes on the line?
Meb: You run the race and you can’t play defense. You just got to do the best that you can, and your day will come.
And it did for me in New York. Obviously it was a big day. $130,000 from winning the whole thing, and then $40,000 for being the top American, it was a big pay day for me. And try to invest the money right and do the right thing with it.
Those guys, basically it’s like they’re Lebron James or Michael Jordan when they go to somewhere else. They know they’re so far with the rest of their lives if they could finish in top 3 or top 4 in any major marathon, just once you’re not going to have to do it repeatedly.
But I think they’re still driven to do well, and to be able to get the best out of themselves so they keep coming back. Great news for them and hopefully they’re doing something good with their families.
Blaine: You’ve run a lot of races that are ‘elite’ entry only such as the Olympics or world championships type races. How does that compare with open events such as New York City where you have all kinds of different runners in there? Do you approach them any differently, or which do you prefer?
Meb: I would approach them differently if they put me where you just have to find your way to the starting line, but I approach them the same way just because with the bib numbers we get in the front, so that’s not a problem.
It’s great to see somebody local person going out in the first mile with you and things like that. It’s fun, whether it’s a marathon or a longer or shorter distance but in terms of approach you just try to be the fittest that you can be for that day.
Whether it’s the Olympic Games, you don’t change anything. Whether it’s the Olympic Trials or the New York City Marathon or Beach to Beacon or Big 7 or Falmouth. You just got to be as ready as you can for that particular event.
Blaine: What do you think that the United States needs to do to get more youths interested in distance running and how do we develop them into being the competitive athletes on the international scene?
Meb: I think that’s a great question. You just have to get them involved in terms of the PE classes, and also after that kind of scout the numbers of how many there are, who has talent, or who doesn’t have a talent and kind of keep an eye on them.
Because we do lose to other sports and things like that, but at the same time you have to keep track who is what and what kind of talent they have going for them.
Blaine: Which other Americans should we as marathon fans be keeping our eye on that might be flying under the radar right now but are set for a major break through in the few years?
Meb: You know, the 5K and the 10K are good indicators. We just had Chris Solinsky break the American record in 27 for the first time. He definitely has a potential to be a medalist at the world championships because he has a great speed also.
But in the marathon, his size is different but also Paul Tergat’s size is tall and Paul doesn’t weigh as heavy as Chris. I don’t know, can he do a marathon, things like that?
There are many other guys at the Oregon project that are coming up on distances but it’s kind of hard to mention their names because you don’t want to put the pressure on them and things like that. But it’s just small progress and keep track of them and keep tally of who they are and where they are.
They might be in college, some of them might be out of college and I encourage people to keep running after post collegiate because as a distance runner if you haven’t done 100 miles a week in high school, you’re going to peak later and after college.
Blaine: This morning, you did a short workout with Jared Fogle from Subway, who is running his first marathon at New York City. What advice did you have for him?
Meb: Well Jared, it was just great pleasure to be running with him. And he is an inspiration to me and many others in what he has done.
We just talked about the course. And also, you know, mile 23, 24, 25. To be patient, you’d rather be keeping the same pace going rather than going out too early. We talked about nutrition, with the Subway, and what he eats and things like that. You just have to have a balance. Share a lot of knowledge and it was good to get to meet him in person.
Blaine: So are we going to see him munching on a Subway while he runs through the course?
Meb: Maybe not, but that’s just like what I’m doing right now, heheh! That’s what I’m having for lunch. I’m pretty sure, you know I’ve been using Subway for such a long time and it’s such a natural fit. We had a great day today with Jared and on the TV show and doing the runs and things like that. It’s been a lot of fun.
Blaine: Thanks for sharing a few minutes, and we’re getting pretty close because I know you guys have been running a little behind schedule. I appreciate the time, it’s been a pleasure.
Meb: Thank you, and hopefully we’ll work out when I come to Beach to Beacon. Take care, Bye!
The photos above are courtesy of the New York Road Runners and Catalyst PR. Pictured is Jared Fogle, who is training for his first marathon, and Meb Keflezighi, who won the New York City Marathon in 2009 and is offering a few pointers to Jared as they run along the late portions of the course in Central Park.
Yesterday afternoon I had a few minutes to chat with Meb Keflezighi, one of the best marathoners in the United States right now. 
Good job, Blaine.
Nice job — I enjoyed the interview. Having the transcript is handy, too. One comment from Meb that I found interesting. When he was comparing Chris and Paul Tergat, who are both tall guys, he seemed to be saying that it’s harder to be a long-distance runner if you’re tall and a bit muscular/heavier. I would think that a little muscle helps in the longer distances ….
Thank you for having the transcripts. I hate watching videos, and prefer reading.