"I went out with the lead female and we did 5:36 for the first mile. I went out faster than I had expected. We stayed together and during the second mile she started to pull away. By mile five I had thought I could pull back. I was picking it up but she (Kristy Johnston) was not in sight," said Kristin Pierce, the runner-up at the 18th Georgetown Classic 10K in 36:28 (October 1997).

Life is hectic and, if failure is not an option, what would you do? Let's step into the shoes of the Dartmouth and Georgetown graduate, wife, mother, an attorney at Collier Shannon Scott, and an athlete who runs for Team Pacers/New Balance (Old Town Alexandria, Va.). Where do you begin and where is that delicate balance?

Kristin Pierce Barry moved into the Washington area in 1997 and quickly established a presence by winning (29:37) her first race, the Somerset Back to School Classic 8K, in September 1997. The local competitors of South Portland, Maine were given a chance to win a few races by her departure.

It was easy to get excited about running, she states, "I began running at age six. My Dad ran in high school and college, and still runs and I would do a mile with him at night. I ran a road mile in 6:54 and loved the feeling of racing."

Barry's athletic background includes field hockey, tennis, and gymnastics. She sprinted until her sophomore year of high school. The coach placed her in the mile and she won, and the coach said they had found her niche. The focus from that point on was 800 meters, the mile, and two-mile runs.

In her senior year at Dartmouth, Barry won the New England 5,000m and the Ivy League 10,000m. She makes occasional trips back to Portland to stay in contact with family and friends and to leave her mark:

7th (17:49) at the Eliot Festival Day 5K (9/96).
4th 20-24 (36:04) at the People's Beach to Beacon 10K (8/98).
1st (29:28) at the Patriot's Day B&G Clubs 5 Miler, Portland, ME (4/00).
2nd (23:42) at the Portland Thanksgiving Day Race 4 Miler (11/01).
1st (29:25) at the Patriot's Day 5 Miler, Portland, ME (4/02).
1st (17:06) at the Eliot Festival Day (9/02).
1st (23:08) at the Portland Thanksgiving Day Race 4 Miler (11/02).

Life is complicated enough with home and work and when you introduce running into the equation it changes to serious. "It is challenging to do both well, sometimes impossible, and one has to give," stated Barry.

Barry's training schedule averages 50 to 60 miles a week when she is not preparing for a marathon. She usually runs early in the morning before her daughter and husband are awake. If her schedule permits, she runs home from work.

Her current level of performance does leave room for improvement, and a personal record only lasts until the next race. At the Eliot Festival 5K, she ran close to her record of 16:59, but in the 10K she is away from that mark. The slower times serve as a motivation to work harder. Barry knows that the slower times result from the lack of training and the quality of her speed work relative to previous years. Speed work includes either a tempo run of three to six miles or some type of Vo2 max interval: 1200s, 1000s or 600s.

Barry schedules breaks in training after a marathon or whenever there is a need. Injuries cannot be controlled and you can find yourself sidelined anywhere from a few days to weeks. From the fall of 1998 until the spring of 2000, Barry was away from the local running scene due to sciatica and hamstring problems. The next break in running was the fall of 2000 until the summer of 2001 after the birth of their daughter.

At this point in her career, Barry says that the most satisfying performance was her senior year at Dartmouth at the NCAA cross country championships, "I really pushed that race and our team finished eleventh, which was incredibly exciting."

The focus and objective for each race differs, "Sometimes it's to win, sometimes to run a particular way (e.g., not going out too fast, run evenly the whole way), sometimes to PR, sometimes just to get a good workout."

Barry adds, "If I see Cheri Kenah at a local race and I was aiming to win, I would certainly adjust my expectations!"

She has favorite places to run, "I like to run on the trails in Hanover, New Hampshire, and a loop on an island in Maine. The Glover-Archibald Trail Loop (Northwest Washington, DC.) is beautiful and makes me forget that I am in the city. I often see deer, great blue heron, and other wildlife while I am running."

A special note for male runners: it's okay to look at the scenery when you run.

Barry has some unfinished business with one distance, "I would really like to run a good marathon. I have not yet run well at that distance and it bothers me. So, now I am going to do Chicago and then I hope I am DONE with marathons!" Her introduction to the marathon was in 1996, at the Maine Marathon. Her only expectation was to finish, and she said, "Brian (her husband) and I ran it together as a long run. We started out at slower than eight-minute pace and worked down. I ran 3:05 and won. I didn't consider it a race because we jogged and talked the whole way. I did a track workout the next day."

A couple of years later, at Boston in 1998, with more experience at running, she thought maybe it would be possible to lower her time. She finished in 2:58 but paid a heavy price, "I went out in 1:20 and actually felt great, but had problems by mile 18. I wore four-ounce 5K racing flats, my feet were black and blue, and I had trouble bearing all my weight. Then, I didn't take fluids or have any gel and I bonked big time. I walked close to two miles of it."

At the DC Marathon in 2002, the goal was to run 2:55; the mark was close and she ran 2:56:46.

Boston 2003 was to be her race, "I trained my butt off, more focused than ever, and followed Bill Stearns's program and had some great workouts and thought I was definitely ready to run a good one. I had visited my nephew ten days before the race and he gave me a present--the rotavirus. I was very sick and missed my last workout. I still felt weak on race day but thought I might be able to pull it off. It was unusually warm-71 degrees at the start."

It is known that you can do all of the right things but that no one owns the marathon. The worst was not over with, as she continues, "I had the dry heaves by mile two. I didn't panic and my legs started to cramp and I knew there was no way I would qualify (for the Olympic Trials). I tried to run my pace for as long as I could; breathing wasn't difficult."

The feelings after, "Anyway, it was a bad time overall, but I wasn't that upset because I didn't feel like I could have done much differently, except maybe had more fluids before the race. I was very frustrated, but that's the 'all your eggs in one basket' nature of the marathon, I guess."

Barry's favorite local race is the Rockville Rotary Twilight Runfest 8K, "I've only run it once (1998; she won), but I absolutely loved it. There are so few races held at night and it's such a fun atmosphere. I am really looking forward to running it again after so many years."

Barry shares an important thought, "I think it is so important (and helpful) to find people to train with. There are so many great women runners in this area. I feel really lucky to be able to train regularly with Patty Fulton and teammates, Jackie Concaugh, Hilary Cairns, and Sharon Servidio. It's great to have friends who are going through the same thing and pushing for the same goals. I love doing track workouts with Jackie because we bring the best out of each other."

Some additional performances:

4th (36:40) Georgetown Classic 10K (10/02)
2nd (29:42) Kensington 8K (9/02)
3rd (17:20) Kentlands/Lakelands 5K (8/02)
2nd (1:02:17) Annapolis 10 Miler (8/02)
49th (18:04) 2002 Freihofer Run For Women 5K (6/02).
3rd (36:58) Lawyers Have Heart 10K (6/02)
1st (17:34) MCRRC Run For Roses 5K (6/02)
2nd (35:59) St. Patrick's Day 10K (3/02)
4th 20-24 (36:04) People's Beach To Beacon 10K (8/98)
1st (28:06) Rockville Rotary Twilight Runfest 8K (7/98)
2nd (17:25) FARC Women's Distance Festival 5K (6/98)
2nd (36:28) 18th Georgetown Classic 10K (10/97)
1st (29:37) Somerset Back To School Classic 8K (9/97), 1st DC Area Race
45th (17:07) Freihofer's Run For Women (6/97)
36:09.63 - 9th Best All-Time List at Dartmouth 10,000 meters Outdoors (1996)

It could be 1996 or 2003 and you will find that "passion" and "desire" have not gone away. Kristin will "shape her life," to be the best mom, wife, attorney, and the best athlete.