After learning of Alisa Harvey’s latest sub-5 mile (her 4:56 for 1600 meters indoors Sunday in Maryland), I wondered: When did she run her first sub-5? And can any woman claim a longer span? Question No. 1 is now answered. Alisa writes: “I believe my first sub-five mile was in February of 1983. I think I ran 4:54 at George Mason University’s indoor track.” Unsure if Ruth Wysocki or Yekaterina Podkopyeva can beat Alisa for having run sub-5s nearly 26 years apart. I also asked Alisa about her weekend race. Turns out her field was even more crowded than Kevin Forde’s! But she was prepared, she says: “Things got physical. I had to give an elbow or two.” Ha! Don’t mess with our Alisa, kiddies.

Alisa graciously writes:

My race was a nice season opener. I chose to run with the high school boys. The women’s race was mostly high school girls — none had run under 5 minutes. There were maybe 25 boys in the race. One other woman ran with us; Tammy. She was up with a team from Florida and looking to run under 5 minutes. She was a 2:05 800m runner back in college — she is 33yrs. old.
,They put us ladies on the outside alley so that we would not get trampled. At the gun, as expected, the boys took off fast. At the break line I looked up to find myself in last place just behind Tammy. I stayed on her shoulder around the second curve. We came up on the back-of-the-pack boys running three wide. I made a move around the pack — running in lane 2-3.
I positioned myself in lane 2 through the second lap in order to run around the guys that went out too fast. I came through the 400m in 70. I remained in lane 2 in order to pass guys as I came through the 600m in 1:46. I lost track of my splits after that. Too much jostling going on.
The boys would respond to my passing them by speeding up. Things got physical. I had to give an elbow or two. In the last lap, I was battling this guy who blew by me on the backstretch. I blew by him coming wide off the curve into the finish. Tough race! I am quite pleased with my time.
I was surprised with my strength during the race and at the finish. I believe my pool running and weight training are paying off. I began pool and weight training last spring after my IT band injury. Before the injury, I had just done supplemental strength training at home. Getting back to the gym seems to have made a difference.So what’s next for Alisa? I asked about her indoor plans, and she replied:

I am racing on January 10th at George Mason University’s Father Diamond Invitational track meet. I will run the mile against the college girls and open women.
On the 24th, I will head up to Cornell University and race at the Thomas Hartshorne Masters Memorial Mile. Great event! The remainder of my season has not been decided.
Fortunately, there are some good close competitions; New York, VA Tech, GMU that I can enter and drive to at the last minute. I do not have a manager on my side to assist me into getting into the Reebok or Millrose Games.
If I post an elite mile or 800 time soon, I may inquire into getting into the “big” races. I will race at the Indoor Nationals in Boston if I set a qualifying time.

The open indoor nationals are Feb. 23-24 in Boston, and the women’s 800/1500 qualifying marks are within her reach: 2:08.50 and 4:25.64.
At least Alisa has some financial help.
She writes: “My sponsor is The Running Store in Gainesville, VA. I have a nice relationship with the owners. I work at the store part time. They assist me with gear and products. They have been a wonderful asset to my training and racing success.”