George devoted a huge part of his life to coaching and teaching at Loughborough University. Although he made Loughborough his home, he never lost sight of his Geordie roots and was an avid fan of Newcastle FC.

George’s energy and enthusiasm for athletics was undeniably infectious. His selfless devotion to athletics meant that he influenced and impacted the lives of hundreds of athletes both on and off of the track.

A true passion for the sport

As a coach, George had a huge wealth of knowledge that he was always willing to share. It goes without saying that his coaching portfolio was unequivocally one of the best in the business, having guided numerous world class athletes such as Lord Sebastian Coe, Chris McGeorge, Jack Buckner, Jon Brown and Lisa Dobriskey to name a few.

From 800m through to the marathon, George masterminded the success of more than eighty international athletes. However, what stood him apart from many other top coaches was how generous he was with his time.

Whether elite or recreational, George would make every athlete that came into contact with him feel special. His passion for the sport always truly shone through.

Sessions all will remember

I’ve no doubt that Loughborough students past and present will remember George’s legendary training sessions.

His bread and butter winter session of 6 x 5 minutes on the track and the bellows of ‘’five minutes’ to signal the end of each rep that could be heard across campus and beyond!

Aside from his winter staples, there were also some very cleverly constructed (and painful) sessions using both the track and hills during the transition between the winter and summer seasons. George’s sessions on a Saturday were always arranged around a round of golf so that he could pack as much into his weekend as possible!

Circuit training for all

The winter circuit training sessions were also legendary. Every Wednesday evening up to 120 athletes would meet in the old gym with the windows steaming up.

If you were smart you’d set your own timer at each station as George would invariably be talking to somebody and would forget to shout ‘’change!’’. He would even treat us to random somersaults, using the ropes and various other pieces of equipment. Anybody who joined those circuits will know that the DOMS from the walking lunges after the first session of the winter was unreal!

At athletics socials George was the life of the party and was ever young at heart. I’m sure that many will remember him after a few drinks singing a rendition of ‘Alouette’ or ‘Loughborough’s coming up the hill’, becoming louder and louder until he had a full chorus of voices to join him!

An art or a science?

In addition to his coaching duties at Loughborough, George was involved in teaching on the Physical Education and Sports Science courses.

His practical applied athletics sessions were something to behold; it was here that I got to experience pole vault, indoor steeplechase and hammer! One of George’s favourite essay titles at the end of this module was, ‘Is coaching an art or a science? Discuss’.

George was well known in athletics circles for being able to talk the hind legs off a donkey and had an endless array of stories and anecdotes. He was always forthcoming with pearls of wisdom and sage advice that impacted so many athletes beyond the athletics track.

Loughborough and the sport of athletics have lost a great man, whose knowledge, selfless devotion, enthusiasm and fantastic sense of humour will live on.

RIP GG.

The post Remembering George Gandy appeared first on Fast Running.

This summer I took a trip to the much loved town of Font Romeu. Like most athletes who venture to this little place in the French Pyrenees, I went in search of skinny air and all of the physiological benefits this brings.

However, for me, what was just as beneficial, if not more, than any physiological adaptation from the altitude was the psychological boost of changing my environment. Training in different places (with the added bonus of stunning scenery) was really motivating and was just the tonic that I needed.

Variance the missing variable

It got me thinking; Tedium or Variance is arguably the most under-valued principle of training. We tend to fixate on the other principles- Specificity, Progression, Overload and Reversibility. We often agonise over the minutiae of sessions, hitting specific paces, ensuring that sessions are progressive and fear reversibility, however, how much thought do we actually give to varying training?

The problem is that runners, (like most human beings), are often creatures of habit. We are driven by routine and if we dip into a bit of psychology, then the Ego part of our brain will always want to return to what is familiar. It’s why (without thinking), we often park in the same parking space or always use the same locker at the gym for example (I hope I’m not the only one here?!). The same goes for training. We often end up running the same routes or following the same pattern of training because there’s some comfort in familiarity.

Louise Damen finished 7th in the 2014 Commonwealth Games Marathon. Credit: Christian Clement

The dangers of monotony

In his blog, scienceofrunning.com, American coach, Steve Magness tells us that research has found that one of the variables linked to overtraining is monotony. By simply doing the same type of training or training in the same places regularly leads to an increased likelihood of over-training. The reason that lack of variation leads to staleness is that monotony creates a lack of mental and physical stimulus from which to adapt to.

So, here’s the thing that many of us overlook – often what we need to do to maintain or improve performance isn’t to add more volume or to increase the intensity of sessions, it’s simply to vary or change our environment. It’s not uncommon to see a positive jump in performance when an athlete changes an aspect of their training or training environment – whether it’s the structure of their training, their coach, training group, training venue or even going to altitude and this probably isn’t a coincidence.

It’s well known that physically the body responds to a change in training stimulus, however, if I’ve learnt one thing this year, it’s that it’s not all about the physical. The importance and impact of the psycho-social aspect of training is massive too.

Switch it up

I’m not suggesting for one moment that you should or need to need to make any drastic changes to your training environment, however making some small and subtle changes could be more beneficial than you think. It may not always be practical but here are some ways that you can switch things up:

• Try a new training venue or run some different routes every once in a while. Training somewhere different can be both mentally and physically stimulating and always seems to make the time go quicker!

• Change your company. I’m not suggesting sacking off your usual running buddies but every so often mix it up and try to run with somebody different. If you do a lot of training solo then can you find a group to join for some sessions? It’s definitely no secret that training with company can be a game-changer. Not only does it make tough sessions more enjoyable, the positive peer pressure can push you to hit splits that would be difficult to do solo.

• Add some variation to your training programme. Why not introduce something different from the norm – hills, fartlek, gym work, cross training?

Don’t get too familiar with the familiar. Keep your body and your mind guessing!

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The post Don’t get too familiar with the familiar appeared first on Fast Running.

This afternoon should be a time to relax and prepare mentally for the task awaiting you in the morning. It is often said all the hard work is done, but there are still ways to hamper your chances for tomorrow. We asked some of the best marathon minds around on how they manage race day and what advice they could share.

Below are tips from a 2:09 marathoner, this year’s Manchester marathon winner, England and GB internationals, top marathon coaches and a pastry expert from Sussex who ran 2:18 at Brighton already this year.

Don’t get over excited

We all hear it, everyone tells you not to start too quickly. Easier said than done in the excitement of a big city marathon, but maybe the voices of those more experienced ringing in your ears might help out.

England’s 2:38 marathoner Dani Nimmock told us that  “Despite how good you will feel in the early miles stay controlled and take on carbs so you can finish strong then brace yourself for the worst so when fatigue hits you’re prepared to fight through it!”

With a 2:28 marathon Sonia Samuels is one of Great Britain’s best ever and has an excellent record of running well over the marathon distance. “After a taper week or two your legs will feel raring to go” suggests Samuels, “but stick to your race plan and pace, resisting the temptation to push too early. Be ready to push at 20 miles!”

Photo: Virgin Money London Marathon

Don’t get carried away downhill

The slightly downhill early miles of the London Marathon are mentioned by both 2:09 marathoner and former London winner Mike Gratton, as well as recent 2:18 man Paul Navesey.  Other races have fast starts too and it might be tempting to “bank” some time for the second half but coach Gratton highlighted that “in London, even effort might mean a slightly faster first four miles as it is overall down hill, but then it is important to get into a groove at goal pace.”

Crawley AC’s Navesey says to “accept the easier miles earlier on and save the extra energy for the final push after 20 miles.” Several mention the importance of being strong later on in the race with Gratton saying “getting the pace right will have the psychological advantage of passing fast starters from 18 miles on.”

Coach of the AB Training group Allison Benton goes beyond the controlled start and suggests to “know your honest, true target pace” and then “stick closely to that pace for at least the first 18 miles, no matter how easy it feels.”

Winchester AC’s Louise Damen speaks from experience when she says ” as you have tapered, carbo-loaded and are full of race day adrenaline, it’s all too easy to run the first 10km or so too fast.” The 2:30 marathoner insists “don’t fall into the trap of trying to ‘bank’ time earlier on as you will burn through your glycogen stores at a quicker rate and this could make the final few miles pretty challenging”.

I can still hear the words of coach Tom Craggs ringing in my ears when my watch pinged a 5:20 mile at the start of the Valencia marathon. “Start easy, you’ll feel good but don’t get carried away”. That made the last few miles a lot harder work than they needed to be.

Adapt to the race in front of you

As discussed by myself in a recent article, you need to run the race you’re in. Don’t get too caught up worrying about last year’s times, that your club mate is ahead of you or where “Bob from the track” thinks you should be at mile seven. Focus internally on your own effort and do the best you can on the day.

Benton, coach to a host of strong marathoners like Navesey, England’s James Westlake and Kevin Rojas, reminds us to “adapt the target pace in advance based on the expected weather – be honest and ruthless about the impact of heat,” and don’t calculate your gaol pace on “‘what you think you can do because the crowds will inspire me'”.

RELATED: Run the race you’re in

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“Focus on your own race. Dont worry about what the others around you are doing.” is sage advice from Great Britain’s Aly Dixon. “Theres always going to be other people going through good patches and bad patches so don’t run your race by them. Do what YOU need to do.” The 2:29 marathoner should know, having raced in championships across the globe and having just finished 16th at the tough Boston Marathon.

Fight and smile to the finish

There’s no hiding it, the final miles can be tough, but prepare yourself for them. If you race well, pace sensibly early on and fuel well then those final few miles can be a glorious series of overtaking manoeuvres to a personal best.

“The race really starts at 20 miles so keep your powder dry until that point and then push on” says 2:16 Lincoln Wellington man Aaron Scott. “Trust your training and don’t be held back by any pre-conceived time limits.”

RELATED: Aaron Scott manages 120 mile weeks alongside full-time work

Photo: Cardiff Half Marathon

Recent Manchester marathon winner Jenny Spink tells us “in the last 10km, when it’s feeling tough, imagine a training run route that you have done time and again and tell yourself that you can do this.”.

This is backed up by Professor Andy Lane of Birmingham University. The celebrated sports psychologist suggests “focus a mental loop on the runners feet ahead of you; imagine they are running your feet.” Not sure what Eluid Kipchoge should do about that though?

“For many runners it’s the relationship wth fatigue and anxiety. Both are normal feelings for a marathon as the goalie challenging,” continues the academic. “Accept that fatigue is not negative, but how it should feel.” Know that everyone is feeling that fatigue and you’re just going to cope with it better than those around you, you will excel when it gets tough.

Bristol & West’s Spink uses distraction techniques when it’s tough.

She adds: “This could be saying names of loved ones over and over in your head or focusing on trying to overtake someone just ahead or getting to the next landmark.”

If you break down the task at hand, just dealing with one mile, one kilometre, one lamppost at a time, then it makes it more manageable chunks for your mind to work with. Even one step at a time if need be.

Enjoy the day

Last, but not least, enjoy the day. This is what all the early mornings, hard miles and tired legs have been for. Make sure that when you are on that start line you look around and wish those around you the best. You are all united by one goal of doing your best over 26.2 miles. It’s fun, I promise.

If it gets tough later on, then smile. Science has even told us that smiling helps, but you don’t need science to put a big grin across your face. Embrace your inner Cheshire cat and smile to those cheering from the side lines. Feel the energy of the crowd and use it when you really need it. Control those emotions early on, but don’t be afraid to let them push you on to the final few miles.

“Dare to believe. You have done the hard work, believe that you can do it!” is Jenny Spinks’s final piece of excellent advice.

RELATED: Smiling can make you a better runner

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The post Marathon race day advice from the experts appeared first on Fast Running.