Mary Keitany knows from experience that the secret to success in the TCS New York City Marathon rarely has anything to do with achieving a fast time goal. That is why the 34-year-old says she is focused solely on tactics as she looks to become the first woman to win three consecutive titles since the late Grete Waitz, who won her sixth, seventh and eighth NYC Marathon crowns from 1984-86.

We're here with defending champion Mary Keitany. Mary, can you tell us a little bit about your training, how you're feeling coming into the race?

I'm feeling good. My training has been going well. I think I'll do my best on Sunday.

Can you compare your fitness this year in comparison to where you were at this same time last year? Are you just as fit?

Yeah, for me, I can say that I'm fit enough, and I'm ready to compete well on Sunday. I'm ready to try to defend my title on Sunday. I will go out there and do my best.

Can you talk a little bit about not making the Kenyan Olympic team? Was that a disappointment? If so, has that been a motivating factor for you?

What I can say about that, in Kenya, we are many athletes, and for me, I thought I earned a ticket to Rio, but in the end, I was disappointed. So let me just focus on the marathon for New York and come to defend my title.

Mary, how special is New York for you?

What I can say about New York is that I won in 2014 and 2015. What I can say is that I love New York very much, and I love the people of New York. For me, I don't mind the course because it's the same in Kenya.

READ MORE: Mary Keitany Continues All-Time Ascent At NYC Marathon

Mary, have you thought about what the significance of winning a third in a row would mean to you because it hasn't been done in 30 years?

What I can say about winning on a course like this, it's not easy. For me, I mean to try my best. My training has been going well, so I think I'm going to try my best, and if it's to win for the third time, I think it would be good to me.

You said that New York is your favorite course. You've had a lot of success here. Is that why? Or is it something particular about the course itself that you just love?

I like the city. And I love the people of New York.

You mentioned before when a young runner asked you about what it would take to win, and you mentioned tactics. How do you foresee tactics playing a role in this race?

You have to be ready physically and mentally and compete with the runners out in front.

Mary, do you have a time, a goal in mind for Sunday, a time that you think you'll need to run to win the race?

I think in my mind, for me, I don't have a time because I know it's so different. So what is very important to me is winning.

As long as you're employing the right tactics and competing with whoever is in front and coming out first, that's all that matters?

Yeah, that's all that matters to me.