Selection for the world 100km championships

AS You qualified for the World 100km Championships in Berlin by placing second behind Jo Murphy in the trial race at Perth, in the A standard time.Was that what you were expecting?

SM I ran the 100k team standard in Mondeillo, Ireland in August 2021, when i was going though a lot of personal things .

I just wanted to target the individual standard in Perth to give myself a better chance of 100k selection.

 AS You have obvioulsy run for GB before, but How did it feel to have the opportunity to run for GB again. You also had the 24 hr standard too. With those championships so close together in 2022 ,was it easy to decide which race to then target?

Sam Yes! I had the 24hr qualifying standard distance too and there is a European 24hr championship coming up in September .With the 100k champs being a World event, and looking at the other girls in the tea , i felt targetiing the World 100k championships this year would be the best option. Next year in 2023 the 24hr will have World status rather than European so that might be a good plan to target a 24 hr champs then.

AS I think its fair to say although you are the most experienced lady on the team, you still made an improvement on your previous 100k time in Perth. Why do you think that was and has your training changed much this year?

 SAM Training hasn’t changed much. With each 100k you learn more about the distance as an event and are more confident to deal with the inevitable ups and downs. Having run some longer 100mile and 24 hour races now, it gives you confidence that if you do pace it well then the 100k distance isn’t so daunting The Perth course is a great one for running good times so that was one factor, it’s just a great venue, I found it a little windy at times. Perth was also the first time i had tried a new nutrition strategy too and that seemd to work,.

AS Most of the team i have spoken to seemed to have some down time after Perth. You seemed to have a different approach!

SAM Ha .Yes i had the Centurion 100mile track race already pencilled in 3 weeks after Perth. I manged to break the British 100mile record again. Then i already had an entry for the Grand Union Canal race at the start of June. So it might seem strange to some but i think running a hard 100k before the 100mile helped me. The 100k is the fastest and shortest. The 100 mile is a step up in distance but your actually running it a lot slower. I have never felt so good after a 100 miler.I felt like I was literally floating around the track the last few hours,throwing down six and a half minute milers. The next day, I felt the best i have felt after a 100 mile race. My new nutrition strategy i know helped. The last few months its been all about getting more fluids in and getting protein intake right.

The Grand Union Canal race was all about having a good day out and seeing how long it takes. Since the canal race i have had a bit of down time an I had 2-3 weeks of, for me low to light mileage of around 40-50 miles a week. Then I hit a bit of fatigue which i guess was the three hard races catching up with me.

Looking towards Berlin

AS Have you done any special training with an eye on the possible conditions in Berlin?

SAM It has the potential to be hot so i have been doing something i dont really like doing and going out for lunchtime runs to get used to running in the heat.

I went out to the TeamHour7 training camp in Italy for 8 days in July and had a really good time.It was warmout there and most days we didn’t go out too early, but waited till later in the morning when it was warmer. That kick started things again towards Berlin, and since coming home from that, I have had some really good sessions. All summer i have still been doing my regualr cardio sessions.That could be spin classes, Body Pump,boxing or anything to give a good general work out.

Learning to carry water

I dont usually like carrying bottles on my runs, but the course in Berlin is a 7.5km loop. There is only one main feed station each lap with support crew, so it will need us at some point to be carrrying the odd bottle on some laps to keep the hydration levels on an even keel. It might sound so obvious but when your not used to carrying a bottle, you just want to know your going to be Ok with that so your not throwing any wobblies in the race .

Looking to Berlin

AS Looking specifically towardsthe world 100km championships in Berlin, have you been looking at the entry list

SAM Not really i don’t tend to do that or follow other peoples training. You know as a World Championships, it will be a really competitive race I always think the competition starts when the gun goes and your then just racing .

AS In a world championship with that important team element, how do you balance individual goals against team goals. 

SAM I would love to run a PB of course but when you have the team environment, you are more accountable to your team who have become good friends too ,so you do need to balance the two. its a strong quartet and if we all run well we definitely be challenging for those team medals. I would love us to come away with a team medal and if any of us are challenging for individual medals, then even better.

Best 100km advice

AS There is a genuine buzz around 100km again with more people showing an interest , What advice would you give someone wanting to have go at 100k on the road .

SAM.If someone asks you what is your most difficult event, i think 100k is 100%  by far the hardest ultra for me . its the llast of the ultra distancesa where you are still running quite fast so you are really only running around a minute a mile slowere than you would run your marathon.

AS looking beyond Berlin what does the future hold for Jo. do you have any bucket lost races?

SAM Well its not exactly a bucket list race but my club Belgrave always support the Lomndon marathon and try to get a strong team out. This year the October date sits quite well for me so i will be doing that

Further ahead , the world 24 hr chamionships next year will be a target for selection .

I would love to go to one of the big American races like Western States or Badwater and would also like to see if getting my 100 mile time down below 14 hurs into the 13 is achievable .(NB Sams current PB and British record is 14:10:41)

There is alsoi that Crazy Barclay marathon.

Possibly above all i would like to get some more British records at the longer distances like 48 hours

( AS. You heard it here first!)

LEJOG

I have always had a fascination with Lands End John o’Groats, so a LEJOG attempt in the next few years is definitely on the cards too.

Best 100km Advice

AS There is a genuine buzz around 100kmas an event again with more people showing an interest , What advice would you give someone wanting to have go at 100k on the road .

.If someone asks you what is your most difficult event ,i think 100k is 100%  by far the hardest ultra for me . its the llast of the ultra distancesa where you are still running quite fast so you are really only running around a minute a mile slowere than you would run your marathon.

SAM Do try a 50km just to see if you can handle and like the extra distance and time on feet . Do it on the road or an easy trail. If you are ok with that try and find a 40 miler and see how that goes,

If someone asks you what is your most difficult event ,i think 100k is 100%  by far the hardest ultra for me. As you move up in distance its the llast of the ultra distancesa where you are still running quite fast. You are really only running around a minute a mile slower than you would run your marathon.

AS Fascinating to talk to you as always, Sam. Good luck in Berlin

SAM Thanks Adrian

You can read about the Sri Chinmoy 100km race at Perth which was the trial for the world 100km Championships in Berlin HERE

The event website for the world 100km championships in Berlin is HERE

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