Still Running (weakly). Issue 124

PAST – inspiration – Tuesday 16th October – “felt bloody knackered.”  Wednesday 17th – “a bit stiff.”  Thursday 18th – “still a bit stiff.”  Friday 19th – “40 minutes again, legs sore, chest heavy, confidence seeping away (must have a race soon!)”  Sunday 21st – “Chicago Marathon.  World record 2:08:05.”

Those were some of Steve Jones’s rollercoaster diary entries in October 1984.

He came back the next year, went through halfway in 1:00:43, before slowing a bit in the second half!  He still would have beaten Carlos Lopes’s world record had there been a clock on the lead car.  Not knowing he was still so close to the mark, he missed it by a second – 2:07:13 to the Portuguese man’s 2:07:12 from Rotterdam that year.

1985 was also the year that Joan Benoit Samuelson won Chicago, setting an American record of 2:21:21.  She had set a world record of 2:22:43 in Boston in 1983 (you’re right – Boston is no longer eligible for record purposes because of its net downhill profile) and of course she won the inaugural women’s Olympic marathon in 1984.

Jonesie and Joanie were pioneers: Steve’s British record from Chicago 1985 lasted until Mo beat it in London in 2018 (2:06:21.)  Samuelson’s Chicago time was not beaten there until Catherine Ndereba of Kenya and then Paula ran world records of 2:18:47 and 2:17:18 respectively in 2001-2. 

PRESENT – perspiration – This year in Chicago, Joan Benoit Samuelson ran 3:36:11 at the age of 68.  I know at least one 68-year-old who would love to run at that speed for 5km!  Her splits were 1:47:52 and 1:48:19.  I think it’s called talent!

Meanwhile, on 12th September in Ebbw Vale, South Wales, Steve Jones unveiled a steel statue of himself to celebrate the 40th anniversaries of his Chicago and London marathon victories.

Jones, who now lives and coaches in Colorado, commented: “It’s always lovely to come home, but this time was extra special.  Who would have thought that when I left Ebbw Vale on February 19th 1974, as an 18-year-old lad to join the Royal Air Force with a tiny bit of running experience, that this would be nurtured and developed into such a massive part of my life.  My achievements speak not only to the work and training my coaches and I put into my sport, but they are also very much a reflection of where I come from.  Growing up in Ebbw Vale, and especially Hilltop, created and moulded me into the person and athlete I became, and I never ever forgot that.  So, to quote the great Michael Foot, every time I put on a pair of running shoes, wherever I was around the world, I was not only representing my country Wales but also Ebbw Vale.

"Today is probably one of the most wonderful days of my life.  As I strove to honour Ebbw Vale and Hilltop, I am so happy that Blaenau Gwent and Ebbw Vale in particular is honouring the young lad from Hilltop that came good.  Thank you Thank you Thank you.”

FUTURE – suggestion – “On Tuesdays in winter I run a session of 4 x 5 minutes hard, and as the season progresses, I cut the recovery from two and a half minutes to 2 minutes to 90 seconds, down to one minute by the end of the summer.”

This key session of Steve Jones’s week illustrates the point that training should be progressive.  And interval sessions in particular can be progressive in several ways.  So it is interesting to note that Jones does not run longer intervals, or more of them, or even try to run them faster.  He cuts the recovery, thus making the session of higher quality over those months – with a focus on greater speed endurance, i.e. running the same speed with less time to recover.

As you know, this is something I bang on about a lot.  Time and again, I have witnessed athletes sabotage what would otherwise have been a great session by being less than disciplined about the time they take between the repetitions/efforts/intervals/repeats, whatever you want to call them.  The whole reason we do workouts of this type – a run cut up into chunks, and not one continuous effort – is to run faster than we could continuously, but to keep the rest periods short enough to retain some of that lovely fatigue.

And that is why, on tracks all over the world, you will hear conversations like this:

Coach: “Last rep. 30 seconds to go.”

Athlete: “I need longer.”

“20 seconds.”

“Coach, please. I’m knackered.”

“10 seconds – up to the line.”

“But….”

“Go.”