For more information please visit www.alexvero.co.uk or contact me at alex@alexvero.co.uk
Any questions please don't hesitate to get in touch.
Alex
Wednesday, 3 February 2010
DVD release!
It's taken a long time but the DVD of marathon running documentary "Running to the Limits' will be available for world wide distribution from the 15th of February 2010. The DVD is packed with loads of extra features including :- an extended version of the documentary, behind the scenes training video and additional interviews and footage.
Sunday, 16 March 2008
THE NEXT CHAPTER
"I am afraid that you are not going to be able to run the London Marathon"
I looked over at the words coming from the doctors mouth and my face paled.
I had to train for 120 weeks and only had another 5 to go and I was there. That really hurts, but thats life, sometimes things don't work out the way you hope.
The MRI scan showed up a couple of areas of fluid in the sheath of the achilles tendon. Every time I ran for more then 20 minutes it would rub inside the sheath against the achilles and become painfully inflamed and forming the dreaded "crepitis" a crunching sound in felt when the heel is flexed.
The stupid thing about this is that it all started with a blister on my other foot. Having not had a single one for nearly 2 years I completed a 20 mile run to find a huge blister had developed due to the bunching of the sock.
It happend just before heading to Ethiopia and because I was away in the home of distance running I did more training then I would or should have done had I been in the UK. At that stage the problem was just about manageable and I booked an appointment with the physio which resulted in a cortisone injection to calm the problem.
Problem fixed and I jumped back into the running... too much too soon. The problem came back in a mild form and after a week of cross training I eased cautiously back into the running. Again the problem raised it ugly head and back to the aqua jogging I went. This happend for a third time, 3 days into the running program and I ended back at square one.
Those few weeks were torture. Would I be able to run in London? Have I done enough training even if I can? Will we be able to sort out the visa for Mengsitu my Ethiopian friend? Will we be able to arrange permission from the BBC to film the race and will the London Marathon agree to accept his entry.
Now that I am out for 4 - 6 weeks of proper training which will include some very easy running and cross training, these troublesome questions have become irrelevant.
Was I going to qualify even if I had stayed injury free? The answer to that it no way. For the last year of the project my aim has been to run under 2:30 and the classification as an elite marathon runner.
On a personal level not being able to run in London is hugely disappointing as so much of my efforts were directed to this race in my home town. I might be out of London and "The Road to Beijing" title might be irrelevant but the project has strangely evolved and taken a turn towards the documentary that I wanted to produce in the first place. At the time I did not have the funds or contacts to make it happen, but now this further setback could prove to be just the necessary change in direction the documentary needed.
At this time I can't go into too much detail as a few things need to be arranged but I can tell you that the documentary will be following two more stories in addition to Mengsitu and my own and will most likely be culminating at the Amsterdam Marathon in October 2008.
Finally thanks very much from everyone that has written to me. I will try to get back to as many of you as I can as it is really appreciated
Off to get in the pool for another hour of aqua jogging. For those of you that think running is boring the times that by ten and you will have some idea about aqua jogging.
My PC has a virus and is away being fixed but will endevour to update the website as soon as I can.
Thanks
Alex
I looked over at the words coming from the doctors mouth and my face paled.
I had to train for 120 weeks and only had another 5 to go and I was there. That really hurts, but thats life, sometimes things don't work out the way you hope.
The MRI scan showed up a couple of areas of fluid in the sheath of the achilles tendon. Every time I ran for more then 20 minutes it would rub inside the sheath against the achilles and become painfully inflamed and forming the dreaded "crepitis" a crunching sound in felt when the heel is flexed.
The stupid thing about this is that it all started with a blister on my other foot. Having not had a single one for nearly 2 years I completed a 20 mile run to find a huge blister had developed due to the bunching of the sock.
It happend just before heading to Ethiopia and because I was away in the home of distance running I did more training then I would or should have done had I been in the UK. At that stage the problem was just about manageable and I booked an appointment with the physio which resulted in a cortisone injection to calm the problem.
Problem fixed and I jumped back into the running... too much too soon. The problem came back in a mild form and after a week of cross training I eased cautiously back into the running. Again the problem raised it ugly head and back to the aqua jogging I went. This happend for a third time, 3 days into the running program and I ended back at square one.
Those few weeks were torture. Would I be able to run in London? Have I done enough training even if I can? Will we be able to sort out the visa for Mengsitu my Ethiopian friend? Will we be able to arrange permission from the BBC to film the race and will the London Marathon agree to accept his entry.
Now that I am out for 4 - 6 weeks of proper training which will include some very easy running and cross training, these troublesome questions have become irrelevant.
Was I going to qualify even if I had stayed injury free? The answer to that it no way. For the last year of the project my aim has been to run under 2:30 and the classification as an elite marathon runner.
On a personal level not being able to run in London is hugely disappointing as so much of my efforts were directed to this race in my home town. I might be out of London and "The Road to Beijing" title might be irrelevant but the project has strangely evolved and taken a turn towards the documentary that I wanted to produce in the first place. At the time I did not have the funds or contacts to make it happen, but now this further setback could prove to be just the necessary change in direction the documentary needed.
At this time I can't go into too much detail as a few things need to be arranged but I can tell you that the documentary will be following two more stories in addition to Mengsitu and my own and will most likely be culminating at the Amsterdam Marathon in October 2008.
Finally thanks very much from everyone that has written to me. I will try to get back to as many of you as I can as it is really appreciated
Off to get in the pool for another hour of aqua jogging. For those of you that think running is boring the times that by ten and you will have some idea about aqua jogging.
My PC has a virus and is away being fixed but will endevour to update the website as soon as I can.
Thanks
Alex
Saturday, 5 January 2008
THE BIGGEST DANGER TO RUNNERS - REVISED FOR THE 3RD TIME
This is an article from the New York Times that was sent to me by Joel Patenaude about the training camp that I would have been staying in. It is pretty frightening to think that if I had arranged to travel a few days earlier then I would have been caught up in the violence.
Lornah Kiplagat’s afternoon run is out of the question. Even though her training center in Iten, Kenya, is only a mile from her house, the short trip is more daunting than any race.
Daily life in her village 18 miles outside the city of Eldoret, which has been battered by bloody violence in the past week, is punctuated by the sound of gunfire. Every day brings more roadblocks of blazing tires soaked in gasoline. Vigilante groups, wielding knives and automatic weapons, are constantly on patrol.
“It’s very tough to go running,” said Toby Tanser, a member of the New York Road Runners board of directors who is training with Kiplagat, the half-marathon world record holder. “Because if one of the vigilantes catch you, they want to know what you’re doing just running when the country is at war. And the mobs are always trying to recruit anyone who is healthy.”
The violence that has torn across Kenya since the disputed presidential election last Sunday has reached some of the nation’s top athletes.
With communications worsening on a daily basis — people are unable to purchase mobile phone credit — some of running’s biggest names remain unaccounted for.
Several calls to the home of the former marathon world record holder Paul Tergat went unanswered, and Lisa Buster, the agent for the marathon world champion Catherine Ndereba, said that a text message on Friday was the first time she had heard from Ndereba in several days. Ndereba’s message to Buster said that she was safe.
Still, many athletes have committed themselves to continue training. Tanser said that one marathoner he knows completes his daily hour-and-a-half runs by staying within a five-minute radius of his house.
Kiplagat, who is preparing for the Dubai marathon Jan. 18, has had to limit herself to a single run around 5:30 a.m. Afterward, she spends the rest of the day indoors at the High Altitude Training Center, which she operates with her husband and coach, Pieter Langerhorst.
This week, she also took responsibility for the safety of 15 visiting athletes from Ireland and the Netherlands. In cooperation with the Dutch embassy in Nairobi, she orchestrated an evacuation Wednesday.
“We got heavily armed police escorts to take them to the Eldoret airport, which is about 25 miles from here,” Langerhorst said in a telephone interview from the couple’s home Thursday.
“From there we had a charter flight to Nairobi. They slept in Nairobi and this morning took a KLM flight to Amsterdam.”
The next day the camp was in danger of being torched. “There was a house next door that the mob wanted to burn,” Tanser said. “And we were taking things out of one side of the camp to another because the flames climbed so high. They’ll burn any house that happens to belong to someone of the wrong tribe.”
The only people left at the training center and Langerhorst’s home are Langerhorst; Kiplagat; Tanser; Hilda Kibet, the New York City half-marathon champion; and a dozen or so refugees. Five girls ages 3 to 12 are also staying in the house. It is because of them that Tanser has decided to stay in Kenya.
“They witnessed people being sliced to death and they need people here to cheer them up and take care of them,” he said. “For children to see people cut up with knives, it’s a horrible situation. So we stay up with them, playing the guitar and singing.”
Athletes have not been spared from the violence. Last Saturday, the marathon world champion Luke Kibet walked to downtown Eldoret from his home about two miles away. He was trying to buy food. “But when I arrived with two of my friends,” he said, “there were people shooting in the air.”
In the Rift Valley in the far west of Kenya, the conflict has largely broken down along tribal lines. The Kikuyu support President Mwai Kibaki, who was declared the winner of last week’s election by a narrow margin despite evidence of ballot rigging. The Kalenjin, of which Kibet is a member, and Luo back Raila Odinga, the opposition candidate who has said he was robbed of the presidency.
So when Kibet headed into town, he knew that any run-ins with the Kikuyu would be incendiary.
“I saw a big group of Kikuyu coming towards us on the street,” he said. “And suddenly I was on the floor, trying to stay awake.”
Kibet had been struck in the back of the head with a stone. His friends rushed him to a hospital, where he was treated for a deep flesh wound and a concussion. Doctors told him he would be unable to train for three weeks.
Three hours later, Lucas Sang, a middle-distance runner who competed in the 1988 and 1992 Olympics as part of Kenya’s 4x400-meter relay team, was hacked to death. Kibet said he believed it was the same group that assaulted him. Reliable information is sparse, and Kibet said it took two days of searching before he discovered Sang’s fate. Sang’s funeral will be in Eldoret on Saturday.
But Kibet says he has no plans to leave. “Some days it’s not dangerous and some days it is,” he said. “But I’m staying here to recover and I want to start training again.”
Other athletes who had made plans to compete abroad long before the election barely managed to escape. The marathoners Simon Wangai and Peter Muthuma, who are competing this weekend at a marathon in Xiamen, China, traveled to Nairobi separately from the Ngong region in central Kenya. Rioting has been especially intense on the outskirts of Nairobi. Now the police have blocked all traffic into the city.
“I had to walk the last five kilometers into Nairobi,” Wangai said in a telephone interview from Xiamen. “I was very frightened that I would be robbed or hurt by the mob because I was carrying my bags.”
Muthuma had to do the same, but he and Wangai said they still planned to return to Kenya on Tuesday.
Despite the violence, Kiplagat and Tanser still make their way to the training camp through the bush. Members of militia groups line the main roads. “It’s a waiting game,” Tanser said. “We just watch news all the time, but there’s no information around.”
For the time being, the afternoon runs are staying off the schedule
Lornah Kiplagat’s afternoon run is out of the question. Even though her training center in Iten, Kenya, is only a mile from her house, the short trip is more daunting than any race.
Daily life in her village 18 miles outside the city of Eldoret, which has been battered by bloody violence in the past week, is punctuated by the sound of gunfire. Every day brings more roadblocks of blazing tires soaked in gasoline. Vigilante groups, wielding knives and automatic weapons, are constantly on patrol.
“It’s very tough to go running,” said Toby Tanser, a member of the New York Road Runners board of directors who is training with Kiplagat, the half-marathon world record holder. “Because if one of the vigilantes catch you, they want to know what you’re doing just running when the country is at war. And the mobs are always trying to recruit anyone who is healthy.”
The violence that has torn across Kenya since the disputed presidential election last Sunday has reached some of the nation’s top athletes.
With communications worsening on a daily basis — people are unable to purchase mobile phone credit — some of running’s biggest names remain unaccounted for.
Several calls to the home of the former marathon world record holder Paul Tergat went unanswered, and Lisa Buster, the agent for the marathon world champion Catherine Ndereba, said that a text message on Friday was the first time she had heard from Ndereba in several days. Ndereba’s message to Buster said that she was safe.
Still, many athletes have committed themselves to continue training. Tanser said that one marathoner he knows completes his daily hour-and-a-half runs by staying within a five-minute radius of his house.
Kiplagat, who is preparing for the Dubai marathon Jan. 18, has had to limit herself to a single run around 5:30 a.m. Afterward, she spends the rest of the day indoors at the High Altitude Training Center, which she operates with her husband and coach, Pieter Langerhorst.
This week, she also took responsibility for the safety of 15 visiting athletes from Ireland and the Netherlands. In cooperation with the Dutch embassy in Nairobi, she orchestrated an evacuation Wednesday.
“We got heavily armed police escorts to take them to the Eldoret airport, which is about 25 miles from here,” Langerhorst said in a telephone interview from the couple’s home Thursday.
“From there we had a charter flight to Nairobi. They slept in Nairobi and this morning took a KLM flight to Amsterdam.”
The next day the camp was in danger of being torched. “There was a house next door that the mob wanted to burn,” Tanser said. “And we were taking things out of one side of the camp to another because the flames climbed so high. They’ll burn any house that happens to belong to someone of the wrong tribe.”
The only people left at the training center and Langerhorst’s home are Langerhorst; Kiplagat; Tanser; Hilda Kibet, the New York City half-marathon champion; and a dozen or so refugees. Five girls ages 3 to 12 are also staying in the house. It is because of them that Tanser has decided to stay in Kenya.
“They witnessed people being sliced to death and they need people here to cheer them up and take care of them,” he said. “For children to see people cut up with knives, it’s a horrible situation. So we stay up with them, playing the guitar and singing.”
Athletes have not been spared from the violence. Last Saturday, the marathon world champion Luke Kibet walked to downtown Eldoret from his home about two miles away. He was trying to buy food. “But when I arrived with two of my friends,” he said, “there were people shooting in the air.”
In the Rift Valley in the far west of Kenya, the conflict has largely broken down along tribal lines. The Kikuyu support President Mwai Kibaki, who was declared the winner of last week’s election by a narrow margin despite evidence of ballot rigging. The Kalenjin, of which Kibet is a member, and Luo back Raila Odinga, the opposition candidate who has said he was robbed of the presidency.
So when Kibet headed into town, he knew that any run-ins with the Kikuyu would be incendiary.
“I saw a big group of Kikuyu coming towards us on the street,” he said. “And suddenly I was on the floor, trying to stay awake.”
Kibet had been struck in the back of the head with a stone. His friends rushed him to a hospital, where he was treated for a deep flesh wound and a concussion. Doctors told him he would be unable to train for three weeks.
Three hours later, Lucas Sang, a middle-distance runner who competed in the 1988 and 1992 Olympics as part of Kenya’s 4x400-meter relay team, was hacked to death. Kibet said he believed it was the same group that assaulted him. Reliable information is sparse, and Kibet said it took two days of searching before he discovered Sang’s fate. Sang’s funeral will be in Eldoret on Saturday.
But Kibet says he has no plans to leave. “Some days it’s not dangerous and some days it is,” he said. “But I’m staying here to recover and I want to start training again.”
Other athletes who had made plans to compete abroad long before the election barely managed to escape. The marathoners Simon Wangai and Peter Muthuma, who are competing this weekend at a marathon in Xiamen, China, traveled to Nairobi separately from the Ngong region in central Kenya. Rioting has been especially intense on the outskirts of Nairobi. Now the police have blocked all traffic into the city.
“I had to walk the last five kilometers into Nairobi,” Wangai said in a telephone interview from Xiamen. “I was very frightened that I would be robbed or hurt by the mob because I was carrying my bags.”
Muthuma had to do the same, but he and Wangai said they still planned to return to Kenya on Tuesday.
Despite the violence, Kiplagat and Tanser still make their way to the training camp through the bush. Members of militia groups line the main roads. “It’s a waiting game,” Tanser said. “We just watch news all the time, but there’s no information around.”
For the time being, the afternoon runs are staying off the schedule
Saturday, 29 December 2007
THE BIGGEST DANGER TO RUNNERS - REVISED
Having posted only a few day earlier in this blog that running was a dangerous sport I would like to reiterate that point. I mentioned that children were the biggest menace to runners but would like to change my mind as to the number one danger.
Running on Tenby beach this afternoon I was approached by a yapping dog and decided to slow to a stop until the owner had caught up and got it under control. However in the blink of an eye the dog decided that my lower right leg look like an attractive slab of meat and proceeded to attack. I can tell you that being bitten is a rather unpleasant experience and it hurt like hell. At first I was in total shock, then saw red and contemplated kicking the dogs head clean off…
Blood started seeping down my leg, soaking my socks and into my shoes. The owner came rushing up and apologised profusely before I limped back to my girlfriend house.
Luckily I had had my tetanus booster the day before and was able to treat the wound with antiseptic. I hope it will be fine and I should be back on my feet tomorrow for a 2 hour long run but its just another case of external factors effecting running performance.
I just hope that I don’t come face to face with a lion while out running Kenya, that really would signify the end of the project.
Running on Tenby beach this afternoon I was approached by a yapping dog and decided to slow to a stop until the owner had caught up and got it under control. However in the blink of an eye the dog decided that my lower right leg look like an attractive slab of meat and proceeded to attack. I can tell you that being bitten is a rather unpleasant experience and it hurt like hell. At first I was in total shock, then saw red and contemplated kicking the dogs head clean off…
Blood started seeping down my leg, soaking my socks and into my shoes. The owner came rushing up and apologised profusely before I limped back to my girlfriend house.
Luckily I had had my tetanus booster the day before and was able to treat the wound with antiseptic. I hope it will be fine and I should be back on my feet tomorrow for a 2 hour long run but its just another case of external factors effecting running performance.
I just hope that I don’t come face to face with a lion while out running Kenya, that really would signify the end of the project.
HOW TO RUN THE SAME TIME TWO DIFFERENT WAYS
Since the big success of the Amsterdam half marathon (1:13:45 - 3:30 per km for 21.1km's) I have really worked hard on my speed in the last 2 months culminating with a 5km race. Today's race was a rather frustrating realisation of my lack of speed endurance, as I ran the same time for the race as I did in September. I had been training very hard so as to be capable of running at 16:15 pace which is 3:15 per km. The problem being that I can maintain 3:30 per km quite comfortably over the long distances and in my current shape I can probably get this down to around 3:25 per km but rather foolishly I ran the fist 2km at 3:12 pace and subsequently started to slow over the last few km.
Its not a bad result but it does reinforced the need for good pace judgment in races. In the time frame that I have left before the London Marathon how much will this 5km speed improve? Will I ever be able to break 16:15? Have I reached my VO2 Max or will I beneift from this speed work later on down the line.
Who knows? The good thing is that running in the Marathon, VO2 Max is not the most important factor, endurance is and I seem to have that part under control. I wonder how much difference running in Kenya will make, drop a few pounds, running more distance?
One thing that it does confirm is that its clear that I don’t possess a natural talent for running. Based on my half marathon time I should be able to run around the 16 minute mark. Considering that I am in much better shape now then in October maybe even faster.
I will find out the answer to that on the 10th of February in the half marathon, a better predictor of my potential marathon time.
Its not a bad result but it does reinforced the need for good pace judgment in races. In the time frame that I have left before the London Marathon how much will this 5km speed improve? Will I ever be able to break 16:15? Have I reached my VO2 Max or will I beneift from this speed work later on down the line.
Who knows? The good thing is that running in the Marathon, VO2 Max is not the most important factor, endurance is and I seem to have that part under control. I wonder how much difference running in Kenya will make, drop a few pounds, running more distance?
One thing that it does confirm is that its clear that I don’t possess a natural talent for running. Based on my half marathon time I should be able to run around the 16 minute mark. Considering that I am in much better shape now then in October maybe even faster.
I will find out the answer to that on the 10th of February in the half marathon, a better predictor of my potential marathon time.
Wednesday, 26 December 2007
RUNNING... A CONTACT SPORT?
Running is an incredibly simplistic sport. All you need is a pair of trainers, or in some cases just your bare feet. In running all you have to do is get from A to B in the shortest amount of time possible by putting one foot in front of another.
Sounds easy but somewhere between point A and point B you might encounter a few obstacles. It takes me to the point of this blog which revolves around the question of running being a contact sport. Staying with the family over the Christmas period I wanted to keep up my training and on Christmas Eve I decided to go for a steady 10 mile run around the picturesque Virginia Water Lake. Rounding a corner I saw that the water from a drainage ditch had over flown onto the tarmac path and due to the recent drop in temperature had frozen solid.
Hurtling around the corner came a young girl of around 6 years old on a brand spanking new pink bike. She was swerving manically in an attempt to master the art of cycling in a straight line. Cautious of this young child I moved over to one side giving her room to pass. Before I knew it she decided to steer directly at me. Out of control she slammed on the breaks, skidding on the ice towards my legs. Just in time I jumped over her to avoid the collision before helping her to her feet and back on the bike. The thing about this incident is that it not the first time I’ve nearly been badly injured while running.
In the two years since I started this project I have encountered more dangers through running than any other sport that I have taken part in including Skiing and Rugby. The worst offenders are children and animals. Children on scooters are a serial menace to runners, swerving unpredictably without even contemplating look around they can strike at anytime. I have also been chased my rabid dogs in Lanzarote, attacked by a man while running down the side of Hyde Park who tried to punch me in the face (possibly hired by the posters on the lets run forum), had food thrown at me, been spat at, verbally abused, nearly run over numerous times by over eager drivers, had a old woman throw herself in front of me during a marathon (long story... not dissimilar though to suffragette Emily Wilding Davison, but it’s got to be children who are the biggest danger of the lot. Running in my experience can be a sport fraught with danger.
Sounds easy but somewhere between point A and point B you might encounter a few obstacles. It takes me to the point of this blog which revolves around the question of running being a contact sport. Staying with the family over the Christmas period I wanted to keep up my training and on Christmas Eve I decided to go for a steady 10 mile run around the picturesque Virginia Water Lake. Rounding a corner I saw that the water from a drainage ditch had over flown onto the tarmac path and due to the recent drop in temperature had frozen solid.
Hurtling around the corner came a young girl of around 6 years old on a brand spanking new pink bike. She was swerving manically in an attempt to master the art of cycling in a straight line. Cautious of this young child I moved over to one side giving her room to pass. Before I knew it she decided to steer directly at me. Out of control she slammed on the breaks, skidding on the ice towards my legs. Just in time I jumped over her to avoid the collision before helping her to her feet and back on the bike. The thing about this incident is that it not the first time I’ve nearly been badly injured while running.
In the two years since I started this project I have encountered more dangers through running than any other sport that I have taken part in including Skiing and Rugby. The worst offenders are children and animals. Children on scooters are a serial menace to runners, swerving unpredictably without even contemplating look around they can strike at anytime. I have also been chased my rabid dogs in Lanzarote, attacked by a man while running down the side of Hyde Park who tried to punch me in the face (possibly hired by the posters on the lets run forum), had food thrown at me, been spat at, verbally abused, nearly run over numerous times by over eager drivers, had a old woman throw herself in front of me during a marathon (long story... not dissimilar though to suffragette Emily Wilding Davison, but it’s got to be children who are the biggest danger of the lot. Running in my experience can be a sport fraught with danger.
Monday, 24 December 2007
TO THE KENYAN HILLS
Since the Amsterdam half marathon my training has been going very well except for a few interruptions due to illness. The trip to Lanzarote was a fantastic experience but by the end of 3 really hard weeks training I was pretty exhausted and ready for a rest. On my return a huge number of editing jobs had built up that had to be done before Christmas and consequently I have not been able to update the website as frequently as I would like and for this I apologise.
On the 3rd of January to the 27th I am off to Kenya to train but more importantly document/attempt to explain why contrary to the decline of top end marathon running in Britain there has been a huge increase in the numbers of world class marathon runners in Kenya. In 2006 over 500 Kenyan runners ran under 2:20 compare this to the 5 runners in the UK this year and you can understand why the Kenyan athletes are so dominant on the international stage.
Another interesting fact that was bought to my attention was that Britain’s top Marathon runner Jon Brown has decided to swap countries to Canada after having his lottery funding terminated. Britain’s second best runner Tomas Abuy who ran a fantastic time for the Dublin Marathon of 2:10 has been told that his time will not count for the qualifying for the Beijing Olympics because he did not tell anyone that he was going for it. This leaves Dan Robinson the only British runner to have qualified having run under 2:15 in the London Marathon 2007. The good news is that this leaves the door open to another 10 or so runners who will be hungry for a place, thus hopefully having the desired effect of improved times this April.
As far as my own training, I am ticking away still but realise that getting much faster than 2:30 for London is just not going to happen, no matter how positive my attitude is. I am really enjoying the training again, running better than ever and looking forward to the half marathon on the 10th of February which I think will be my only 100% race in the build up to the Marathon.
While I am away in Kenya internet access will be limited so I might not be able to get back to everyone who writes to me but I will defiantly write on my return. For all those that are in touch with messages of support, questions about the documentary and training advice thank you very much for taking the time to write. If anyone else has any questions please feel free to get in touch.
When I do get the chance to use the internet I will write on this blog about the trip and how the training and documentary are going.
Have a very Happy Christmas and New Year and a very prosperous 2008!
On the 3rd of January to the 27th I am off to Kenya to train but more importantly document/attempt to explain why contrary to the decline of top end marathon running in Britain there has been a huge increase in the numbers of world class marathon runners in Kenya. In 2006 over 500 Kenyan runners ran under 2:20 compare this to the 5 runners in the UK this year and you can understand why the Kenyan athletes are so dominant on the international stage.
Another interesting fact that was bought to my attention was that Britain’s top Marathon runner Jon Brown has decided to swap countries to Canada after having his lottery funding terminated. Britain’s second best runner Tomas Abuy who ran a fantastic time for the Dublin Marathon of 2:10 has been told that his time will not count for the qualifying for the Beijing Olympics because he did not tell anyone that he was going for it. This leaves Dan Robinson the only British runner to have qualified having run under 2:15 in the London Marathon 2007. The good news is that this leaves the door open to another 10 or so runners who will be hungry for a place, thus hopefully having the desired effect of improved times this April.
As far as my own training, I am ticking away still but realise that getting much faster than 2:30 for London is just not going to happen, no matter how positive my attitude is. I am really enjoying the training again, running better than ever and looking forward to the half marathon on the 10th of February which I think will be my only 100% race in the build up to the Marathon.
While I am away in Kenya internet access will be limited so I might not be able to get back to everyone who writes to me but I will defiantly write on my return. For all those that are in touch with messages of support, questions about the documentary and training advice thank you very much for taking the time to write. If anyone else has any questions please feel free to get in touch.
When I do get the chance to use the internet I will write on this blog about the trip and how the training and documentary are going.
Have a very Happy Christmas and New Year and a very prosperous 2008!
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