Add a couple of weeks to that and, after a year’s delay and anticipation, the gun will go off in Sapporo in northern Japan to signal the start of the women’s marathon.

Three British athletes, Steph Davis, Steph Twell and Jess Piasecki will be lining up for those 26.2 miles. For all three, it is their Olympic marathon debut, and for two their maiden Olympics. 

James Rhodes had the opportunity to speak to all three at the Team GB Kitting Out event at the NEC in Birmingham, where they shared their thoughts on training, their Olympic journeys, and expectations of the occasion. 

The first of three pieces is with Steph Davis, winner of the Olympic Marathon Trials in Kew Gardens in March and the only automatic selection for the Olympics as a result. This will be her first Olympics, and also the first time she has worn the GB vest. The Clapham Chaser goes to Japan with a PB of 2:27.16 and looking forward to the fourth marathon of her career. 

The first interview

It has undoubtedly been an exciting few weeks, and will continue to be. We asked Steph whether, now she has her Team GB kit in her hands, it feels that little bit more real that in 59 days she will be on the start line for an Olympic marathon:

“I still have to pinch myself to realise it’s actually happening! Coming here today has definitely helped cement that, it’s been awesome going round and trying on all the kit, I feel like a little girl trying on fancy dress clothes! It’s all a bit mad, but seeing the Team GB branding really helps to cement it as real!”

After that race in Kew Gardens, where the Clapham Chaser took 24 seconds off her PB and punched her ticket to Japan, she spoke to Gill Bland to reflect on the race, and said she would take some time off to mentally and physically recover and recharge to lead into a healthy build up to Sapporo. I asked both how that time off went, but also how training has been going since with less than two months until race day:

“I took three weeks off and that was good, especially with all the excitement, it helped to put some time into that and get used to it, because I wasn’t used to that much attention!

My build up has slowly started, and everything is going well so far. I am heading to Majorca tomorrow to do some warm weather acclimatisation, which will be great. It will be interesting to see how I adapt and how I perform in the heat. We’ve got nine weeks to go, lots to crack on with and do, it’s going to be hard work and I’m looking forward to it”.

Ready for the conditions

Of course, the potential extreme weather conditions have been a major talking point, particularly after the World Championships marathon in Doha 2019, and a challenge for the athletes to prepare for, something Steph has not had to deal with in her marathons to date in London, Berlin and Valencia. Handily, however, the weather in England has started to provide some useful acclimatisation:

“Even just the weather here hotting up in the last few days has really made me realise how much harder it might actually be, so I am looking forward to getting away and the sooner we start the better”. 

Last month, Matt Long spoke to Steph’s coach, Phil Kissi, about his coaching inspirations, principles and approach for the soon-to-be Olympian and her clubmates. In that two-part interview, Phil noted the benefits he feels Steph has had from an element of her training being group-based. 

Working together to grow stronger

Her clubmates include Rose Harvey, who ran an impressive 2:30:58 at the Cheshire Elite Marathon in April to improve her lifetime best by 25 minutes and go inside the Commonwealth Games standard. I asked Steph how much of a role the performances of her clubmates have played in inspiring and pushing her on in training and on the road to Tokyo. 

“It’s definitely helpful to do some training with the group and having people that are just inspiring athletes. All of my teammates ran at Cheshire and Rose obviously had an amazing day, and a few others that didn’t get the goal they wanted to, but they come down, they work hard, they’re amazing athletes and they bring banter, so it just makes training a bit more relaxing and good fun! 

I’ll definitely miss that when I go to Spain, but when I train I’m not worried about it. I trained for Kew [the Olympic trials] on my own, and my partner comes out with me when he can. He doesn’t do as much volume as I do, but he’ll start me off for a lot of my sessions and we work together, so I’ll have him by my side”.

A first time for GB

After missing the World Half Marathon Championships due to injury, the Olympics will be the first time Steph has got the chance to wear a British or Team GB vest. Not a bad occasion to make your debut! To end, I asked Steph what she was most looking forward to about the occasion and experience as an Olympian:

“I am just so excited! I had all that kit sitting at home, and it feels a bit mad that now I have got more GB kit! I can’t wait to wear it and I’ll just feel so proud standing on that line with the gear on ready to go!”

The post Countdown to Tokyo: Steph Davis appeared first on Fast Running.

What’s Happening?

Let’s start with a whistle stop run through of the evening and what is at stake. The races are two-fold, the European 10,000m Cup and the British Championships / Olympic Trials. There are individual and team medals up for grabs in the European Cup and, whilst there is plenty of interest in this, I have focused on the domestic competition to avoid presenting you with an essay of an article. 

The first two Brits across the line, if they have the Olympic qualifier (31:25.00 for the women and 27:28.00 for the men), will automatically book their spot on the plane to Tokyo. There are also athletes with eyes on qualifying times for the Commonwealth Games. 

Wavelight technology, alongside human pacemakers, will run just inside the Olympic qualifying standard in both races, with wavelights for set slower times also. 

Who’s Racing? 

Women’s Races

Often we focus on the mens race and the fact that Mo Farah is back on track, but for us the women’s races provide just as much, if not more, intrigue and do not come with obvious choices for top-two spots. 

The European Cup squad comprises Eilish McColgan, Amy Eloise Markovc, Jenny Nesbitt, Jess Judd, Verity Ockenden and Samantha Harrison, whilst other athletes running as domestic entrants include

Other notable: Charlotte Arter, Clara Evans, Eleanor Bolton, Fast Running’s Hannah Irwin, Kate Avery and Mhairi MacLennan.

A favourite for the win?

Thanks to her 30:58.94 in California in February, Eilish McColgan goes in to the race as the fastest Brit.

For context, that time is the fastest 10,000m by a British athlete in nine years, since Jo Pavey and Julia Bleasdale at the London Olympics. I do not think it unreasonable to call the Scot the favourite to secure a Tokyo spot, and she told me this is the primary objective for a race where she has high hopes:

“I’m looking forward to racing on Saturday. There has been a lot of uncertainty about whether races would be going ahead or not which has made planning competitions a little tricky, but it’s great to see Birmingham hosting the event. Training has been going really well so I’m hoping I can have a strong run out”.

Photo: Bobby Gavin

I mentioned the impressiveness of Eilish’s run over the distance in February, which has been followed by a 14:52.44 5000m in April and a 4:03.89 1500m in May. It put her fifth on the UK all-time list and less than two seconds shy of the athlete in fourth, her mum Liz.

I asked if bettering that time is a motivator for the race, and it is certainly on the radar for 2021. “It’s definitely a huge motivator for me this year. I know I can break her PB and Scottish Record but 10,000m races are very few and far between. The focus this weekend will be to qualify for Tokyo and then my goals will be firmly set on running as fast as I can [over 10,000m]”. If she succeeds in taking the Scottish Record, it will mean she has bettered all of Liz’s PBs. An impressive feat!

How will Eilish relax before the biggest race of the year so far? A bit of music, Netflix and Line of Duty with her other half, former 800m runner Michael Rimmer. I am sure Ted Hastings will approve!

So Close to Olympic QT

Whilst Eilish is the only athlete to hold the Olympic standard, two have come very close – within less than a second – in the same race three weeks ago in California, Amy-Eloise Markovc and Jessica Judd, both in their debut over the distance on the track. 

It has been an excellent year for Amy-Eloise so far, having been crowned European Indoor Champion over 3000m back in March. That good form has been carried to the outdoor season, with the US-based athlete significantly improving her 5000m PB to 15:05.96 last weekend in Boston, an Olympic qualifying time.

Having fallen just 0.96 seconds shy of the Olympic qualifying time in California to go eighth on the British all-time list, I hope it will be a fast race to enable that PB to be rewritten. 

Jess Judd (102) is no stranger to racing well on the track. Photo: Brian Graves of MKAC

No track, no problem

I also hope it is a good race for Jessica Judd, who finished just behind Amy-Eloise in that race in California. It’s been a good start to the outdoor season for Jess, a solo 8:52 over 3000m at the Birmingham University track, followed by a stint of training and racing in the States which provided a new PB over 5000m (15:06.02, an Olympic Q) and of course 10,000m.

An impressive few weeks for the Blackburn athlete who didn’t have access to a track until mid-April, and who has a good mentality going into the race:

“I’m not putting any pressure on myself for the weekend; I still have to remember that I didn’t have access to a track until mid April so I’m just enjoying racing and training normally again! I loved racing in the US, … it was a good stepping stone for me so whatever happens this year I have achieved some PB’s, anything else is a bonus”.

How will she relax pre-race? A walk with her dog Bruce. I like the sound of that!

Making 2021 a stand-out year

Another athlete who has rewritten their 5000m PB in recent weeks to run under the 15:10 Tokyo mark is Verity Ockenden.

The Swansea athlete made her major championships debut at the European Indoors in March, where she came home with a much deserved bronze and new PB in the 3000m. A period in the States followed, including a 1500m PB (4:09.34) and 5000m (15:03.51), a 31 second improvement.

I asked Verity if that performance has given her a confidence boost ahead of Saturday:

“The 5000m PB has definitely cemented my self-belief and I feel that I am in just as good shape for the 10,000m. My aim is to gain selection for the Olympics. … Training has been really smooth with the added benefit of actually getting to spend some time under the supervision of my coach Tony (Houchin) for the last week of altitude training spent in the USA”.

TORUN, POLAND – MARCH 05: Gold medalist Amy-Eloise Markovc of Great Britain (R) and bronze medalist Verity Ockenden of Great Britain (L) celebrate after competing in the Women’s 3000 metres during the second session on Day 1 of European Athletics Indoor Championships at Arena Torun (Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images for European Athletics)

This will be Verity’s second outing at the European Cup, having taken a team gold (and setting her PB) in 2019. Whilst a different venue and, without packed-out spectators cheering from lane 3, will those good memories provide motivation on Saturday?

“Although I love Highgate and it will certainly help give a positive vibe to the event having been successful at the European Cup with women’s team gold before, which I believe we are in a great position to replicate this year, I’ll be focusing entirely on the present and what I need to do in the moment to succeed”. A good approach indeed.

European Cut Veterans & Debutants

Jenny Nesbitt is relishing the chance to wear the British vest on Saturday, and also to be in a strong field after solo-run wins at the Comeback 5000 (15:46.62) and BMC Grand Prix (15:40.10) this season.

“I am really excited for the weekend. It feels like a long time since I have been to a race of such depth and significance and I’m so pleased to be on the start line! It is always an honour to represent Great Britain, and it feels like a while since my last opportunity to do so, so it’s even more special!”.

Jenny has also raced at four of the Highgate-based editions of the event (2015 through to 2018), two as part of the British squad for the European Cup. Her 32:38.45 PB was set at the 2018 edition. Does this add a special element to Saturday’s race?

“The European Cup (and Highgate!) hold a special place in my heart! This is the third European Cup team I’ve been on and the last two were really good experiences! I have heard Birmingham are pulling out all the stops, and the track is lovely to run on!”

Her goal is to secure the Welsh Commonwealth Games standard (32:30), with “anything else a bonus, but I would love to come away with a positive experience”. After a 32:44 run in a field of four in Newport in March, both feel like good targets.

Exciting prospects galore

I am also interested to see how Samantha Harrison runs after her hugely impressive 69:48 at the Cheshire Half Marathon, currently top of the UK rankings for 2021. Saturday will be her debut over the distance and only the ninth track race of her career!

Athletes running who have competed at previous Highgate-held races include Mhairi MacLennan (2017, 2018 and 2019), Charlotte Arter (2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019), Clara Evans (2017), who ran a 32:49.01 PB in Newport in March and Kate Avery (2016 and 2017).

Beth Kidger, fresh from the European Team Championships last week, and Fast Running’s own Hannah Irwin will be making her debut over the distance in the A race.

For the men’s preview check out the separate article here.

Timetable

17:30 – Elite para 1500m

18:00 – Men’s domestic 10,000m

19:00 – Women’s 10,000m including European Cup B race

19:45 – Men’s 10,000m including European Cup B race

20:30 – Women’s 10,000m including European Cup A race & British Olympic trials

21:15 – Men’s 10,000m including European Cup A race & British Olympic trials

How to Follow

Full start lists can be found at https://data.opentrack.run/en-gb/x/2021/GBR/not/event. The races will be streamed live on the British Athletics website, and I will be trackside bringing updates via twitter (@james_athletics).

The post A race to get excited about appeared first on Fast Running.

Sunderland’s Aly Dixon would be happy to be described as one of our most experienced runners. She has a PB of 2:29:06 and represented GB at the 2016 Olympics in Rio where she finished as the best-placed Briton in 28th place, with a time of 2:34:11.

She also won the Brighton Marathon in 2011 and narrowly missed out on a spot in the London 2012 team, so she’s no stranger to chasing the Olympic dream. She’s a staunch supporter of her home club, Sunderland Striders and regularly runs for them.

As Aly says herself – she’s been running longer than some of the new contenders in the GB marathon scene have been alive. Still, she’s clearly not done yet. Last year Aly decided to mix things up a bit and headed to Boston for the first time to take on those infamous hills – our first GB elite in that race for a long time.

Shortly after, she took on her first ultra at the 50km World Championship in Brasov. She left Romania with a gold medal and a World Record time of 3:07:20.

Aly chatted to us about her success in 2019, her running bucket list, why her focus has shifted over the last year and what she thinks about the up-and-coming talent on the women’s marathon scene

Fast Running: What were you most excited by in your running/training last year?

Aly Dixon: Probably the change in focus from constantly chasing times. I’ve spent the last 15 years chasing times across all distances and 10 years chasing marathon times. Last year was about doing something different and enjoying it.

I ran Boston as my spring marathon as it’s not a course where you chase times. It’s a tough, challenging route. To prepare for the hills I did a lot of bike work on the turbo and then gradually added in run sessions. I was never stressing over not hitting as pace on tempos – I’d just run comfortably hard over routes with a similar type of elevation profile i.e downhill, undulating, uphill, downhill. My main aim was to get my body strong enough to conquer the course, not to chase a fast time.

I took the same focus into training for the 50k. Don’t worry about pace, get strong enough to hold a good effort over the distance. Because the distance was an unknown to me I didn’t have any goal pace going into the race (apart from I wanted to beat the British record).

I knew I was in shape when I did a 10 mile tempo over an undulating route in Font Romeu and ran 58.xx. I resisted the temptation to compare it to when I ran the same route at the same point before I ran my marathon PB (later checked, I was only 2 seconds slower).

Come race day I just set out at an effort level I thought I could sustain for the distance and didn’t worry about pace. In the past I would have been dictated by the watch and let that tell me if I was too fast or slow. The new approach seems to have worked well!

FR: What are you most excited by looking to the year ahead?

AD: Just continuing to have fun and to do some new races which I’ve not had the chance to do in the past. I’m running Tokyo marathon in March . It will be my first time in Japan and I’m really excited for it. I’m writing a bucket list of races for the year which I hope will end with Now Galen on New Years Eve.

FR: What are your key goals?

AD: Obviously it’s an Olympic year so everyone assumes that will be every athlete’s big goal for the year but for me it’s not my main focus.

I’m quite realistic when I say it’s a possibility but a big long shot. I believe I can run the qualifying time but I don’t think I am capable of running a 2.26/7 which I think is what it will take to make top two at London.

Obviously with no preselections for the women it’s still all to play for and you could finish 2nd Brit in 2.29.30 and make the team over one of the current 2.26/27 but I don’t really see that happening. I’m very lucky to have had my chance in 2016. If I did make it again it would be a massive bonus, but if I don’t then it’s not the end of the world and would take nothing away from my prior achievements. So to answer the question, my big goal is to get a 4th win at Blaydon Race.

FR: What do you think about the women’s marathon scene in GB at the moment?

AD: It’s so good to see the girls coming through. For the last 4-5 years I thought my 2:29 was quite special. It has now been made to look pedestrian! I’ve said for a while now that we were due a resurgence. Obviously I’m not naive enough to say that footwear has nothing to do with it, but even with a pair of Next% on you need to be able to propel your body forward at that pace.

The shoes don’t do the running, they just help with a couple of percent. On a personal level I’m glad that we have four girls running 2:27 or faster. Although my PB is nearly 3 years old now, whilst I was still one of the fastest I was still wanting to chase teams.

Now that the girls are pushing me down the rankings I can justify to myself why I’m not putting a major focus on the Tokyo Olympics and start to take a bit of a back seat. I’ve had a good innings. It is time to hand over to the young ones now. I’ve been running longer than some of the girls have been alive!

FR: Which GB runner are you most excited by at the moment?

AD: I think Steph Twell still has more to come over the marathon. She’s a strong, reliable athlete and my ‘safe bet’ money for a Tokyo place would go on her. She’s got the speed background and still quite recently, but also a great aerobic engine. Jess Piasecki too – if she can make the start line she’ll smash it again.

Her run at Florence, especially her second half was phenomenal. We’ve got a few who have made big jumps recently but are still capable of breaking that 2:30 barrier – Elsey Davies, Natasha Cockram, Jenny Spink, Tish Jones

FR: Why do you think the GB women had such a great year last year?

AD: I think a few things combined for it. Firstly, it was a pre-olympic year so everyone chases the qualifying standard so that they can go into London with the security of having the time in the bag and just focus just on the actual race. Added to that, Charlie Purdue running 2:25 in London gave everyone confidence – it created an ‘if she can do it, I can’ attitude.

There are more younger athletes now doing the distance. In the past it’s been older athletes. People would wait until their early 30s to move up and by then their legs would be deadened from years of hard training and their basic speed on the decline.

Now runners are focusing on the distance from their early-mid twenties and using the freshness to their advantage. They aren’t coming from nowhere, the top girls still have a good 10+ years of training behind them. You can’t expect to come to the sport in your 20s and within a couple of years be producing world class times, you need to do the background work and put the foundations down first.

FR: Who do you think is flying under the radar but destined to surprise everyone this year?

AD: I’m not quite sure. I think Elsey Davies (she’ll kill me for saying that) has a lot of room for improvement. I’m not saying she’s going to smash a 2:25/26 but I think she can get down to 2.28. Mind, I thought that about Jess and look what happened!

FR: What do you think about the decision not to preselect anyone for the olympic team?

AD: At first I was shocked. I was convinced a 2:25 and 3rd and 4th fastest brit ever (run by Charlotte Purdue and Jess Piasecki) was enough but when you read the selection policy they didn’t quite fulfil the pre-selection criteria.

Running the qualifying time was only one of the criteria. With Jess’s result being her first completed marathon, she has no championship form. Also, whilst 2:25 is fast for us, it’s probably still not medal/top 8 potential – though with Japanese climate who knows?

Charlie is obviously in great shape with a 68 minute half marathon performance recently but I guess a DNF at her last 2 championships may have gone against her, even though she bounced back from both of those disappointments with great performances. From talking to Jess I think she knew that a one off fast time wouldn’t be enough.

It’s going to make for a great London. There is still all to play for and this situation keeps the door open for those girls who are running around the 2:30 time just now. It will be difficult for those who haven’t run the time prior to London as they are going to have to take the risk to run fast, as well as taking risks to try and make top two Brits. Those who have the time already can sit back a bit and focus on position – similar to my situation in 2016.

FR: Will you be running London Marathon and if so, are you willing to share your goal?

AD: As I’ve said, I’m running Tokyo Marathon (World Major) in March. I’m not going in chasing times, I want to enjoy the experience without stressing about splits. If I do manage to run fast enough to beat the qualifying time for the Olympics I will give London a go. If not, I have offered to be a pacemaker for the elites and will hopefully help a few people set some PBs.

FR: What shoes do you train in?

AD: I do my everyday mileage in Nike Pegasus and use either Zoom Fly or Streak 7 for faster work.

FR: What shoes do you race in?

AD: For my “A” races – 10k + I’ve worn Vaporfly 4%. I prefer those to the NEXT% but I’m trying to get used to the NEXT% because I need every little bit of help possible at my age! On the very rare occasion I’d do a 5k or less I would wear Streak 7.

FR: Are there any supporters that gave helped you over the last year?

AD: My only official sponsor is Nike, where I’m on the final year of my contract. I am an ambassador for Revvies caffeine strips and they have been very generous to help me financially towards the cost of my current training camp in Kenya.

FUT gym in Gosforth have been invaluable with their S&C assistance. Garmin were kind enough to send me a new watch to help with training for the 50k and chia charge have supplied me with some products.

Everything else is self financed but I get a lot of help and support from some key individuals who help to keep me on track when things may be tough or stop me from getting carried away when things are going well.

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The post Tokyo calling for GB stalwart Dixon appeared first on Fast Running.