EVENTS
 Sportsman of the Year
 Heisman Trophy
 Swimsuit 2001

CNNSI.com GROUP
 Sports Illustrated
 Life of Reilly
 Television
 SI Women
 SI for Kids
 Press Room
 TBS/TNT Sports
 CNN Languages

COMMERCE
 SI Customer Service
 SI Media Kits
 Get into College
 Sports Memorabilia
 TeamStore

Chat Reel: John Kagwe

NYC marathon favorite says the whole field a rival

Kagwe will be looking to add NYC Marathon win No. 3 in 2000. Ezra O. Shaw/Allsport

CNNSI Host: Welcome to today's NYC Marathon chat with two-time winner John Kagwe. Welcome, John. Thanks for spending some time with us.
John Kagwe: Thank you, good to be here.

From Steve Hopson in Portland, Ore.: John, congratulations on your great victories. Are speed workouts really the key to a faster marathon time, even for the casual marathoner? And how often should they be done?
John Kagwe: Speed work should be done all the time. Two times a week is a good practice. Speed is the determining factor for the marathon. You move with the speed and the endurance for the long run. When you are running, you do so with speed and endurance.

From Irun4fun: What is your training schedule like when you prepare to run a marathon?
John Kagwe: In the beginning, I have to do the workouts to prepare my body for the marathons. I do long run workouts. Like 10 miles to 20 miles for two weeks then you start speed training. Then you go on to two weeks of speed training, every week I do speed on Wednesday and Fridays. I do 800s for those. And I go to a race or a competition to test my speed. Then, after that, you have know the position I am in, to push myself the furtherest I can.

From intern: What is your view on Ethiopian runners this year?
John Kagwe: I think the Ethiopian are handling the running very well. Haile Gebresselasse, I admire him very much. He is always tough and on top. And there is another runner, I forget his name (Gezahng Abera), but he was second in Boston and went on to win the Olympics. They also have a couple of women who are also outstanding. They are a threat to Kenyan runners.

From Stacy: What are some of the determining factors for winning this year's race?
John Kagwe: Well, I don't there are too many determining factors, but I have the spirit to go run and try to win.

From Rune Fossheim in Oslo, Norway: What can the average marathon runner learn from elite racing?
John Kagwe: The best thing to tell him is to focus and try to keep making his goals. Set goals to try to help him proceed to the next step.

From Irun4fun: I'm going to run in my first marathon this year. What should be my main concern?
John Kagwe: The main concern is to know the distance is not that difficult because many people do it. And then to know the distance is like a physical test, so they have to prepare beforehand. They have to do some long runs and some speed training. Then when they run, they have to try and make their goal.

From MarcL: Who would you consider to be your biggest rival?
John Kagwe: You know, with the comparison of training and understanding that everyone is well-prepared, you can't say there is just one main rival. You go in knowing everyone is a main rival.

CNNSI Host: That's all the time we have today with John Kagwe. Thanks again for your time and good luck this weekend, John.
John Kagwe: Thank you so much. Bye bye.

Copyright © 2001 CNN/Sports Illustrated An AOL Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved. Terms under which this service is provided to you. Read our privacy guidelines.