FAMOUS SHAFTESBURY BARNET HARRIERS
'THE HUMBUGS'
Week 1: 1st October 2012: JULIAN GOATER
Personal Best's
2,000m - 5:10.13
3,000m - 7:48.66
5,000m - 13:15.59
10,000m - 27:34.58
5mile Road - 23:01
15k Road - 43:05
(born 12 January 1953) is a British long distance runner. He began his running career while attending Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School, Elstree, where his father Barry was a master and also ran the cross country team. In 1979 he was a member of the team that took the gold medal at IAAF World Cross Country Championships. He was also in the team that won the silver medal in World Cross Country Championships in 1982. In 1981 he was the National Cross Country champion and finished 4th in IAAF WCCC. He held the British record for the 5000m which he ran in a time 13:15.59 in 1981 at Crystal Palace, London.
This record was broken by David Moorcroft a year later. His best time for the 10,000 m is 27:34.58 which was achieved in Oslo in 1982 and is still in the UK top 10 of best ever times.
Julian took up Triathlon and Duathlon in the 1990's competing at National and International Age-Group levels. During the late 1990's Julia joined Team Volcano International, run by Chris EveJrsfield and Iain Parsons, competing for the TVI team over a number of seasons. Julian achieved a Gold at the World Duathon Championships (2001) in Rimini, picking up another Gold in Australia in 2005. He remains an active Coach, Athlete and Author.
Julian’s son, Sam was also an active SBH athlete in the 1990’s – he, also, got hooked by triathlons.
I was there at Parliament Hill Fields when he decimated the best distance runners in the country (England) at the National Cross Country Championships. He won the race by two minutes!! TWO MINUTES in a NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP!! Perhaps the singularly best racing performance I have ever witnessed! How did he manage it?
Well Parly Hill had entertained two races before hand and the conditions were without a doubt the MUDDIEST ever!!
Literally knee deep in place!!
Julian, a Club Man through and through (my Club Shaftesbury Harriers) managed to skip/float over the quagmire.
Julian's traditionally rather formal Oxbridge Athletic Resume reads as follws:-
Decade 1970'
Name: Julian N Goater
College: St Edmund Hall
Event: 5000m, 1500m, X-Country
Julian Goater was one of a host of exceptional middle distance talents in OUAC during the 70's (others include Craig Masback and Phil Lewis). Goater had a long and successful career as an international athlete, over X-Country and middle distance. In his first year at Oxford, he broke the 5000m Varsity record, clocking 13:51.8, a record that still stands today. In the following two years, the second of which saw him elected as club President, Goater won the 1500m and 5000m double at the Varsity match, as well as recording two wins in the X-Country Varsity. Goater's greatest performances came in the early 80's, when he won the National Cross-Country title by a record margin of just under 2 minutes. He went on to finish 4th in the World Cross Country Championships, which in light of the African dominance of this event was an exceptional performance. In 1982, he won Commonwealth bronze over 10,000m in Brisbane, Australia. His best times over 5000m and 10,000m (13:15.58 and 27:34.58 respectively) would place him way ahead of our best British runners today.
Julian's efforts as club president in the 1970s also contributed to the introduction of womens' athletics to OUAC - and indeed CUAC - through the inaugural womens' varsity match in 1974. During this time, OUAC also secured the funding and undertook the planning to completely renovate and relay the Iffley Road track, which until 1976 was cinder.
This is RUNNERSLIFE question and answer session with Julian in March 2012
Questions
What attracted you to the world of running?
I've always been competitive, and always liked running. Cross-country was a big sport at my school, Haberdashers 'Aske's Elstree, and we often had 2 races in a week. Most of these were relay races which were particularly exciting, and because you always had someone to chase, helped you discover how fast you could actually run. My Dad happened to be the master i/c cross-country, but there was absolutely no coercion from him to run - just encouragement. I enjoyed the team aspects of these relays, and trying to beat the older boys in the team. The school had close links with Shaftesbury Harriers, and so I joined them, started being coached by Bob Parker, and just tried to follow in Dave Bedford's footsteps.
In 1975 after I left Oxford I felt I needed a change and asked Harry Wilson to coach me. This certainly helped change my approach to races and tactics - prior to that I'd always felt I had to run from the front. But I'll always be grateful to Bob who laid the groundwork which benefited me in later years.
Who were your best mates during your running career?
I've always been lucky enough to have good mates to train with. Not only Bedford, but other Shaftesbury clubmates James Espir and John Dryden were regular training partners. Then, moving round the country on different postings with the RAF, Keith Brackstone (Bristol), Phil Stamp (AFD), Dave Slater
(Bingley) and Peter Barratt (Woking) were all great training partners at various times. Best mates on trips included Steve Jones, Barry Smith, Steve Binns, Nick Rose, Tim Hutchings and Roger Hackney
Was there anyone you looked up to?
Bedford, Foster, Ovett, Rono.
What funny story sticks out in your mind through your time in running?
Several missed planes and races due to weather conditions, train cancellations and delays etc. Once when a train had broken down on the way to a cross-country race at Crystal Palace I got changed in a flower shop and ran the 3 miles to Crystal Palace, just in time to see the race start and the runners
disappear into the distance! I remember racing in Belgium one year when it was minus 15 degrees and I felt obliged to borrow my wife's tights - (this was before the days of lycra!) But perhaps the best was at the Inter Services cross country one year when Roger 'The Dodger' Hackney so impressed the Royal Navy
girls by wearing shorts with no inner they re-named him 'Roger the Todger'!
What top four things would you pass on to today's athletes?
Train harder, race more often, experiment with different tactics and don't be so cautious!
What advice would you have for any athletes out there now?
Don't just run - run correctly. Never plod or shuffle. Train at different speeds. Experiment, especially in fartleks.......Oh, and read my new book which is out soon!
What do you know now you wished you knew when you were racing/training?
The importance of specific strength, skill and suppleness training.
Can you talk us briefly through your bronze medal in Brisbane Commonwealth Games?
This was actually a big disappointment. 1982 was a difficult season to plan as it entailed running a fast 10k every month from May to October. I won the UK Champs in May, ran 27.34 in Oslo in June, still had to run the trials at the AAA champs in July, and then had to try to peak for the Europeans in September and the Commonwealth Games in October. Probably the best of these was the AAA where I think I ran about 8:06 for the last 3k to get away from Steve Jones and Charlie Spedding. After that I just felt a little bit jaded for the Europeans, and quite a lot jaded for Brisbane.
I tried my best In Brisbane, making a move with about 6 laps to go and managing to drop most of the field. I think I was still leading with 600m to go, but the 2 Tanzanians, Shahanga and Bari, came past to win fairly comfortably.
What was it like racing in your era with the 'legends' we read about now?
What a time! Yes, it was a great era. I raced against them several times, including the AAA 5000 in 1972 which Bedford won in a British record 13:17 (Dave Black and I were both 19 and ran 13:28 and 13:44 respectively), and the AAA 10,000 in 1978 which Foster won in a European record 27:30. Bedford, Foster and Ian Stewart ushered in a fantastically exciting era of distance running in Britain, and it was great to be a part of it. Fierce club rivalries between the likes of Tipton, Birchfield, Gateshead, AFD and
Shaftesbury, especially in the National Cross Country and National Road Relays, ensured most of the stars turned out to support their clubs, and this resulted in some fantastic races. All races were extremely competitive, and selection for British international teams was always difficult. This probably helped to bring the best out of us, but it also made it very difficult to peak for the major Games, as qualification and selection were necessarily our first priority.
Probably the most enjoyable aspect of racing in this era was going to invitation races abroad with small teams - a great chance to actually get to know and learn from your rivals. I was lucky enough to go on trips with the likes of Bedford, Simmons, Ford, Black, McLeod, Charlie Spedding, Nat Muir, Barry Smith, Mike Tagg, Steve Binns, Dave Slater, John Wild, Steve Jones, Karl Harrison, Grenville and Graham Tuck, Eamonn Martin, Dave Clarke, Tim Hutchins, Roger Hackney, and many others. Great fun - but not many easy races against that lot!
How were your experiences of the World Cross where you won silver and gold team medals?
We won gold at Limerick in 1979, and silver in Rome in 1982. Both were good experiences, especially Limerick when I was first Englishman (but behind Tony Simmons and Steve Jones, as they were running for Wales), and England, with a weakened team, were perhaps not favourites to win. But by far the strongest England team (on paper) that I was part of was in 1981, with Moorcroft, McLeod, Ford, Binns and myself all sub 13:30 5k runners... plus Dave Clarke (plus Nick Rose who was selected but had to withdraw with flu) - but amazingly that team could only finish 6th. 1981 was the only time I came close to winning the individual title, finishing in 4th place just 8 seconds behind the winner Craig Virgin, despite
running the last 2500m with 'severe intestinal distress and needing the very kind attentions of the team doctor at the finish! But it was a very strange race because the Ethiopian team, running in the world cross for the first time, miscounted the laps, which completely upset the pattern of the race.
What do you miss most about competitive running?
Everything! The excitement, the rivalries and friendships, the travelling and the sense of achievement after a good hard race.
Are you still involved in running?
Not really myself, but I do a lot of coaching in schools and in the triathlon scene
Anyone we should be keeping an eye on?
I had good success coaching Chris Bolt ,who won the English Schools and several National track titles over 1500m, but since then I have been coaching youngsters (mainly U11) and middle-aged triathletes.
You have a book coming out this year..what is it going to be about?
Yes, 'The Art of Running Faster' published by Human Kinetics. It will be available in UK in April.
Interval Work
Bob Parker started coaching me when I was 16, and within a few months I was usually training twice a day. Most weeks I would do a hill session, an interval session, a fast sustained run, and either a fartlek or a race. At certain times of year I would do 2 interval sessions per week and maybe a fartlek run as well... depending on how many races.
Example sessions:
Hill sessions eg 16 x 30sec, or 4 x 3min, with jog back recoveries. These would often be in the middle of a fartlek. Long repetitions eg 5 x 1 mile or 6 x 1k, either on road or grass circuit. Track sessions eg 5 x 4 x 400 with short recoveries in the winter, or 5 x 4 x 200 in the summer. 10-15 x 400 with -3 mirecoveries; 6 x 600 or 800 with 400m jog recoveries.
Lots of these sessions involved changing pace during the repetition, eg 6 x 600m sprinting the last 200m. Or 4 x 1200m running each lap 65/60/65 sec
Did you change surface dependant on time of year?
I tried to keep off road as much as possible except for certain sessions. Obviously had to run on roads more in the winter. Very rarely ran indoors.
In a group?
To start with I would train with Bob's group, but when I moved away to university and then in the RAF I generally trained on my own or with just one or two training partners. Tried to avoid large groups. When I met up with Harry Wilson I would usually do sessions on my own.
Hardest session?
Every session was hard - but I was always trying to build, not destroy myself in training. So I never reached the throwing up stage!
When will be the last hard session before a race?
3-4 days before the race. But I would still aim to run fast 2 days before a race
How long do you start to taper for a race and was it hard to work out what was best for you?
I raced so much there was no time to taper before most races! But for major races I eventually found it was best to start tapering 10 days before, get fully recovered, and then do fast sharpening sessions in the last few days
Could you go through some specific training you may do and how often you do them?
Hill session - once per week
Fartlek - once per week
Long reps (800m - 1 mile reps) - once per week - usually on road or grass
Track session (200, 300, 400 or 600m reps) - once or twice per week - sometimes on grass
Fast sustained run or race - once per week
NB all dependent on race situation and time of year.
Can you give a typical week in full training and a race week?
Full training (Jan 1979)
Monday 6m am 5m lunch time 9m fartlek incl hill session pm
Tuesday 6m lunch time plus weights 6 x 600m track session pm
Wednesday 6m am 10m easy fartlek pm
Thursday 8m lunch time 7m pm incl 4 x 1mile in 4.28 on road
Friday 7m lunch time
Saturday 2m jog am 13m pm incl Inter Counties XC 6th
Sunday 13 - 15m steady am
Race Week (May 1973 aged 20 with Bob Parker)
Previous week 96 miles
Sunday 6m am 9m pm Track session 6 x 600m 63/29
Monday 5m am 9m pm incl 5 x 1mile efforts up hill on grass
Tuesday 5m am 8m pm Track - 10 x 400m in 60.5 200m rests
Wednesday 5m am 5m pm
Thursday 5m am 6m pm incl 10 x 100m short recovery.
Friday 6m am 5m pm
Saturday 3m am 9m pm incl Varsity Match 5000m. 13:51.8
TOTAL 86 miles
Race Week (March 1981 prior to National XC victory)
Sunday 2m easy jog (bruised heel)
Monday 4m am 3 x 1400m on roads pm. 3.52, 3.54, 3.52
Tuesday 4m am swim pm
Wednesday 5m am 2 x 1400m on roads pm. 3.44, 3.48
Thursday 5m incl 6 x 600m on grass, sprinting last 200m. 3m pm
Friday 4m easy am 4m easy pm
Saturday 3m eas y am NATIONAL XC pm Win by 1:55
What aout Mileage?
Apart from 1 long run per week up to 15 miles, I would always go for extra runs rather than longer runs. I aimed for 90-100 mpw in winter, 60-80 in summer, but often didn't achieve this due to races, travelling, injuries etc. I would plan to do more mileage, more strength and stamina work in the winter months, but I would try not to lose too much speed in the winter so still did regular track sessions. Generally the pattern throughout the year was pretty similar; just a change in emphasis at different times of year, and depending on races.
I would generally be fairly flexible and take each week as it came, depending on weather, work, travelling, races, injuries and illness etc. I didn't like rigid plans, especially when it became impossible to keep to them, as I found that really disheartening. Harry would normally write out a plan for 3-4 weeks
at a time, and I'd usually think I was doing well if I managed to complete 75% of it!
Group Training?
It's not essential but it's nice to do some running with the banter of a group, and certainly preferable to have at least one training partner rather than do everything alone. But in groups, avoid being sucked into races, or succumbing to peer pressure to do an easier session than you had planned
Abroad - Did you ever go to warm weather training?
Yes many times. Normally 1 week at a time, to give us a break from the British winter and enable us to do some speedwork in more helpful conditions. We usually went to the Algarve. The other major benefit apart from the weather was being able to train with great coaches and other top runners. I found the
whole 'Training Camp' atmosphere very motivational and beneficial.
Did you ever use altitude training?
Yes, 2 weeks in Kenya.
A lot of athletes are going over to Kenya now, do you think there is too much placed on this now?
Possibly. Warm weather and altitude training are great, but for most of the year training in Britain is fine, and the benefits of home routine, food, medical back-up and familiar training facilities shouldn't be discounted
Would you race abroad a lot?
Yes - the trips were the best bit!
Where was your favourite place?
Oslo and Brussels on the track, France for cross-country and road races
What are the differences from racing in the UK to racing abroad?
The atmosphere and sense of occasion. In Scandinavia, also the usual superb conditions on a summer's evening
Would you recommend to todays athletes to go overseas and run against different people?
Absolutely
How did you deal with nerves when racing?
Generally no problem. Look at the race as a performance rather than an ordeal.
What were your strengths and weakness's when racing?
I think I was strong, consistent, tenacious and concentrated well. Biggest weakness was lack of sprint finish
What would be a normal warm up routine for a 5,000m?
20 min steady run, 10 min stretching, 5 or 6 x 100m efforts, 5-10 min jogging and keeping loose, with a few more sprints in spikes
Which race had the best atmosphere you have raced at?
Several evening track meets were excellent, especially Bislett Games, Van Damme meeting in Brussels, and IAC Coca Cola meeting at Crystal Palace. But the atmosphere at the National Cross Country Champs (in the 'good old days' when it was the selection race for the England team) was just fantastic, with a huge
field and all the best runners in the country there.
Did you ever have superstitions before a race?
No
Who was the hardest person to race against?
Henry Rono. Anyone with a sprint finish!
How often would you look to race really well during the year?
10-12 times, but this always depended on gaining selection for the major races
Rest / Recovery
Just a week or so active rest. I found the early part of the cross-country season was a very pleasant break after the cut and thrust of the track season.
2,000m - 5:10.13
3,000m - 7:48.66
5,000m - 13:15.59
10,000m - 27:34.58
5mile Road - 23:01
15k Road - 43:05
(born 12 January 1953) is a British long distance runner. He began his running career while attending Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School, Elstree, where his father Barry was a master and also ran the cross country team. In 1979 he was a member of the team that took the gold medal at IAAF World Cross Country Championships. He was also in the team that won the silver medal in World Cross Country Championships in 1982. In 1981 he was the National Cross Country champion and finished 4th in IAAF WCCC. He held the British record for the 5000m which he ran in a time 13:15.59 in 1981 at Crystal Palace, London.
This record was broken by David Moorcroft a year later. His best time for the 10,000 m is 27:34.58 which was achieved in Oslo in 1982 and is still in the UK top 10 of best ever times.
Julian took up Triathlon and Duathlon in the 1990's competing at National and International Age-Group levels. During the late 1990's Julia joined Team Volcano International, run by Chris EveJrsfield and Iain Parsons, competing for the TVI team over a number of seasons. Julian achieved a Gold at the World Duathon Championships (2001) in Rimini, picking up another Gold in Australia in 2005. He remains an active Coach, Athlete and Author.
Julian’s son, Sam was also an active SBH athlete in the 1990’s – he, also, got hooked by triathlons.
I was there at Parliament Hill Fields when he decimated the best distance runners in the country (England) at the National Cross Country Championships. He won the race by two minutes!! TWO MINUTES in a NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP!! Perhaps the singularly best racing performance I have ever witnessed! How did he manage it?
Well Parly Hill had entertained two races before hand and the conditions were without a doubt the MUDDIEST ever!!
Literally knee deep in place!!
Julian, a Club Man through and through (my Club Shaftesbury Harriers) managed to skip/float over the quagmire.
Julian's traditionally rather formal Oxbridge Athletic Resume reads as follws:-
Decade 1970'
Name: Julian N Goater
College: St Edmund Hall
Event: 5000m, 1500m, X-Country
Julian Goater was one of a host of exceptional middle distance talents in OUAC during the 70's (others include Craig Masback and Phil Lewis). Goater had a long and successful career as an international athlete, over X-Country and middle distance. In his first year at Oxford, he broke the 5000m Varsity record, clocking 13:51.8, a record that still stands today. In the following two years, the second of which saw him elected as club President, Goater won the 1500m and 5000m double at the Varsity match, as well as recording two wins in the X-Country Varsity. Goater's greatest performances came in the early 80's, when he won the National Cross-Country title by a record margin of just under 2 minutes. He went on to finish 4th in the World Cross Country Championships, which in light of the African dominance of this event was an exceptional performance. In 1982, he won Commonwealth bronze over 10,000m in Brisbane, Australia. His best times over 5000m and 10,000m (13:15.58 and 27:34.58 respectively) would place him way ahead of our best British runners today.
Julian's efforts as club president in the 1970s also contributed to the introduction of womens' athletics to OUAC - and indeed CUAC - through the inaugural womens' varsity match in 1974. During this time, OUAC also secured the funding and undertook the planning to completely renovate and relay the Iffley Road track, which until 1976 was cinder.
This is RUNNERSLIFE question and answer session with Julian in March 2012
Questions
What attracted you to the world of running?
I've always been competitive, and always liked running. Cross-country was a big sport at my school, Haberdashers 'Aske's Elstree, and we often had 2 races in a week. Most of these were relay races which were particularly exciting, and because you always had someone to chase, helped you discover how fast you could actually run. My Dad happened to be the master i/c cross-country, but there was absolutely no coercion from him to run - just encouragement. I enjoyed the team aspects of these relays, and trying to beat the older boys in the team. The school had close links with Shaftesbury Harriers, and so I joined them, started being coached by Bob Parker, and just tried to follow in Dave Bedford's footsteps.
In 1975 after I left Oxford I felt I needed a change and asked Harry Wilson to coach me. This certainly helped change my approach to races and tactics - prior to that I'd always felt I had to run from the front. But I'll always be grateful to Bob who laid the groundwork which benefited me in later years.
Who were your best mates during your running career?
I've always been lucky enough to have good mates to train with. Not only Bedford, but other Shaftesbury clubmates James Espir and John Dryden were regular training partners. Then, moving round the country on different postings with the RAF, Keith Brackstone (Bristol), Phil Stamp (AFD), Dave Slater
(Bingley) and Peter Barratt (Woking) were all great training partners at various times. Best mates on trips included Steve Jones, Barry Smith, Steve Binns, Nick Rose, Tim Hutchings and Roger Hackney
Was there anyone you looked up to?
Bedford, Foster, Ovett, Rono.
What funny story sticks out in your mind through your time in running?
Several missed planes and races due to weather conditions, train cancellations and delays etc. Once when a train had broken down on the way to a cross-country race at Crystal Palace I got changed in a flower shop and ran the 3 miles to Crystal Palace, just in time to see the race start and the runners
disappear into the distance! I remember racing in Belgium one year when it was minus 15 degrees and I felt obliged to borrow my wife's tights - (this was before the days of lycra!) But perhaps the best was at the Inter Services cross country one year when Roger 'The Dodger' Hackney so impressed the Royal Navy
girls by wearing shorts with no inner they re-named him 'Roger the Todger'!
What top four things would you pass on to today's athletes?
Train harder, race more often, experiment with different tactics and don't be so cautious!
What advice would you have for any athletes out there now?
Don't just run - run correctly. Never plod or shuffle. Train at different speeds. Experiment, especially in fartleks.......Oh, and read my new book which is out soon!
What do you know now you wished you knew when you were racing/training?
The importance of specific strength, skill and suppleness training.
Can you talk us briefly through your bronze medal in Brisbane Commonwealth Games?
This was actually a big disappointment. 1982 was a difficult season to plan as it entailed running a fast 10k every month from May to October. I won the UK Champs in May, ran 27.34 in Oslo in June, still had to run the trials at the AAA champs in July, and then had to try to peak for the Europeans in September and the Commonwealth Games in October. Probably the best of these was the AAA where I think I ran about 8:06 for the last 3k to get away from Steve Jones and Charlie Spedding. After that I just felt a little bit jaded for the Europeans, and quite a lot jaded for Brisbane.
I tried my best In Brisbane, making a move with about 6 laps to go and managing to drop most of the field. I think I was still leading with 600m to go, but the 2 Tanzanians, Shahanga and Bari, came past to win fairly comfortably.
What was it like racing in your era with the 'legends' we read about now?
What a time! Yes, it was a great era. I raced against them several times, including the AAA 5000 in 1972 which Bedford won in a British record 13:17 (Dave Black and I were both 19 and ran 13:28 and 13:44 respectively), and the AAA 10,000 in 1978 which Foster won in a European record 27:30. Bedford, Foster and Ian Stewart ushered in a fantastically exciting era of distance running in Britain, and it was great to be a part of it. Fierce club rivalries between the likes of Tipton, Birchfield, Gateshead, AFD and
Shaftesbury, especially in the National Cross Country and National Road Relays, ensured most of the stars turned out to support their clubs, and this resulted in some fantastic races. All races were extremely competitive, and selection for British international teams was always difficult. This probably helped to bring the best out of us, but it also made it very difficult to peak for the major Games, as qualification and selection were necessarily our first priority.
Probably the most enjoyable aspect of racing in this era was going to invitation races abroad with small teams - a great chance to actually get to know and learn from your rivals. I was lucky enough to go on trips with the likes of Bedford, Simmons, Ford, Black, McLeod, Charlie Spedding, Nat Muir, Barry Smith, Mike Tagg, Steve Binns, Dave Slater, John Wild, Steve Jones, Karl Harrison, Grenville and Graham Tuck, Eamonn Martin, Dave Clarke, Tim Hutchins, Roger Hackney, and many others. Great fun - but not many easy races against that lot!
How were your experiences of the World Cross where you won silver and gold team medals?
We won gold at Limerick in 1979, and silver in Rome in 1982. Both were good experiences, especially Limerick when I was first Englishman (but behind Tony Simmons and Steve Jones, as they were running for Wales), and England, with a weakened team, were perhaps not favourites to win. But by far the strongest England team (on paper) that I was part of was in 1981, with Moorcroft, McLeod, Ford, Binns and myself all sub 13:30 5k runners... plus Dave Clarke (plus Nick Rose who was selected but had to withdraw with flu) - but amazingly that team could only finish 6th. 1981 was the only time I came close to winning the individual title, finishing in 4th place just 8 seconds behind the winner Craig Virgin, despite
running the last 2500m with 'severe intestinal distress and needing the very kind attentions of the team doctor at the finish! But it was a very strange race because the Ethiopian team, running in the world cross for the first time, miscounted the laps, which completely upset the pattern of the race.
What do you miss most about competitive running?
Everything! The excitement, the rivalries and friendships, the travelling and the sense of achievement after a good hard race.
Are you still involved in running?
Not really myself, but I do a lot of coaching in schools and in the triathlon scene
Anyone we should be keeping an eye on?
I had good success coaching Chris Bolt ,who won the English Schools and several National track titles over 1500m, but since then I have been coaching youngsters (mainly U11) and middle-aged triathletes.
You have a book coming out this year..what is it going to be about?
Yes, 'The Art of Running Faster' published by Human Kinetics. It will be available in UK in April.
Interval Work
Bob Parker started coaching me when I was 16, and within a few months I was usually training twice a day. Most weeks I would do a hill session, an interval session, a fast sustained run, and either a fartlek or a race. At certain times of year I would do 2 interval sessions per week and maybe a fartlek run as well... depending on how many races.
Example sessions:
Hill sessions eg 16 x 30sec, or 4 x 3min, with jog back recoveries. These would often be in the middle of a fartlek. Long repetitions eg 5 x 1 mile or 6 x 1k, either on road or grass circuit. Track sessions eg 5 x 4 x 400 with short recoveries in the winter, or 5 x 4 x 200 in the summer. 10-15 x 400 with -3 mirecoveries; 6 x 600 or 800 with 400m jog recoveries.
Lots of these sessions involved changing pace during the repetition, eg 6 x 600m sprinting the last 200m. Or 4 x 1200m running each lap 65/60/65 sec
Did you change surface dependant on time of year?
I tried to keep off road as much as possible except for certain sessions. Obviously had to run on roads more in the winter. Very rarely ran indoors.
In a group?
To start with I would train with Bob's group, but when I moved away to university and then in the RAF I generally trained on my own or with just one or two training partners. Tried to avoid large groups. When I met up with Harry Wilson I would usually do sessions on my own.
Hardest session?
Every session was hard - but I was always trying to build, not destroy myself in training. So I never reached the throwing up stage!
When will be the last hard session before a race?
3-4 days before the race. But I would still aim to run fast 2 days before a race
How long do you start to taper for a race and was it hard to work out what was best for you?
I raced so much there was no time to taper before most races! But for major races I eventually found it was best to start tapering 10 days before, get fully recovered, and then do fast sharpening sessions in the last few days
Could you go through some specific training you may do and how often you do them?
Hill session - once per week
Fartlek - once per week
Long reps (800m - 1 mile reps) - once per week - usually on road or grass
Track session (200, 300, 400 or 600m reps) - once or twice per week - sometimes on grass
Fast sustained run or race - once per week
NB all dependent on race situation and time of year.
Can you give a typical week in full training and a race week?
Full training (Jan 1979)
Monday 6m am 5m lunch time 9m fartlek incl hill session pm
Tuesday 6m lunch time plus weights 6 x 600m track session pm
Wednesday 6m am 10m easy fartlek pm
Thursday 8m lunch time 7m pm incl 4 x 1mile in 4.28 on road
Friday 7m lunch time
Saturday 2m jog am 13m pm incl Inter Counties XC 6th
Sunday 13 - 15m steady am
Race Week (May 1973 aged 20 with Bob Parker)
Previous week 96 miles
Sunday 6m am 9m pm Track session 6 x 600m 63/29
Monday 5m am 9m pm incl 5 x 1mile efforts up hill on grass
Tuesday 5m am 8m pm Track - 10 x 400m in 60.5 200m rests
Wednesday 5m am 5m pm
Thursday 5m am 6m pm incl 10 x 100m short recovery.
Friday 6m am 5m pm
Saturday 3m am 9m pm incl Varsity Match 5000m. 13:51.8
TOTAL 86 miles
Race Week (March 1981 prior to National XC victory)
Sunday 2m easy jog (bruised heel)
Monday 4m am 3 x 1400m on roads pm. 3.52, 3.54, 3.52
Tuesday 4m am swim pm
Wednesday 5m am 2 x 1400m on roads pm. 3.44, 3.48
Thursday 5m incl 6 x 600m on grass, sprinting last 200m. 3m pm
Friday 4m easy am 4m easy pm
Saturday 3m eas y am NATIONAL XC pm Win by 1:55
What aout Mileage?
Apart from 1 long run per week up to 15 miles, I would always go for extra runs rather than longer runs. I aimed for 90-100 mpw in winter, 60-80 in summer, but often didn't achieve this due to races, travelling, injuries etc. I would plan to do more mileage, more strength and stamina work in the winter months, but I would try not to lose too much speed in the winter so still did regular track sessions. Generally the pattern throughout the year was pretty similar; just a change in emphasis at different times of year, and depending on races.
I would generally be fairly flexible and take each week as it came, depending on weather, work, travelling, races, injuries and illness etc. I didn't like rigid plans, especially when it became impossible to keep to them, as I found that really disheartening. Harry would normally write out a plan for 3-4 weeks
at a time, and I'd usually think I was doing well if I managed to complete 75% of it!
Group Training?
It's not essential but it's nice to do some running with the banter of a group, and certainly preferable to have at least one training partner rather than do everything alone. But in groups, avoid being sucked into races, or succumbing to peer pressure to do an easier session than you had planned
Abroad - Did you ever go to warm weather training?
Yes many times. Normally 1 week at a time, to give us a break from the British winter and enable us to do some speedwork in more helpful conditions. We usually went to the Algarve. The other major benefit apart from the weather was being able to train with great coaches and other top runners. I found the
whole 'Training Camp' atmosphere very motivational and beneficial.
Did you ever use altitude training?
Yes, 2 weeks in Kenya.
A lot of athletes are going over to Kenya now, do you think there is too much placed on this now?
Possibly. Warm weather and altitude training are great, but for most of the year training in Britain is fine, and the benefits of home routine, food, medical back-up and familiar training facilities shouldn't be discounted
Would you race abroad a lot?
Yes - the trips were the best bit!
Where was your favourite place?
Oslo and Brussels on the track, France for cross-country and road races
What are the differences from racing in the UK to racing abroad?
The atmosphere and sense of occasion. In Scandinavia, also the usual superb conditions on a summer's evening
Would you recommend to todays athletes to go overseas and run against different people?
Absolutely
How did you deal with nerves when racing?
Generally no problem. Look at the race as a performance rather than an ordeal.
What were your strengths and weakness's when racing?
I think I was strong, consistent, tenacious and concentrated well. Biggest weakness was lack of sprint finish
What would be a normal warm up routine for a 5,000m?
20 min steady run, 10 min stretching, 5 or 6 x 100m efforts, 5-10 min jogging and keeping loose, with a few more sprints in spikes
Which race had the best atmosphere you have raced at?
Several evening track meets were excellent, especially Bislett Games, Van Damme meeting in Brussels, and IAC Coca Cola meeting at Crystal Palace. But the atmosphere at the National Cross Country Champs (in the 'good old days' when it was the selection race for the England team) was just fantastic, with a huge
field and all the best runners in the country there.
Did you ever have superstitions before a race?
No
Who was the hardest person to race against?
Henry Rono. Anyone with a sprint finish!
How often would you look to race really well during the year?
10-12 times, but this always depended on gaining selection for the major races
Rest / Recovery
Just a week or so active rest. I found the early part of the cross-country season was a very pleasant break after the cut and thrust of the track season.