In photo below, Betty races down Ohio Drive to the finish of last year's Veterans Day 10K

Betty Blank of Falls Church, VA has been racing in the area for more than 25 years. Originally from the Chicago area, she has finished twenty-fifth overall for women and 10th American Woman at the Chicago Marathon back in 1984 with a time of 3:02:00. Back in those days, not many women were running, especially not marathons. Today, Betty who is 53, still finishes near the top, nearly always winning her age group. She loves the competition

Moreland: We have the McGranahan twins, Ann and Jennifer who are both top ranked in the Open Division. Tell us about your twin sister. Does she run too?

Blank: My twin sister lives in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. She doesn't do the racing scene like I do here. They don't have it out there. They do a lot of skiing out there and snowshoe racing and running up mountains. That seems a lot tougher than what I do! Get her out here and I would kick her butt.

Moreland: Betty, you seem to stay racing trim all year round. How is it that you stay in such good shape?

Blank: Core training using the stability ball. I use the ball a lot when I do crunches and weights. I have noticed the change in my body also using the ball as a machine for tightening up my stomach muscles.

Moreland: What started you running? How many miles do you need to put in each week? Will you be going after a marathon this year?

Blank: As of now, I am running between 30 and 50 miles a week, depending on whether I am racing or not. I really would like to run a marathon. For years I was keeping up with my age with the number of marathons I ran. Now I am 53, and I have only run 51 marathons. I need to get another one under my belt. But it takes a lot of time to train for a fast marathon and takes away from running the other races you really want to run. You have to decide between marathons and shorter races.

Moreland: Now that the spring racing season is starting, tell us about your racing plans after Cherry Blossom.

Blank: Wow, I am ready for a lot of spring and summer races. I am going to take it month to month and see what I really want to race and go for. Some of the races will be good training races with no taper.

Moreland: You just had a real solid age group win at St. Patrick's Day 8K in 33:50. How did you feel going down to the Shamrock Sportsfest in Virginia Beach?

Blank: I wasn't happy at all with my St. Patrick's Day race. I felt very flat racing it and I knew I would run much faster at Shamrock Half Marathon. The 8K predicted a much slower time than what I ran in Shamrock.

Moreland: The conditions in Virginia Beach can be very windy, negating the flat. How do you think your time there will relate to Cherry Blossom?

Blank: I was very pleased with my half marathon, ecstatic even. It made up for some earlier races that did not go as well as I would have liked. I knew I was ready with my winter training.

Moreland: You run almost all the distances from 5K to the marathon. What was your first race? What is your favorite race to run?

Blank: My first race ever what the 10 miler twosome in New York City. I was based in NY and this guy came in the Flight Attendant crew lodge and asked if anyone would run this race with him. My roommate Pasty said that I could do this. He left a note in my mailbox and I called him up and we chatted and I told him I would train for it. My longest run was 5 miles. So on my layover in Texas, I went for a 10-mile run with this pilot. I then had to fly all day. I got to my layover in Florida. Everybody knew I loved to party. I said, "I am going to take a bath and die." My legs were DEAD. To make a long story short, I ran this race with him in 90 minutes. My first race!

That was in September and he said I was a natural; two months later I ran the MCM in 4:18 with so little training and also knee pain. It was then that I found out I needed orthotics badly. After that, it was all downhill. I started running three to four marathons a year. I have 51 marathons under my belt now.

After getting into racing scene, I started doing triathlons. I have done 32 triathlons and more than 40 duathlons as well as three Half Ironmans, placing in my age group or overall in all of them.

I am looking forward to Cherry Blossom. It is one of my favorite races. I hope to break 69:00. I love the atmosphere of the big races. Still, I love running the shorter races in the summer. I don't have a lot of favorite races; I just love to race!

Moreland: What kind of intervals to find most useful for training?

Blank: I prefer longer intervals in the wintertime to get me ready for the Half Marathon in Shamrock and Cherry Blossom. After that, I start with the shorter intervals in the springtime. It seems like I can't run super fast for the 5K that longer races predict for me, but I can run a little bit slower than the 5K pace and keep running the longer distance at that pace. I have always been a better long distance runner.

Moreland: What gets you energized to race?

Blank: I am basically a very highly energized and motivated person all the time. When I get signed up for a race or invited, I am pumped to go out there and do my best and know I have trained hard for it.

Moreland: So I guess you're ready for Cherry Blossom?

Blank: Oh Yeah! After my great Half Marathon at Shamrock, I am ready to rock! That was such a great race for me, and I am feeling very strong now with all my long distance training.

Moreland: Naomi Stanford, now fifty-five, took first place in the age group in 1:12:27 at Cherry Blossom, while you were second last year in 1:12:43.

Blank: Right. I was disappointed but I was coming off a major injury. I haven't been injured with a tear in my hamstring ever. I did run Cherry Blossom knowing it wasn't going to be a fast race. This year I will not be in her division, and, now healthy, I do plan to be ahead of her and every other woman fifty and over.

Moreland: As a personal trainer, you know the value of full body fitness. Tell us about some of the methods you use to stay fit.

Blank: Weight training is so important for runners. I don't think a lot of runners realize they need do the weights. I am big on bench pressing (I have done three bench press contests), benching 135 and weighing in at 107 at the time. I am also big on using the stability ball, working on the core of the body. I also do boxing and hitting the heavy bag, which is a lot of fun. All of this has helped me stay in shape and be a good runner. It's not all about running to keep you in shape.

Moreland: Tell us about your experience with the trapeze.

Blank: Wow, I love trapeze. I got into it after I went to Club Med in 2005. It was right there in front of my Hotel. It is a total fear factor sport and addiction! Once you get up there and start swinging and learning tricks and being caught you want to do this all time. It takes so much core strength from your body to do these tricks. Timing is the most important factor to trapeze, when they say something you do it NOW. I also believe it has helped my running.

Moreland: So Betty, at 104 pounds you must be very careful about what you eat.

Blank: I eat smartly and mostly carbs. I do the weight training along with my running, which is convenient as I am a personal trainer. I do love the party part after some of these big races, where we drink and let it all hang out! Shamrock was awesome for that. What a party down there.

Moreland: Lots of runners eat a lot of junk food.

Blank: I am not a junk food person, I eat well, but I do have a sweet tooth. Most nights I get up around 2 AM from bed to get some M&Ms. For this, I have to hike over a baby gate, and climb 20 stairs to the fridge to get these M&M'S. So it takes some work to get them!

Moreland: What did you do before you became a personal trainer?

Blank: I was a flight attendant with Eastern Airlines for 17 years. It was an awesome job, dealing with people, which I do now as a personal trainer. I flew to many states and ran a lot of races. Marathons mostly.

Moreland: Now that you are in your fifties, what kind of racing goals do you have?

Blank: I enjoy racing. PRs are not very likely, though I have not slowed much in the last 25 years. I am trying to maintain my same times as I have run in my 30s. I ran the Break the Silence 5K in 1993 in 19:43 and last December ran the Red Ribbon 5K in 20:41

I ran the MADD Red Ribbon run when I turned 50 and ran 19:53. That was my best race since turning 50. I did run Cherry Blossom in 1:09:24 that year as well. That was coming off major surgery in December 2001.

Races run for the 2005 Runner Ranking

Race Name                            Site                 Date          Time	
Cranberry Crawl 5K                   Washington, DC       20-Nov-04    20:31
Alexandria Turkey Trot 5M            Alexandria, VA       27-Nov-04	33:34
Turkey Burnoff 10 Mile               Gaithersburg, MD     27-Nov-04	1:15:51
DCRRC Gar Williams HM                Alexandria, VA       04-Dec-04	1:36:46
DCRRC Bread Run 10K                  Glen Echo Park, MD   12-Dec-04	45:22
PVTC Christmas Caper 10K             Washington, DC       18-Dec-04	20:34
Red Ribbon Run 5K                    Alexandria, VA       31-Dec-04	20:47
DCRRC Al Lewis 10 Miler              Kensington, MD       08-Jan-05	1:13:38
Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Mile  Washington, DC       03-Apr-05	1:12:43
Sallie Mae Fund 10K                  Washington, DC       17-Apr-05	43:16
GW Parkway 5K                        Alexandria, VA       24-Apr-05	21:27
DCRRC WDF 5K                         Arlington, VA        05-Jun-05	21:20
Lawyers have Heart 10K               Washington, DC       11-Jun-05	43:39
DCRRC Hugh Jascourt 4M               Springfield, VA      21-Jun-05	26:34
Rockville Rotary Twilight 8K         Rockville, MD        16-Jul-05	34:53
DCRRC Bellehaven 8K                  Alexandria, VA       19-Jul-05	35:24
Predicted Time 5 Mile                Washington, DC       15-Oct-05	34:55
Goblin Gallop 5K                     Fairfax, VA          30-Oct-05	21:01
Veterans Day 10K                     Washington, DC       06-Nov-05	42:20
Cranberry Crawl 5K                   Alexandria, VA       19-Nov-05	20:57