Marie Davenport: Hopefully this marathon goes well but I am definitely going to still focus on the 5k and 10k on the track. I want to get down close to 31-minutes for 10k and the 15-minute mark for 5k. In the future I see myself running more marathons. Maybe next fall again. It's a good time of year for me. I'm not a big cross country fan especially in the October-November weather. The marathon is a good change and it's nice to have a new challenge.

Irish Runner.com: How has your training program changed to get prepared for the New York City Marathon?

Marie Davenport: I ran a half-marathon last year to see how my body would react and it was pretty good. I was focused on the Olympics and decided after the Olympics that I felt good and was fresh. I am doing this marathon off of 10k training. I readjusted my tempo runs and long runs. I am not doing a lot of crazy mileage or anything. I did a 20-miler yesterday. I don't know if I'm going to go much longer than that. My longest run before that was 16 miles. It's a big change in focus distance-wise for the long runs.

Irish Runner.com: Getting 14th in the Olympics is an amazing feat; tell us about your Olympic 10k Race.

Marie Davenport: I had raced badly a week before the Olympics in Crystal Palace so I was very nervous going in but I knew I was in good shape. I had great training in the last couple of months. It was great experience. My plan was to be conservative for the first half and just see how it went in the second half. I was in end of the field in the beginning but I was happy to be there. I knew it was a 10k on the track and such a long distance. I worked my way forward. I worked with Kathy Butler and then Katie O'Neill. It was definitely a lot better experience than Atlanta. That's for sure!

Irish Runner.com: Outside of the racing, how did this Olympic experience compare with Atlanta?

Marie Davenport: Overall the Irish team was so much smaller than it was in Atlanta. In Atlanta it seemed like there were 50 or 60 of us there from all of the different sports. In Atlanta there was great buzz whereas this time around, I arrived at the end of the Games because I was on one of the last days. Most people had left or weren't happy with their performances. There was a mixed atmosphere. It was a very small team.

Irish Runner.com: Right before the Olympics the story of Cathal Lombard's positive EPO doping test surfaced. What was your reaction to the news?

Marie Davenport: I never really knew Cathal. I knew there were a lot of rumours out there. I thought his drastic improvement was from changing coaches and his training. The first time I ever met him was when I ran my 10k at Stanford [30th April 2004]. It's sad and I feel bad for his family. Too bad he took that kind of risk to try and get to the Olympics. Running is great but it is not that great to ruin your whole life for it.