The O l y mpic men s marathon in Beijing will feature the deepest field in recent history, runners who will face heat, humidity and pollution in their attempt for Olympic gold. We interviewed five of these competitors to give you their views on how they plan to tackle the race. Meet the American hope (Ryan Hall), a regional hero (Japan s Atsushi Sato), the outsider (Australian Lee Troop), the returning champion(stefano Baldini) and the favorite (Martin Lel), as they prepare for the August 24 showdown. facesin the pack leadbyedward Ovadia 56 / runningtimes_september 2008 Ryan Hall USA // PR: 2:06:17 Ryan Hall is a running sensation. Still only 25, he is already the second-fastest American marathoner ever a title achieved after only three attempts at the distance. He has been named the future of marathon running by 2004 Olympic champion Stefano Baldini, and is looking to cement that spot in Beijing. As one of the favorites, what s your goal for Beijing? I m not going to say that I will win the gold medal, although I would love to come into that stadium first. But my goal is to praise God with every step, and how I do that tangibly is by laying it all out there. I want to make sure I did everything I possibly could to be the best I could be. My goal is to take a shot at it. I ll be going for the win but doing it smartly, in the way that gives me the best shot at winning. What qualities do you think an athlete needs to possess to win in Beijing? Big eyes on the starting line. It s a state of competitiveness. Your eyes get big, and you re just going at it, for the pure love of getting everything out of yourself that you possibly can. How do you think the race will play out fast or slow? I honestly have no idea, and I want to keep it that way, in the sense that if you go into a race expecting it to go a certain way, and it doesn t, it can catch you off guard. The slogan we had at the London marathon this year was, Expect nothing, be ready for everything, and that s the same slogan I m going to have going into the Olympics. I ll be ready for however it ends up going. Are you good running in the heat and humidity? I like the heat and humidity and we re preparing Kazu Eguchi/Photo Run, Charles Bloom (Photo Illustrations)
Victor Sailer/Photo Run for it. We had a summit in Colorado, where they gave us a lot of tools we can use back home in our training to prepare us for the conditions. Things like ice vests that we can try out, and playing around with the mixes in our drinks. We ll be going there at least 15 days in advance to get acclimated. We ll also wear some extra layers back home in the couple of weeks before we go. That should help a lot. What s your training like at the moment? I ll be at altitude for all the time that I m preparing for the Games. I m up at Big Bear Lake in California right now, and will stay here for most of the time. Mileage-wise, I m doing between 120 and 140 miles a week. My tempo run is 15 miles, and the long runs built up to 24 to 25 miles. You took on some of the fastest marathon runners ever in London this year. Is there anything you learned from that which will help you when you re racing many of the same runners in Beijing? I understand that I need to be able to run my own style of racing. I was up with the guys for a while, and then when I fell off, I was able to find my own rhythm and catch back up again. That was a big confidence boost for me, to know that just because people get away from you once, that you can still get back up to them. I need to learn how to race with people, but also how to run my own race. We only get this opportunity once every four years, and everyone is paying attention to us. People in my home town have signs up saying, Run Ryan Run and everyone is really excited about what I m doing and that, for me, only happens once every four years. It s a great opportunity for me to shine on the world stage, with millions and millions of people watching. I was once a little kid watching the Olympics, and now I m out there, so I just want to make the most of the opportunity. Stefano Baldini called you the future of marathon running. What did that mean to you? That was a huge compliment for me. It made me that much more confident. I ve known ever since I started running that it was possible for me to be one of the best runners in the world. And it s been neat for me to see other people also start to believe the same thing. It started with me, then it was my dad, then my girlfriend (now my wife), and now it s growing. More and more people are believing what I ve believed for so long. So it will give me that much more confidence when I m on the line. runningtimes / 57
Atsushi Sato JAPAN // PR: 2:07:13 Atsushi Sato is the Japanese half marathon record holder (1:00:25) a title not easily held, given the Japanese proficiency on the roads and placed third in last year s Fukuoka marathon. He was 10th at the world championships in 2003, and having lived and trained in conditions similar to Beijing all his life, he will be one of the most comfortable runners in the field. What is more, he is coached by Yasushi Sakaguchi, who trained under the legendary Kiyoshi Nakamura and coached 2005 Helsinki World Championships bronze medalist Tsuyoshi Ogata. What s your goal for Beijing? My goal going into the Olympics is to win a medal. How will you handle the pressure performing in such an unpredictable event as the Olympic marathon? The Japanese federation brought over in April anyone who wanted to run a trial marathon on Lee Troop AUSTRALIA // PR: 2:09:40 Lee Troop has had a career which, despite some great moments, has been marred too often by injury. He has spent the best part of the last six years battling various injuries, but has still managed to post two sub-2:10 times, and place sixth in last years real,- Berlin marathon, behind Haile Gebrselassie s world-record run. Now back to full fitness, Troop is ready to claim the top-10 spot he has sorely earned. Not being one of the clear favorites, what s your goal for Beijing? Obviously just to get in and perform better than I did in Sydney and Athens. I want to get in there the Beijing course. It was much cooler than it will be in the summer, but the main thing was to take a look at the course. It s fairly flat, and might be the type of course where you can negative split. The air is not so good, with the pollution, but I think the conditions will be the same as the world championships in Osaka last year, where it was quite hot and humid too. I run well in the heat, and I ve always been able to run well in summer races. How do you plan on competing against runners who have run times 2 minutes faster than you? I think the Olympic marathon will be more of a buildup race, with the pace gradually speeding up, and might come down to the final three kilometers. But it won t be a 2:05 race, so the advantage others might have in an all-out race won t come into play. I plan on doing the type of training to prepare myself for a strong finish in the Olympics. What kind of athlete do you think will win? There are four factors an athlete would need to win or run well: 1) You have to be healthy on the start line, with training having gone well, and no little niggles. 2) Having confidence, to feel good about your training, and knowing you have done the work to compete for a medal. 3) The ability to relax going into the race, without feeling the pressure or stress. 4) Not to think too much about your opponents. You re better off preparing yourself rather than worrying about the other competitors. There are faster runners out there on paper, but it s important not to be psyched out by this. and be competitive I m hoping I can finish in the top ten. And if you finish in the top ten, anything is possible. How will you take on runners 3 to 4 minutes faster than you? Time is inconsequential when it comes to a championship race. A lot of the guys who have run super-fast times have done it in controlled environments, with pacemakers, perfect weather and people handing them their drink bottles. When you get to a championship race you don t have any of that. The weather will be hot and humid, and Beijing is also very polluted, so it comes down to who can tough it out the most. I m rating myself a good chance to be competitive. I don t think I can win, but at the same time I don t think that I can t win. So obviously I m not going in as a favorite, but the great thing is favorites never win. It will be a hot race, but I m not planning on doing anything particularly special in terms of training in hot places. Besides having been there in April, about a month out from the marathon we will go into Beijing again, to get a feel for how the humidity and air will be. But I ve been training in the Japanese heat my whole life. A lot of my training will be in cooler places, so as to not be too fatigued going into the Olympics. I will do some training in Switzerland, and then my final training will be in Hokkaido, Japan. It won t be as hot as Beijing, but it will still be just under 80 degrees. Beijing is an opportunity to make a big step up, to advance a level on the world stage. It s not so much about getting a medal, although that would be great. I would like to run well enough in Beijing, against other fast runners, to get the confidence to make an attempt on a 2:05 time. Also, I got married last year, and I would like to be able to compete again in London in 2012, and bring my wife and child to the London Olympics with me. The depth of marathon running in Japan is incredible. Does having beaten so many quality runners for a spot on the Japanese team give you more confidence? Of course, it gives me confidence in going forward. Four years ago before Athens I ran 2:08:36, at Lake Biwa, and was fourth place overall, which didn t make the Olympic team. So to be able to come out ahead of the other guys and get selected this time, it gives me a boost. Kazu Eguchi/Photo Run (Sato), Charles Bloom (Photo Illustrations) 58 / runningtimes_september 2008
What qualities do you think an athlete needs to possess to win in Beijing? You d have to have prepared well, not have any injuries in the lead-up to the race and obviously be fit. I think the biggest factor is going to be the heat and pollution, and it s just going to come down to a war of attrition. Athletes will have to be mentally tough to be able to deal with the conditions. And I know I m not the most talented marathoner going around in terms of times, but I do think that I m probably one of the toughest I ve run the Sydney Olympics with a torn stomach muscle; I ran the 2003 world championships with a broken toe; and in trying to qualify for the 2006 Commonwealth Games I ran the Fukuoka marathon with a stress fracture in my back. So I think for me I ve got the mental toughness that s required to perform well in adversity. Stefano Baldini ITALY // PR: 2:07:22 Stefano Baldini is a marathon veteran. He won the 2004 Olympic title, where the leader Vanderlei de Lima was tackled by a spectator. He also has bronze medals from the 2001 and 2003 world championships, and knows the marathon distance better than anyone. His experience may be the factor which gets him across the line first in Beijing. What s your goal for Beijing? I hope to stay in good health beforehand and arrive in August in shape. The race itself is unpredictable. But running well, I think I can achieve a top-five result, but top-eight is always a good result. I will fight until the end of the race. How do you handle the pressure performing in such an unpredictable event as the Olympic marathon? Experience helps me a lot. I know today what I will encounter in August, and this will help me a lot. You are a master over championship marathons; where does your advantage come in a major championship marathon? I love this kind of race, with no pacemakers, fighting man against man, in tough weather conditions. My tactics in these races are always good. How will you compete against runners with times 2 minutes faster than you? Hot and humid conditions close the gaps between runners, and it becomes a totally different competition, and much more spectacular. 60 / runningtimes_september 2008 At the moment I m sleeping in an altitude tent in the living room of my house, and I do that in three-week blocks. That s obviously helping my fitness. And in the weeks when I m not using the altitude tent, I ll go to the University of Ballarat and do some heat chamber work riding a bike for an hour in what will be similar conditions to those we will face in Beijing. I m going to base myself in Hong Kong before the race. The opening ceremony is on the 8th, and I ll still be in Australia at that stage. I ll leave shortly after that to go to Hong Kong for a week, and then I ll go to Beijing about four or five days before the race. It s not only the conditions that I m trying to stay away from, it s the whole Olympic experience. There s a lot of partying and reveling going on throughout, and it can be very hard to keep mentally focused. The conditions in Beijing will play a huge part. How do you think they will affect the field? The first part of the race will be slow, but after 25 kilometers if you are going to challenge the field, you have to do it. I hope to follow whoever does. preparing for the race? I will stay in altitude for long periods this summer, but in the last 25 days I will stay at home at sea level, where the weather is similar to Beijing, and I will go to China in the last 10 days. During my training I will also make sure to practice changes of speed. During each week we do two workouts two days in gym, one day on the track for technical exercises and I cover around 35 kilometers a day. Did you expect to win in Athens in 2004? Of course! How did you feel when you realized that the leader had been tackled by a spectator? I didn t realize during the race because I didn t see the accident; I realized only during the press conference after the race. Do you think you would have won anyway? Well, I did run 35:05 for the last 12.195 kilometers. What is your training like for Beijing? I run 200 kilometers a week, including 45 minutes at night every day as a second session. I sleep nine hours a night at around 9,000 to 10,000 feet in the altitude tent. It probably means more to me than any other Olympics or major championship that I ve been to. After Athens in 2004 I broke down with injuries, and I ve worked so hard these last four years to get back. I ve been more diligent and dedicated than ever. I m confident that when the race comes around, I can run really well. After the Olympics, who knows? At the moment, for me, the world ends on the 24th of August. You have said that Ryan Hall is the future of marathon running. How will it be for you racing him in Beijing? Ryan is a good athlete and a good guy. I hope the best for him because he has all my respect, but I also am aiming to beat him in Beijing. I am still a fighter old, but a fighter. Victor Sailer/Photo Run, Charles Bloom (Photo Illustration)
It s the race where you race the strongest from everywhere in the world. And that means I need to prepare well for it. Martin Lel KENYA // PR: 2:05:15 There is no doubt Martin Lel will go into Beijing as the favorite. Having won London three times and New York twice, Lel is the king of the big city marathon. His most recent win in London this year saw him go through halfway at world-record pace, and become the fourth-fastest marathoner in history. With a PR faster than anyone in the field, if anyone can break the curse of the favorite in the Olympic marathon, and bring home Kenya s first marathon gold, it s Lel. As the obvious favorite, what is your goal for Beijing? My goal for the Olympic marathon is to run my best, and hopefully get in the top three. How will you handle the pressure of being the favorite for such an unpredictable event, where the favorite usually never wins? I will need to have perfect preparation, because it s unpredictable in many ways due to the weather, and due to the competition. It s the race where you race the strongest from everywhere in the world. And that means I need to prepare well for it. How do you plan on preparing for the conditions? I need to train in the same weather conditions in Kenya as will be in Beijing. I ve been trying to train at 10:00 or 11:00, when it s sunny. That s the best way I can get similar conditions to Beijing. 62 / runningtimes_september 2008 You ve demonstrated your explosive finishing kick in London this year and New York last year will that be where your advantage comes from in the Olympic marathon? I don t want to risk the result on a finishing kick. I need to go with the pack first. I need to prepare both speed and endurance, because the race might be very fast. So I ll be ready for anything that might happen. What has your training been like for Beijing? Right now I m preparing for speed and mileage, especially in the hot conditions. I will soon be going to train with Robert [Cheruiyot]. I run an average of 210-220 kilometers per week. How do you see the race panning out, especially given the conditions? I know the course is fast, so there s no doubt it will probably be a faster race. Despite the weather, which will be hot and humid, I know that my friend [Samuel] Wanjiru and my friend Robert [Cheruiyot] like the race to be very fast. So I think it will be faster. What are your goals for post- Beijing and into the future? I can only say that I m really focusing on Beijing. I don t want to think past Beijing I am adjusting everything to the Olympics. After the Olympics anything can happen. You have won a lot of big city marathons, but no major championships like the Olympics or world championships. What does the Beijing marathon To win an Olympics is greater than winning anything else. Having an Olympic gold medal, or any kind of Olympic medal, means something extra than winning these other races. It means I need to be dedicated, to make sure I do my best for the Olympic team. Kenya hasn t won a gold medal in the Olympic marathon so far will this be the year? It s really excellent. There s no doubt that Kenya will win a medal, at least. The way the team was selected this time, they chose the strongest three people we have. I would love us to work together it would be brilliant for Kenya to claim all three medals this year. Do you think you are the best marathon runner in the world? I think I would classify myself as amongst the best in the world. In Kenya we have the strongest runners in the world, and I would put myself in that group. Will you claim the world record in the coming years? Many people have been telling me that I have a possibility of getting the world record. The way I felt in London I am confident that with good training, I will do something great, for my country. The way I ran London I still had something extra, which means I could have run faster than I did. And it gives me the confidence of being able to break the world record. Victor Sailer/Photo Run, Charles Bloom (Photo Illustration)