Interview with Elva Dryer

By Brooke Edwards

Elva Dryer has been quietly and steadily making her mark on the running world for nearly two decades. She saw modest success as a high school athlete in Durango, CO. During her years at Colorado’s Western State College, Dryer (then Elva Martinez) won four NCAA Division II titles at 3000 meters. She also met Russ Dryer, who was an All-American runner himself. He became her husband and her coach, and both relationships are still going strong.

Dryer graduated from Western State in 1996 with a degree in business administration and a minor in psychology, and she immediately scored a professional contract with Nike. She then began making her presence known at longer distances, capturing numerous top-five finishes at the USA Championships in the 10K, 15K, and 20K. Her best 10K time is 31:21.92 at the Stanford Cardinal Invitational in May of 2005.

Dryer is also a two-time Olympian. At the 2000 Games in Sydney, she ran 15:23.99 in a heat of the 5000 meters. In the 2004 Games in Athens, Dryer was the fastest American woman in the 10K, finishing 19th with a time of 32:18.16.

Just over a year ago, Dryer moved on to the next stage in her racing career with her marathon debut at the LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon. She finished in 12th place and, with a time of 2:31:48, qualified for the Olympic trials in Boston next April.

This January, Dryer won the USA Championships at the Aramco Houston Half-Marathon and set a new personal best with her 1:11:42. Just two weeks ago, she took home another half-marathon victory in Denver with a time of 1:19:07

Now 36 and living in Gunnison, CO, Dryer took time out from her intense training schedule a week before her ING New York City Marathon debut—and her second marathon ever—to speak with Fast-Women.com about this newest phase in her celebrated career.

Fast-Women.com: Congratulations on winning the Denver Half-Marathon a couple of weeks ago. Can you talk a bit about how that race played out?

Elva Dryer: Well, it was more of a training run. I had been in Boulder for a few days and expected to stay and get in some quality training at a little bit lower altitude than Gunnison. And the Denver Half-Marathon fit into my schedule as part of like a long run and in giving me people to run with. The weather turned out to be pretty awful, so it was a great opportunity to have some people to run with rather than do a long run on my own somewhere in that weather.

FW: So do you have any partners that you train with, other than your husband?

ED: I train alone for the most part, but there are a couple girls here in Gunnison like Nicole Aish and Mauren Shepard that I do long runs or recovery runs with.  I also  occasionally jump into some of the workouts like the tempo runs with the Western State College Cross Country Team. On my visits to Boulder I will get together with some of the local runners there as well.
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FW: And what made you decide to come out for the ING New York Marathon?

ED: I think I’ve always been intrigued by the New York City Marathon. It’s an opportunity to be part of one of the greatest marathons in the world. And at this point I still feel like I need some experience at racing the distance and in fine-tuning my training preparation for the distance, looking ahead at next year. So this year it just fit in well. And as I said, it’s just an incredible opportunity to be part of such a great race and to line up against a field of world and Olympic medalists.

FW: Do you have a time goal, or a finishing place, that you would like to hit?

ED: Well, most importantly I want to be competitive. It’s an incredible field, with women that have PRs far faster than mine. But I feel like I’ve made some progress within the last year, and so I hope to improve on my time and be in the mix of things with the other women.

FW: And will you be out to watch the men’s Olympic Trials on Saturday?

ED: You know, chances are, as much as I would love to, I think I will probably watch it on TV in my room and just try and save some energy for my race. Because I’m sure there will be a lot of excitement involved with the race.

FW: What did you learn from your debut marathon in Chicago? Have you been training differently since then?

ED: Yes. I learned a lot about not only what my strengths are, but my weaknesses and where I can make some improvements. So in preparation for New York I set out to work on those and to close the gaps between my strengths and weaknesses and be a stronger marathoner. And I feel like I have made some progress. I was able to get in more mileage this time in my training and recover better and just to feel good about where I’m headed.

FW: What were some of those strengths and weaknesses that you discovered during Chicago?

ED: Well, one of the things, in Chicago last year, certainly the last 10K was difficult going into the wind and so forth. That was the point in the race where my weaknesses came to the surface as far as my ability to power through the wind or cut through the wind. And just some muscular weaknesses, with what got fatigued first. And so this year in preparation for New York I worked on my core strength and just a little bit more work in the gym. I discovered that when you’re running a marathon, you use every little ounce, every muscle you have that you didn’t even know you have. And you’re recruiting from so many different areas. So I tried to tap into that a little bit more in my training. And still focus, of course, on getting a lot of running in, but also some other little things I can improve on.

FW: I read that you do some Pilates in your training. Is that still something that you’re doing? And how do you feel that helps you in your racing?

ED: I do. This time around I did a little more weightlifting than Pilates. I still incorporate just a sort of mini-routine. Last year I was doing a full hour at a time and this year I don’t. I do it more at home and just incorporate a combination of Pilates and yoga, but not necessarily a long session.

I’ve noticed a big difference in my core strength, my ability to stay composed longer, and in my form. So by improving on that, I think I’ve become a stronger runner because I can go farther and get less fatigued later in the race, and hopefully reduce the risk of injury. I’ve been able to stay injury-free for a long time and I think this has contributed to being able to do that.

FW: Do you know yet where you’ll be training during the upcoming winter months, leading up to the Olympic Trials in Boston?

ED: A lot of it will depend on what sort of a winter we have here in Gunnison. Last winter was pretty mild, and I was able to be here pretty much all year. But next year is a very important year with the Olympic Trials. So we’re just going to see how the weather is and try and spend as much time here...but I will also likely be spending some time, I imagine, in Boulder or Albuquerque.

FW: And are you still planning to try to qualify for both the marathon and 10K, and decide from there?

ED: Right now, I’m not looking past the marathon. My goal is to make the Olympic team in the marathon and see what happens. And then at that point, I’ll look ahead at what’s next.

FW: How are you feeling about the Trials? Do you think the New York Marathon will help you feel prepared or are there other things that you still want to get in before that to feel completely ready?

ED: I feel pretty good about being ready for the Trials next year. I think that doing New York will give me a stronger sense of comfort, I guess. I feel that I’m capable of a lot more than what I’ve achieved already. So I think the preparation for New York and running New York has given me a great base that I can work off of next year. And the experience alone, I think, is invaluable.

FW: What is it like being married to your coach?

ED: Having my husband as my coach provides some challenges at times. There are times when we just have to come to a  compromise to move forward. Having my husband as a coach also has many advantages. He sees day in and day out what I do and can understand how I may be feeling.  Most  often he is responsible for keeping the household running so I can  focus on training and racing. When we look at the big picture, we  know it is important that we work together in order to be successful in the sport. After nearly 16 years of working together we have met many of our goals, and continue to work on achieving others and setting new ones.

FW: And did he have experience with marathons before you started training for it last year, or has he been learning it with you?

ED: My husband was an All American runner at Western State, a school that is in the NAIA division.  Then the NAIA had the marathon as an event.  He ran the marathon his last year. He brings his own experience as an athlete to his coaching.  For the most part most of the athletes he has coached have all been track and field and cross country runners ranging from 1500 meters to 10K distance.  He has always been a student of the sport for as long as I can remember.  He knows me best. He knows where I started and his coaching has helped me to make numerous World championship teams as well as Olympic Teams and I trust we can still go much further. We decided to do New York this year to get another one in before the Trials, to just sort of fine-tune some training and help us put together a good plan for next year.

FW: You’ve said that you like to read a lot on your downtime. Do you read books about running at all? Or are you reading something right now you’d recommend?

ED: I haven’t read very many running books. I do like reading adventure stories and autobiographies and biographies. Right now I’m just starting—actually today—a book that was recommended to me called Water for Elephants [by Sara Gruen]. I like to read about other countries, other people...just really all sorts of things. I don’t have one type of book that I like or prefer.

FW: You’ve also said you have a strong interest in animals. Is that something you hope to pursue in some way after your racing career has slowed down?

ED: If I have the opportunity, I would love to. We have a family of five cats right now that we just love. They’re all rescues. And I think they give back to us more than we give  them, for sure. And down the road if I can contribute in some way, I certainly hope to.

FW: I read that you started running because your older brother was into cross-country in high school. Is that true?

ED: Yes, he was probably the talent in the family, I think. He just didn’t pursue it much further. But I was like every big brother’s little sister, wanting to do whatever he did. And so that’s kind of how it all first started, wanting to be like him. And now he’s probably my biggest fan. He still runs himself and follows my career. And occasionally we’ll run together if we’re in town together. It’s still fun to be able to share it with him.

FW: And does he give you any of the “If it wasn’t for me…” kind of talk, taking credit for getting you into running?

ED: [laughs] No, he doesn’t. He’s a pretty nice guy. Maybe he does behind my back, I don’t know. Not to my face, anyway!

FW: So obviously making the Olympic team is your biggest goal right now. Do you have any other goals beyond that you’re thinking of, or are you just taking it one step at a time?

ED: Yeah, right now, I’m not looking past making the Olympic team and going to the Olympics. And then after that, we’ll assess things and see where I’m at and where we see the future going. I hope I can find the marathon suits me and continue to run, and to try toi improve on my time and become more competitive on the world scene.

Interview conducted on October 28, 2007, and posted on November 1, 2007.