Matthew Centrowitz, 23, won the Wanamaker Mile at the 2012 Millrose Games in 3:53.92. He returns to the Games on Saturday at the Armory in New York with Bernard Lagat’s Wanamaker record of 3:52.87 as his target. In 2011, while a University of Oregon undergraduate, Centrowitz was the NCAA 1500-meter champion and the bronze medalist in the world championships. He was fourth in the 1500 at the 2012 London Olympics. On February 2, he won the mile at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix in Boston in 3:56.26.

What do you think about speculation that you’ll aim for Bernard Lagat’s Wanamaker Mile record of 3:52.87? That’s just about a second faster than you ran last year.
Matthew Centrowitz:
Especially at my age, I’ve seen a lot of improvements in terms of getting faster and getting stronger each year. I have a new coach [Alberto Salazar], a new training program. Things have been going very well. I’ve been healthy all fall and winter. That’s why I think going for the meet record is definitely within reach and definitely attainable.

Who’s in the Salazar group in your middle-distance range?
MC:
Well, Galen [Rupp], even though he’s a distance runner, ran 3:50 [a 3:50.92 mile] this year already. We also have Dorian Ulrey [a 2009 world championships competitor].

Doing workouts with Galen, were you seeing something that made you think he could run 3:50.92?
MC:
Yeah. I’ve known Galen for awhile. We went to the same college together. I know his work ethic. He’s a very hard worker, and it shows day in and day out at practice. Nothing he ran would have surprised me one bit. Alberto had called 3:50 for both of us this year, and usually, when he makes a prediction, he comes pretty close to it, so that [Rupp’s time] was no surprise.

So beyond a meet record, is something under 3:51 is possible for you in the Wanamaker Mile?
MC:
I believe so. Galen showed he could get under 3:51. A lot of times, when someone does something, it sets the bar for everyone else and it’s something that you start to shoot for. I’ll take it one step at a time. We’ll see how I feel on the day. There’s a great field assembled this year. Getting the win will be the first priority and everything on top of that will be frosting.

In the Boston meet on February 2, we got the impression you were just trying to win, not necessarily to run one of your fast races.
MC:
A lot of talk coming into this indoor season sounded like I was just going for American records and Millrose records. I didn’t want to get away from the number one goal every year, which was just to win. Boston never was, going into it, something to get a super-fast time. It was just to get my first win of the 2013 season. Winning is what you set out to do.

You commented after that race, much of which you led, that you were making sure you were in control. Does that mean that in New York you’d want to be near or at the front for almost the entire race?
MC:
I think it just kind of fell into place like that [in Boston]. It was nothing that I set out to do. Once I was in the lead, there was no point in letting people pass me and then try re-passing them. Especially on a tight indoor track, you want to see a clear path. I wanted to control the race at that point, but going into the race, I didn’t set out to do that.

So in the Wanamaker Mile, if we see you in, say, fourth place at the half-mile, we shouldn’t think that’s weird.
MC:
No, definitely not.

The world championships are in August. What kind of shape do you want to be in and have to be in in February?
MC:
You don’t have to put a limit on anything. This time last year, when I ran 3:53 at Millrose, I remember getting the question afterward, “This is pretty fast this early, what do you expect about it?” And I said, “Well, the training’s going really well, and we’re going to up the training when we get outdoors.” Running a 3:53 shouldn’t let you think, “Oh no, I’m peaking too early.” Our training program peaks two times a year. If I can get near 3:50, 3:51, 3:52 [at Millrose], that shows that I’m improving off of last year and there are good things to come during the outdoor season.

Is the nature of the workouts you do with Alberto really different than what you did with Andy Powell?
MC:
Oh absolutely. Things would be different this year than they were last year because I’m one year older. The long runs are a mile or two longer. The mileage is five or ten more a week. Training runs with these guys up here are faster paced. The workouts have been longer and faster. It’s anything and everything.

Alberto as a coach is definitely real intense, but at the same time, we joke around and it’s a fun environment and we get the work done well. When it comes to racing, he definitely is all business. It’s one of those relationships where you just want to go out and run well so you can make him happy and make sure you can show all the hard work that we’ve put in [paid off].

In Boston, commentators talked about how you always look like you’re relaxed during the race. Are you aware of having this natural and relaxed stride …
MC:
… [Laughs].

Are you laughing because the answer to that is “no?”
MC:
No, I’m very aware of it. I’ve seen a lot of races of myself since high school. I’ve had reporters, spectators, and family and friends tell me that. I’ve had people in training say it’s a lot easier running behind me, I guess, because I’m more efficient. It’s really my arm carriage that makes me look like I’m at ease, I think. It’s because I’m not swinging my arms as much as someone else who might be going at the pace I’m going at.

There have been efforts by coaches to alter the style of some top runners. We read about Alberto having Galen Rupp and Mary Cain run with a shoulder brace to improve posture, for example. I guess you’re one of the people he doesn’t have to tamper with much.
MC:
That’s the great thing about Alberto. He’s always looking for something to improve on, and with me, it’s always going to my arms a little bit more toward the last lap. Don’t get me wrong, for the majority of the race I could have that smooth, efficient stride and it makes me that I’m running a lot slower than I really am. But at the same time, you want to go to your arms a little bit on the last straightaway, and that’s what we work on with me.

In 2011, you were a bronze medalist at worlds, followed by a strong fourth in the Olympics last year. Now you’re considered one of the world’s best middle-distance runners and great things are expected of you. That changes your life enormously.
MC:
It’s hard to say it hasn’t. In those last two years, I’ve gone from college to professional. I’ve gotten more publicity, I’ve done more interviews like this. It goes with the territory. I get drug-tested more often. There are things I have to stay on top of. This is a job now, being a professional. There are pluses and minuses that come with running fast and achieving great things. But things have definitely changed in the last two years.

But it’s still fun, right?
MC:
Oh absolutely. This is better than working a 9-to-5 job any day of the week. Obviously, this is my first love. Some days, when it’s pouring, you don’t want to go out there for a run. But overall, I wouldn’t want to do anything other than running.

And Alberto has told us that the races are rewards for the amount of work you’ve done. Slogging through the whole winter, it’s nice to have chances at affirmation in the world championships in August.
MC:
Exactly. That’s something I definitely see eye-to-eye with Alberto about, and it’s one of the reasons that I joined his group. I like the fact that we race a lot, probably more than any other training group in the U.S. that I’ve seen. It’s nice to be able to break up the training a lot of times and see where you’re at. We take indoors pretty seriously. That’s something I liked in college when we did it, and we continue to do it now.

We work so hard all year long. What if you worked hard in the fall and winter and you didn’t race, and then come the spring, you’re about to start racing and you get hurt? You never really got to see the hard training that you did.

A lot of people have their suspicions about Taoufik Makloufi and Abdalaati Iguider [the London Olympic 1500-meter gold and bronze medalists, respectively]. As someone who was one spot away from the podium, do you feel at all cheated out of a medal? Do you have the same suspicions other people have or is it better for someone in your position not to think about that stuff?
 MC:
Definitely not to think about it. My expertise is running and I don’t know really what to look for in someone who’s dirty or not dirty. Obviously, I’ve read articles and people came up to me about it. But, racing goes on. I had to focus on what it was instead of what could have been. At the end of the day, they ran hard and I didn’t really worry too much about it.

Are you confident about another world championships medal this summer?
MC:
Yeah. I’m excited to see some of the benefits of some of the hard work I’ve put in so far with Alberto and his group. That’s definitely the main goal this year.