Tom Roper's Running Training

A conversation with Mo Farah

Last Saturday I took a phone call. It was Mo Farah. He'd heard I wouldn't be running this year's London marathon. In a voice cracking with emotion, he pleaded with me to reconsider. Gently but firmly, I refused. 'No, Mo', I explained, 'I've had my day. It's time to hand over to a younger generation'. So while Mo ran his extraordinary debut, I contented myself with a little over four miles on Seaford Head, the longest distance I've run since 9 February. Watching the London Marathon on the television, and the Channel 4 programme on the Brighton Marathon shown the day before, I felt myself falling under the spell of the distance once more.

Dancer with bruised knees

Today the fifth Brighton Marathon took place, and I marshalled, which is possibly not worth a blog post, in itself—except that it is such an extraordinary experience to witness, and play a small part in, such an event. An early start, out on the course, erecting barriers and directing runners to the start. I was given a fine marshalling place, on the Level, at a point the runners pass three times in the early miles. 

A fine barrier. Thos. Roper fecit MMXIV

Congratulations to all who took part, in particular to the sixteen (we think) Seaford Striders who took part, and to two of my librarian colleagues, James Mullan, aka the Running Librarian,  and Jo Wood, who both achieved personal bests. I only spotted a couple of Striders but it is hard. Looking at the times, my own of 4:46:52 in 2011 and the remarkably similar 4:46:12 in 2012 look rather poor.

Then home, and, in spite of some tiredness consequent on getting up at four in the morning, about the time my daughter returns from the night club, I went out for a brief run. Knees hurt, but I begin to see this in perspective. Perhaps I’m a little cowardly with pain. Could more marathons be possible?

I have structured my return to running thus: in six weeks a 5k, six weeks after that a 10k, then another six weeks to a 10 miler and a half-marathon six weeks after that. Given the availability of races within a reasonable travelling distance, my future races look like this:

3 May: a ParkRun. I have three to choose from, Brighton, Preston Park or Eastbourne. 

22 June: Heathfield 10K, a Sussex Grand Prix race, but one I have never yet run

2 August: Friston Forest 10 miles, aka The Adder 

28 September: Barns Green Half, another Sussex Granbd prix race

That will not give me the eight races in the Grand prix I need for the Seaford Striders Grand Prix competition, there being only three more after it, but better to take it slowly, I think.

if the title of this post needs exegesis, it is the name of Kate and Anna McGarrigle's second album, released in 1977. I don't dance.