Getting selected for the World 100k Championships in Berlin
AS You qualified for the world 100km championship in Berlin by winning the trial in 6:39:44, well inside the A standard of 6:45. Was that always a target
MATT D Yes, Selection was always a goal and I went to Perth thinking i could win in the reqired time. On the day all went pretty much to plan too.
AS How did it feel to have your selection for the World 100km Championship team for Berlin confirmed.
MATT D I think for any runner or athlete, winning a GB vest is always something you strive for. Even th in winning and getting the standard I was pretty sure of selection, it was great to hear from Walter Hill the 100k tem manager confirming it.
AS Since Perth how has your training gone and have you changed anything.
MATT D After Perth I had 2-3weeks of pretty much little or only light training.Then i had the opportunity to go to Font Romeau to do some Altitude training. I was going out with some people that were quicker than me so i didnt want to lose too much fitness. I ended up going out in June to early July so five weeks at altitude. That was the biggest change as i have never been to altitude before. Being up there with some of the guys that are quicker than me, it was definitely hard work. With this training block I have definitely done slightly more than the last block building up to Perth. I think its fair to say i have found my limit in training !
AS So have the sessions been more intense , a bit differnt or just a bit faster ? Or are you just finding a new level perhaps?
MATT D .All of the above really. I was doing consistently more mileage, going to the Gym. The sessions wern’t too dissimalar to what i was doing before. I am with Phil Kissi’s squad in London and most of us are training for marathons so what i do is marathon training with the group with the odd long runs. Going to altitude and doing higher mileage make it more difficult training . It was obviously harder doing long runs at altitude at first.
Little tweaks to training
Tweaks to that would be like this. The group would always do a good Saturday session of a long run so what i might do in terms of tweaking that would be, on Sunday doing another long run at a lower intensity.
Obviously in the block i would be doing my own speccific sessions like 50k ,40 milers which the other guys wern’t doing, 40 milers tend to be wher I top out in training runs . That’s what i did for Perth,. Going longer than that just adds recovery time and can lead to breaking up the continuity of a training block.
Looking towards Berlin
AS Looking specifically towards Berlin, Have you been looking at the entry list or are you the guy who just wants to control what he can control?
Matt D I have been looking at the entry list and seen some of the times people have done. Those Japanese look bloody quick! I am seeing that and seeing some of the times guys like the Japanse have done. I mean one of them has run a 6:09 before and (laughs) i am not in shape to run 6:09 and there is no way i will be able to improve by 30 minutes and run those times .Even thinking about that seems crazy. It will just be a case of going back and runnig your own race. So yes i have looked at the entreies and taken note of the standard !
AS it has to be said the Japanes both men and women have a track record of running fast times early in the summer in Japan but never reproduce as fast as thta when travelling, especially through several time zones to Europe, They still run well and end up on the team podium most years without producing the really fast times they run na t home , 100k running is almost in the Japanese DNA.
Matt D Thats true, and it could be really hot on the day. I was thinking back to Perth the other day and remebering starting off in a hat and arm warmers .You forget how chilly it was at the start that day. Ok the cool conditions did produce fast times.
Berlin looks like it regularly peaks in the mid to high twenties just now so that is something you will have to factor in
Personal goals versus team goals.
AS In a world 100k championship, how do you balance your individual goals against team goals for what is a strong GB team
Matt D I think with this race, I have kind of started thinking of it a little differently. At Perth I had all the belief going into that race that i could win it. In this one i kind of want to enjoy it. I have my own goals in mind and i know how i would like to perform and i do have targets that i want to do both positionally or time wise but when it comes to a race, i know from previous experince,i will always give it maximum effort.
Taper issues
You have your taper as everyone does, and you always get all the self doubt and feeling aweful and starting to question your self and saying, “am i really not in shape’ and all these thingsI have been feeling the last 2 weeks! In fact i feel it before every single race. Yet i know that every time i end up on the start line , i always put the effort in and run my best.
While i have things that i want to do in mind, i also want to savour the fact I am running for GB in a team so a slightly different mindset is needed this time.
Like all of us as we progress in running we want to prove to oursleves and to our friends that we can do this. I think i have proved myself over the years now, so i feel i just want to enjoy myself now and enjoyment must be No 1.
AS. So what might Matt want to enjoy after Berlin. Is there any particular challenge you feel you want to embrace, whether that is faster marathon, bucket list race etc
MATT D It’s funny when i started in running i had all these things i wanted to achieve and when i had done them everything else would be a bonus. One of those was a sub 2:20 marathon and the another was a GB vest. So in the last 12 months i have ticked both those boxes.
I dont think you should ever look fully beyond a race in a training block, so you can concentrate on the task in hand but yes, you do often ask yourself the question, “What do i want from running or how do i want things to look in the future “?
A glimpse of the future
When i came back from Altitude, i did a 30k session at close to 2:15 marathon pace and it went so well , i was wishing i could have been running a full marathon and improving my PB. So that has given me the confidence to know i could get there with my marathon time, and if your running 2:15 your then also knocking on the door of the 50km team. That fitness will also probably improve your 10k and half times which also need some revision.
Then i think back to how i got into ultras with trail running in the mountains and how i would like to get back to that. Then other things lure you in .Plus i live in London so can’t get to any serious mountains to train in easily!!
Eventually i will get back to that but that will be when i have stopped achieving things and it is back to just enjoying myself again
Best advice for someone thinking of running a road 100k
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 .
MAtt D All my life i have felt that if someone wants to achieve something they should just go for it.
Anyone who can run a marathon can run a 100k , if your in marathon shape you just need to tack on some longer runs and give it a go. Its always the speed that kills not always the distance and you will be running 100k slower than your marathon. There is plenty of advice out there.
The clock is always ticking, so stop looking for reasons NOT to do it.
AS That’s a great answer and rounds this little chat off perfectly.
Thanks for your time Matt and your insightful thoughts. Good luck in Berlin.
MATT D Pleasure ,Thank you.
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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