Still Running (weakly). Issue 55

PAST – inspiration – Athletes all over the world are putting the finishing touches to their preparations for the Olympics – in some cases, the most important races or events they will ever take part in.

Runners will be tapering, covering fewer miles, but increasing the quality of their interval sessions to replicate the demands of the Olympic tests to come.

In the 1970s, Brendan Foster used a specific tactic to win races – running a very fast lap with 5 or 6 to go. Often, he was the only one who could run that fast – and then, crucially, maintain a fast pace to the finish.

The specific session he used to prepare for such surges was 20 times 200 metres with 30 seconds rest! If he felt good, to make the session even harder, he would cut the rest between the last few to little more than 20 seconds.

Such are the very specific sessions that Olympic runners are now putting themselves through.

PRESENT – perspiration – Go Dina, Calli, Keely, Daryll, Alex, Molly, Megan and Lizzie! Interesting to contrast the British successes at the recent European Athletics Championships in Rome with those of 50 years ago in the Italian capital.

In 1974, we won 11 medals – 4 gold, 3 silver and 4 bronze – with all of the medals but two being won by men, including all four golds.

In 2024, we won 13 medals – 4 gold, 4 silver and 5 bronze – with all of them but three being won by women, including all of the golds

FUTURE – suggestion – The sad death of Michael Mosley has got me thinking about the concept of Just One Thing. Often coaches burden their athletes with too much to apprehend, process, remember and action going into a training session, so if I could give you just one thing to remember about your crucial workouts, what would it be?

Hills: find the right hill. Do you feel that there are sections of footpath, grass, pavement or road where you just feel good and always seem to run well, where the surface, the gradient and the surroundings inspire you? Do your hill sprints there.

Tempo: warm up well. These sessions are where you will probably work the hardest all week. You don’t want to do them. But you know you must. You could dodge or fudge the warmup but that would just compromise at least the first half of the session. Commit to a good warmup for a fully valuable session.

Long runs: when you get to the last third, focus. Whether you are running relaxed on a remote, rural, rutted, rolling route, or purposefully pounding pathway or pavement, focus on your speed towards the end of the run. You will multiply the endurance-giving value of the run if you can maintain or even slightly increase your pace in that crucial last third.