Still Running (weakly). Issue 136

PAST – inspiration – “And it’s two silvers for van Damme, a magnificent games for the Belgian,” said Ron Pickering, commentating on Ivo van Damme’s second place behind John Walker in the 1976 Olympic 1500, after he had also chased Alberto Juantorena home in the 800.

Great things were predicted for van Damme, who was only 22 at the time.  He had progressed quickly after placing only fourth behind Steve Ovett in the 1973 European Junior 800.  But a few months later, he was dead, killed in a car crash in the south of France on 29th December 1976.

Many athletes die too young – without realising their full potential.  One can think of Kelvin Kiptum, world record holder for the marathon, who died at 24.  Ryan Shay collapsed and died, aged 28, during the 2007 Olympic marathon trials for the 2008 team.  1980 Olympic steeplechase champ, Bronislaw Malinowski, died in a road accident in 1981 aged 30.  And of course there is Steve Prefontaine, dead in another car accident at 24.

Malinowski was the only one to fulfil his potential with fourth, second and first places at consecutive Olympic Games (1972-80) and two European golds.  Though he too harboured further ambitions to represent his mother’s country, Scotland, at the Commonwealth Games.

Ivo van Damme’s is perhaps the loss with the most tantalising ‘what if’ attached to it, the Belgian having more than proved his worth in collecting those two silvers behind all-time greats Juantorena, the only man ever to win 400 and 800 Olympic golds, and Walker, the first miler under 3:50, first to 100 sub-4s and so on.

PRESENT – perspiration – So, 2026, here you are.  And you mean a whole host of anniversaries for me.  7th April 1976 saw my first proper race, the Surrey County 10,000 metres race walk championships on Battersea Park track.  It was a hot Wednesday evening, my glasses kept slipping down my nose, so, about halfway through, I took them off and chucked them in the long jump pit!

1976 was also the year that I joined Surrey Walking Club, an organisation that has the rather lovely tradition of celebrating longstanding members with a ’50-year supper.’  Indeed, I was rather taken aback – and made to feel quite old – the other day when I got a phone call from the present Social Secretary asking me when I would be available for mine!

In the summer of 1976, I also undertook my first marathon, the Long Distance Walkers’ Association (LDWA) Tanners Hatch Marathon.  You will remember that this was the mildly undulating event that I was pleased and relieved to complete in about 10 hours, later finding out that the course record was held by Gordon Pirie at about 3!

I also got my first mention in Athletics Weekly for what I considered to be a sub-par performance of 55:35 in the London Postal Region 10km walk.

And of course, this 50-year mirror will also be chastening, as I look back to my times in race walking events that I cannot get anywhere near now running!

Have YOU got any big anniversaries this year?

FUTURE – suggestion – “It was a speed session for someone who didn’t want to do a speed session!” 

With winter definitely upon us, it is still important to keep your connection with speed training.  But how do you do this in the cold and the rain and the wind?

I was faced with this situation the other week, so I decided to use the local environment to shape my workout.  At the bottom of my road is a pond and around it is a footpath of about half a mile.

So, I jogged and walked down and round to the far end of the pond, did a couple of strides and drills and walked around for a minute or so.

Then I did a lap as fast as I could, walked half a lap, ran a fast half-lap, walked another half-lap, ran a fast third or quarter of a lap – the bit with the different, sandy surface – walked back a bit, sprinted about 100 metres from ‘that tree’, walked half a lap, and then ran back up the hill.

5 efforts in all – each one faster than I had managed a few weeks previously – by good amounts – from 6:13 to 5:50 for the lap, from 3:27 to 3:04 for the half, 1:51 to 1:37 for the third, 33 to 30 for the sprint, and 1:41 to 1:32 for the hill.  (Had I been trying at all the first time?!)

It was performed in driving rain, but I was warm throughout, as each of the five efforts topped up my internal combustion engine.

And it was very satisfying.  It was a session that had evolved – “oooh, I could add that bit as another effort.”  It was a speed session for someone who didn’t want to do a speed session!

While I am still waiting for all of the oxygen to return to my system, I have not got the motivation to go to a track and run, say, 10x400, but this sort of session, working five different ‘gears’ is interesting and varied enough to see me work hard – even though my body may not yet be ready to assimilate the improvement the session merits.