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BOSTON MARATHON


April 17, 2006


Madina Biktagirova

Sammy Nyangincha


BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS

THE MODERATOR: Masters Champions for 2006. 2:37, Sammy, you've run here before. How was today compared to, say, your race in '94 when you did very well?
SAMMY NYANGINCHA: I think it was very good other than very windy, and I was also not sure myself because I've had ten years without running. But now I need to go and train and then if we wait next year, I can do that, I can do better than today.
THE MODERATOR: Running in the Master's Division gives you some new confidence and maybe keeps you young?
SAMMY NYANGINCHA: Yeah, I think -- I mean, I think the fastest race in the Master's Division, I'm better to have done today here and really Boston is a great race and definitely Kenyans would like to come. I'm glad to be here again. As I said, I think this is a race that many guys can do, even from Kenya. I would like to come back again.
THE MODERATOR: Madina, you've been up on stage with us many times before. How did you find the race this year?
MADINA BIKTAGIROVA: I hope to run very well this year because I get very good preparation and I was in good shape. But today it happens that I run a lot and nobody pushed me. I ran better than last year for time but not for the open division. But I was really happy about defending my title again today.
THE MODERATOR: You're the returning champion, do you see Boston -- is Boston one of the courses that you look forward to running every year?
MADINA BIKTAGIROVA: Yes, I got very good preparation, and I'm thinking about the Boston Marathon this year and I want to run very well here. I like Boston.
THE MODERATOR: Sammy, you trained with Timothy, and with Benjamin?
SAMMY NYANGINCHA: Yes.
THE MODERATOR: Do they train with you or do you train with them?
SAMMY NYANGINCHA: We train together, yeah. We train together and we are in the same country. But first when I started training with them, you know, with my age. It's really hard to keep up with them, they are very young and very fast. So I had to stop a bit -- then I started training by myself but we train together.
THE MODERATOR: Did you have an idea that Benjamin would do so well today?
SAMMY NYANGINCHA: Yeah, because as he was training, I think he looked to be in very good shape. So we had no doubt that he was going to do very well today.
THE MODERATOR: Was your strategy to run your own race today, because you were up there with the lead pack for most of the race? Was that your strategy to stay with the leaders or see how you would do or do you have a set strategy?
MADINA BIKTAGIROVA: I would like to run this year 2:28 and I had good preparation. But I'm beginning to run with the later runners, 5k and I decided I can run with them the whole marathon and I decide to run a little bit slowly because my legs were hurting. But I think about not only to win the Masters, I'm thinking about the future to run very well.
THE MODERATOR: To run to win, not just the Masters.
Q. Did you know that you had won, when you crossed the line, did you know you were the winner?
SAMMY NYANGINCHA: I did not know at first, but when I was close to finishing, that's when I learned that I was the winner.
Q. Did someone come up to you and say that you won the Masters?
SAMMY NYANGINCHA: No. They announced that I won.
Q. Just wanted to ask Sammy how long it's been since your run in Boston, what is your most recent before today?
SAMMY NYANGINCHA: 1995.
THE MODERATOR: Madina, will you come back next year to defend your title?
MADINA BIKTAGIROVA: Yes.
THE MODERATOR: Boston is in your calendar every year?
MADINA BIKTAGIROVA: It's very hard not to be here.
THE MODERATOR: Sammy, you haven't been here in 11 years. Do we have to wait another 11 for you to come back?
SAMMY NYANGINCHA: Sure, I've got a lot of friends here and I also like the people of Boston because they are very great. They cheer us all over. Most of the time I miss them so much, so I would like to come back and see them again.
THE MODERATOR: There's a large group of younger Kenyan runners, obviously. Is there a large number of Master's runners in Kenya that you can train with, or do you train with the young guys?
SAMMY NYANGINCHA: No. I usually train with the young guys. Not many guys who have won like to run in Kenya, they say they are too old to run.
THE MODERATOR: And that's not the case in Russia, is it? There are a lot of Master's runners in Russia, aren't there?
MADINA BIKTAGIROVA: Yes.
THE MODERATOR: Thank you very much, thank you for joining us.

End of FastScripts...

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