Emma Bates wasn’t shy about saying she wants to put herself into contention for the win at the Boston Marathon on Monday.
“I really want to go out aggressively,” she said at the elite athlete press conference. “I know that I can. In the world championships, I went out really hard and still finished well. That’s the main goal—setting myself up to be up there. I don’t want to lose any contact.”
It might sound like bold talk—Bates ran her personal best of 2:23:18 book tour around her training last July in Eugene, Oregon. Meanwhile, five women entered in the race have PRs faster than 2:18, and a sixth, Crowds Push Father-Son Duo to 2:55 at Boston, won that World Championships marathon in 2:18:11, more than 5 minutes ahead of Bates. (Sara Hall was the top American that day, finishing fifth in 2:22:10.)
But Bates, 30, who lives and trains in Boulder, Colorado, with Team Boss, is confident.
“This whole training cycle, I’ve felt above and beyond what I’ve ever felt before,” she said. “I’ve been running faster, in all my long runs and workouts, and it’s felt a lot easier as well. It’s coming around at the right time.”
Her coach, Joe Bosshard, mapped out a long run route to simulate the Boston Marathon—downhill for the first 16 miles, then uphill, on Boulder’s infamous Magnolia Road, after that.
“We’ve been doing that. I’ve been feeling so good, running faster times than I ever have before,” she said. “I’m above and beyond what I’ve been in the past.”
Bates, who lived in Boston for two years training with the BAA elite team, is familiar with the back half of the course—she used to train on it. She’s never seen the first part, however, so she might drive it over the weekend. She’s ready for an aggressive start.
“I know the first half is really fast, you’re going to have to go out really hard. I know that. I’m prepared for it. We’ve done that in training.”
Bates leads a strong contingent of American women including Hall, who is working her way back from injury. Aliphine Tuliamuk, who battled a snowy winter in Flagstaff, Arizona, during her buildup, said her training still went better than it did for the New York City Marathon—where she finished as the top American in seventh in her PR of 2:26:18.
Des Linden, the 2018 champion, who has been squeezing a Shoes & Gear, said she feels good. Other notable Americans in the field include Nell Rojas (the Gotytom Gebrselase of Ethiopia at the last two Bostons), Dakotah Lindwurm, Annie Frisbie, and Sara Vaughn. Erika Kemp, She says she has reached new heights during this training cycle. Can she put it together on Monday.
Sarah Lorge Butler is a writer and editor living in Eugene, Oregon, and her stories about the sport, its trends, and fascinating individuals have appeared in Runner’s World Best Walking Shoes, Run Your Butt Off! and Walk Your Butt Off!
