Still Running (weakly). Issue 119

PAST – inspiration – “And who cares who’s third – it doesn’t matter,” said David Coleman on the BBC commentary, after David Hemery had won the 1968 Olympic 400 metres hurdles in an astonishing new world record time.  It emerged a little later that, behind Gerhard Hennige of West Germany’s silver, John Sherwood, Hemery’s GB teammate, had claimed the bronze!

Sherwood, who died in August at the age of 80, also won European silver in 1969 and Commonwealth gold in 1970.  In 1968 in Mexico City, he and his wife, Sheila Sherwood, were unique in both winning medals – in her case, a long jump silver.  He was the father of Davis Cup tennis player, David Sherwood, and brother of Chelsea and Watford goalkeeper, Steve Sherwood.

In his closing address at London’s successful bid for the 2012 Olympics, Seb Coe described how John and Sheila had inspired him as a youngster in Sheffield in 1968 to pursue his athletics career.

Sheila described their training: “There was an athletics track in Hillsborough Park back then.  But it was a cinder track, and by November, when it was wet, it became quite doughy, so you couldn’t really use it then.  So we would then train at home, and running on the roads, in the days before jogging was a thing.

“We also used to do circuits in our house.  John made cards and put them in parts of the house, and people would do the exercise on the card.  Then he’d shout for people to stop and move on to the next one.”

RIP John Sherwood

PRESENT – perspiration – “This was just the most bizarre race, where driving down the weather was okay, but then we had rain and snow.  I formed a buddy-buddy system with fellow runners at one stage, and we were checking in with each other because the weather was so bad,” said Tom Evans, who on Saturday 30th August became the first British man since Jez Bragg in 2010 to win perhaps the most prestigious race in mountain and trail ultra running, the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (UTMB).

(Jez Bragg’s UTMB training included running up and down Yr Wyddfa [Snowdon] four times in a day.)

It was redemption for Evans after he had finished third in 2022 and then not finished in 2023 and 2024.  Literally unfinished business.  “I've had two DNFs in the past two years, but this shows if you put your mind to it, then anything is possible.”

Ben Dhiman (US) was second.  And who cares who’s third?!  Well, actually, it was another Brit, Josh Wade!  Wade, Lake District-based, improved from 11th place last year.  He moved through the field in the second half as some of the faster starters struggled in the gruelling conditions.

FUTURE – suggestion – How do you hit that target?

Progression: you start here; you want to get to there.  So, your training must gradually ask more and more of your body.  For example, if you have just done your first 10km and your aim is a half marathon in the spring, then you will stick with a lot of the same runs that got you to your 10km success, but gradually – not every week – make your long runs longer. 

Pattern: but you must adhere to a pattern of hard and easy runs.  The human body is a wonderful organism, able to adapt to almost any demand, IF it is given enough time in which to do so – and allowed the recovery time in which to absorb that improvement. 

Pain: and yes, there will be big efforts.  The mistake that most runners make is running too often at an average pace for an average amount of time.  Don’t flat-line it in this way; make it peaks and troughs.  Those “big efforts” are a bit intimidating – your first run over 12 miles, a 5-mile tempo, 12x200 metres hills with a strict jog back down, 8x400 metres with a (again) strict 200 jog – but they are the ones that will get you to where you want to be.  I love being strict.

Persistence: and it won’t all go to plan.  You may get ill; you may get injured; life – the kids are sick, there’s a crisis at work – may get in the way.  Keep the faith; do what you can; when the crisis is over, don’t take up where you left off; gradually get back to where you were and then to where you should be.  No build-up is ever completely perfect – you can still do this!

Patience: and it will take time.  Nothing worthwhile ever comes quickly.  Keep the faith, as I say, and keep a log – look how far you’ve come, keep going.  If your target is the right one – the one that excites you and compels action – motivation along the way should not be a problem.

Peaking: at the end, as you approach your target race or run, have the confidence to taper.  Do little in the penultimate week and very little in the last. 

Pacing: then all you have to do is to seize the day and grab your opportunity to shine.  Don’t squeeze it too hard too early, though – pacing is crucial!