Still Running (weakly). Issue 78

PAST – inspiration – “He will find his true self….. in the depths of next winter, in Gateshead, where running is very simple,” wrote Christopher Brasher of David Jenkins in the Observer in 1975.

Brasher, apart from his journalism and 1956 Olympic steeplechase gold, of course founded the London Marathon in 1981. Jenkins won European golds in the 1971 400 and 1974 4x400, as well as Olympic 4x400 silver in 1972. Brasher here is urging him to ditch the complicated theories about heartrates and lactic acid, and just run.

I ‘just ran’ with Derek Turnbull, who in 1992 as a 65-year-old, set world records at every distance from 800 to the marathon. He ran as far as he could when work on his sheep farm in New Zealand allowed, adding some sprints towards the end of his long runs, which left your correspondent hobbling, humbled and far from home. He had a philosophy: “No watches, no socks, no stretching,” and a motto: “Never give up.”

PRESENT – perspiration – “Wally, do you remember when we used to just run?” I said to my old mate. We’d all just finished a club handicap race, and everyone else, except Wally and I, was investigating what their watches thought of their performance!

The incident reminded me of a cartoon that was going round on Facebook recently, showing one runner asking another, “How do you feel about your run?” The second runner looks at his watch and replies, “I don’t know. It doesn’t say.”

DINOSAUR ALERT: OLD RUNNER TALKING! Running today is in danger of overcomplicating itself. Whereas the top runners of the 60s, 70s and even 80s would fit 100 miles a week plus around a full-time job, now elite athletes manage to fill their entire day with prehab and rehab gym work, ice baths, massage, plyometrics, meetings with their nutritionist, etc., alongside their actual training.

Even club runners and fitness joggers like you and me can be in danger of losing the reality, the essence, the joy of running under a deluge of data, discussion and dissection.

FUTURE – suggestion – What am I suggesting you do? I want to urge simplicity, but not at the expense of professionalism. I have seen many runners miss their goals through a lack of professionalism – by which I mean, setting a target, training intelligently, tapering properly, warming up well, pacing yourself, keeping the faith mid-race, being brave towards the end.

It is when professionalism tips over into complication that I would urge perspective. You know how your run went – you don’t need your device to tell you. You know when you should push it – and when you should rest. And, in a race, if your device says you’re going too fast, but you feel in control, for instance, ditch the digital and trust your runner’s instinct honed over thousands of miles of self-flagellation and consequent self-knowledge!