Still Running (weakly). Issue 116

PAST – inspiration – “I ran at Fukuoka, and I ran 2:14:13.  The next morning I felt fine, so I ran ten kilometres.  Later that day I did another ten.  That evening, I flew to Hawaii to run the Honolulu Marathon.  On the way I crossed the International Date Line.  The next morning, I did a quick 10K and in the evening I did ten or so.  But of course, it was the same day.  I think I am the only one ever to do four workouts the day after a marathon!”

Kjell-Erik Stahl, who has died at the age of 79, was indeed a remarkable runner, at one time holding the record for the most sub 2:20 marathons – at 51.  He was also 4th in the 1983 World Championships at the age of 37, but, since Waldemar Cierpinski of East Germany was one place in front of him – and Stasi files show him doping for much of his career, including when he won the 1976 and 1980 Olympic marathons – perhaps Stahl should have been awarded the bronze.

RIP Kjell-Erik – man of steel (Stahl)

PRESENT – perspiration – Last Saturday 16th August, I attended the Centurions’ 100th 100-mile race since the club’s inception in 1911.  Centurions qualify by race walking 100 miles in less than 24 hours in a judged race in the UK.  We all have our own unique number and I am 768, having qualified in 1983.

Alongside the 100-mile competitors, there was a 100-lap relay for those of us who couldn’t quite manage the 100 miles but who still wanted to be involved.  It was great to see so many literally old faces – plus helpers, officials, judges and youngsters – doing a lap or two in whatever style and at whatever pace they could manage to earn their commemorative medal.

On the Sunday, I bumped into Morgan Lake at the gym.  A hugely talented all-round athlete – she won golds at both high jump and heptathlon in the 2014 World Junior Championships! – she was high jump silver medallist at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.  There she was, putting in the hard graft – squats and box jumps – ahead of the Lausanne Diamond League on Wednesday and the Tokyo World Championships later in the summer.  I wished her good luck.

Those 100-mile competitors operate at the outer fringes of extreme endurance, whilst Morgan competes in the most explosive of events.  Whilst my own slower-than-a-slug-twitch muscle fibres have forced me to embrace the former world, I am able to appreciate both ends of the spectrum equally – and to glory in the wonderful diversity of athletics events, and by logical extension, of the capabilities of the human body.

FUTURE – suggestion – You may be building up to an autumn marathon.  If so, your long runs will be getting more demanding and more serious.

My own athletes are religiously putting in the hard yards and the long miles – usually rotating on a four-weekly cycle, which has two steady runs of up to 22 miles at 30-60 seconds a mile slower than target pace, one ‘de-load’ (easy) week, and an “acceleration” long run of something like – for an athlete aiming for 4:20 – 18 miles, starting with a mile at 11:00 to get into it, 13 at very slightly slower than target pace at 10:00s, and then the last 4 under 10.

These runs are the nearest one can get to replicating the marathon experience itself and require a professional approach from the athlete – a very easy couple of days before and after, strict adherence to the correct nutrition and hydration standards, and a completely focused attitude during the run itself.