Edinburgh based Jenny Selman has been on a journey from 800 metres to the marathon.  An acomplished international 800 metre runner, with a personal best of just over two minutes, 2:00:70. As recently as 2022, she made the Scottish Commonwealth Games team, in Birmingham, and the Great Britain team for the World Indoor championships. This Sunday, April 27th, she will run the London Marathon. I caught up with her to chat about her journey from 800 metres to marathon.

From 800 metres to Marathon

You have an excellent 800-meter pedigree that is well documented. When did the first seed start embedding itself in your consciousness that you wanted to run a marathon?

 JS. Good question. I guess I’ve spent the last few years watching Dougie and some of my friends do marathons and being inspired by that. I’ve really enjoyed both my trips to Valencia to watch Dougie and our friend Becky do the marathon there. I feel like the buzz of marathon day is like nothing else. I feel like you can’t help but be quite inspired by it all.  I guess that maybe initially put this seed in my mind. I think in the back of my mind I’ve probably always wanted to do a marathon at some stage in my life, and it was getting to the point where I was thinking, “Well. I’m not getting any younger, and if I want to do a semi-respectable marathon, maybe I should get on and do it rather than wait until I’m older and less fit. So I guess in the end, why not move up?

 AS So when did you finally make the commitment, and why did you choose London?

 JS. I don’t think I’m ever going to become a marathon runner.  I think it’ll probably be one, and then I’ll be done. So I suppose London is the obvious choice because it is such an iconic marathon, and I know so many people doing it. It’s an easy one for people to go down and support.  I guess, having a home marathon makes it a bit of an obvious choice. Also, I know it’s so difficult to get into.  Every year, people try to get in through the ballot unsuccessfully.  I thought, well actually, if I can get a spot through the championship with my half marathon time from last year, it almost seems like a silly opportunity to pass up, and you know that opportunity might not come around again. I just thought, well, if I’m able to get a spot, and I’m not totally against the idea, maybe I should get on and do it.

 When I told Lewis that I was thinking about it, I think he was very confused because he spent years trying to get me to run a 3k properly. I’d always resisted, so when I said that I was considering the marathon, I think he was a bit like, “You wouldn’t even do a 3k, and now you want to do a marathon? Are you okay?”

NOTE. Lewis is Lewis Walker, Jenny’s long-time coach. 

AS. That leads me to the next question I had here. You do have an excellent coach in Lewis, who has guided you for many years now at 800 metres very successfully.

 He’s obviously failed at 3,000 metres! He’s guided people at multiple distances and surfaces. He’s helped Dougie with marathons and ultras. He’s helped Scottish and GB International mountain runners like Naomi and Holly on the hills. (Naomi Laing and Holly Page.) Has he been guiding you with your marathon training? I think you already answered that in part, but how has he changed things?

 JS. Well. I guess when I told Lewis that I was interested in running a marathon, I made it quite clear from the start that I didn’t want to approach it in the way that Dougie would approach a marathon or in the way that Holly or Naomi were ever to do a marathon. They’re all much more natural distance runners than me. I knew that I’d never been a high-mileage runner. I was in a recovery boot in November for a foot issue, so I knew that I wouldn’t really be able to tackle a marathon in the way that a serious marathon runner would tackle it.

So, I  made it quite clear from the start that I wanted to do it, and I was willing to put the work in, but it would have to be quite a different, low mileage,  relaxed approach. I think one of the great things about Lewis as a coach is that he’s very flexible and open to different approaches. So he was quite happy with that, and he was quite happy guiding me through the marathon training without being too overbearing or too specific about sessions. He knew that if he gave me specific big chunky sessions every week, I just wasn’t going to do them. So, we kind of worked out a bit more of a realistic approach. This involved trying to get a bit fitter in January because I was really unfit around Christmas time. Dougie and I did the Christmas Day Park Run, and I think I only just managed to break 20 minutes. That was a struggle. So January was all about just getting a bit fitter. Then we took it from there. Each month had a focus. January, we’ve got a bit fitter. February, we can try and increase endurance, without doing anything too specific to the marathon. Then, once that was done, we kind of reassessed and looked at doing more specific stuff in March and April. I think taking that more flexible approach with Lewis worked out quite well. I think he’s probably been thinking that I’ve gone a bit rogue this marathon block. He’s suggested some things, and I’ve kind of chopped and changed it. Sometimes, he’ll probably look at my Strava and think, “That’s not what I told her to do.” He’s been very relaxed about the whole thing though and it’s worked well.

Differences in Training 

 AS. As an example, when you were training for 800’s and the odd 1500, what would have been the longest run Lewis would have had you doing back then on a weekend?

 JS. I think I’d run 13 miles before, but that was a really long run for me. My norm would be around 10 miles on a Sunday. It was funny because I did a short track session last night, just a little “keeping the legs ticking over track session” Afterwards, I was saying to Dougie that the last week of training, whilst it’s been a taper for the marathon, it’s probably like it would have counted as a big week in previous years. Running 10 miles on Sunday and still doing  12 x 400s on Tuesday.

 So, my perspective of what is long has really changed.

 AS. What is the longest run you’ve done in training for this marathon?

 JS. I think I’ve done 20, 21 miles or nearly 22 miles. So I feel like I’ve done enough. I did a few weeks of chunky Sundays with a bit of a faster pace in them. There’s still quite a lot of unknown, though,  isn’t there? There’s still another four or five miles to go.

 AS.  I think you’ve had the right guidance. I think the gods are going to be on your side for this, I’m sure.

In terms of speed sessions. You were used to doing intense sessions to get your 800 meter speed, and close to two minutes. How has that varied for this? 

And supplementally. You’re always looking to find your red lines, or not go over them but get close to them. Have the red lines been different for this if that makes sense?

 JS. Yeah, training has been so different. So, so different. I guess when you’re training for an 800, if it’s a short, much more intense session and you finish a session, you know, if it’s a short lactic-y session you finish a session feeling  a bit sick, and you need to  like to lie down and close your eyes for a while. 

Whereas,  in a marathon, it’s nothing like that. I just feel like I’ve spent a lot of the block just trying to get more time on my feet because I’m just so not used to running for so long. To be honest, at no point have I felt exhausted in training like I need to sit down after a session. It’s because it’s all been so much slower but over a longer time. It’s just been such a different kind of feeling. It’s been a bit strange getting used to that and getting used to pushing yourself differently. You are trying hard but not so hard that you’re absolutely knackered and you can’t run the next day. 

Enjoying the Journey

AS. To coin a phrase, “The journey” you’ve been on the last few weeks, have you been enjoying it? 

JS. Yes., I’ve enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would. I think when I started the marathon block, it felt quite intimidating. I’ve done quite a lot of training with Becky Burns. She’s actually been so nice because, for me, this is my first experience of a marathon. She’s done a couple of marathons but she also had a baby at the start of last year, so this is her first marathon post-baby. When we were building up fitness in January, we were kind of at a similar stage, and both felt quite unfit and far away from our best. I remember at 13 weeks to go, the furthest we had run was 13 miles and thinking, “How are we going to run double the distance in 13 weeks? But it’s actually been such an enjoyable training block,  partly because it’s been fun to see progress. And then also,  largely because I’ve barely done any of it by myself. It so happens that there have been several women in Edinburgh who are all roughly the same pace, who’ve all been training for London. So I’ve done like most of my Sundays with Becky. Do you know Amy Frankland?

 AS.Yes, of course

 JS. Amy’s doing London, so we’ve done quite a lot of sessions together. And then there’s an Irish girl called Doreen Hughes who’s a member of Edinburgh AC. So she was in Edinburgh for two years, and she’s just moved back to Dublin, but she was in Edinburgh for a month in the lead-up to London, so we did lots of running together. Then Zoe Bates was not doing the marathon, but she was training for the Inverness Half, so we did quite a lot of sessions together. It’s been like a really sociable block too, which has made it so much more enjoyable. I think I would have really struggled if I was by myself.

 AS. Obviously, the marathon is such an individual thing. Have you been getting too much advice and conflicting advice from various people?

 JS. It’s difficult, isn’t it? It seems like there are so many different approaches to running a marathon. Some people are bashing out 120-mile weeks. And I feel like there was a phase where I got a little bit caught up in that kind of thing on Strava, where I was seeing people doing their double threshold days on a Tuesday, and already back in February, they were doing hundred-mile weeks. That’s just so far from what I would be able to do. I think everybody’s marathon journey is so different, and it was really helpful speaking to people like Mhairi (Mhairi MacLennan who ran 2:29:15 at the 2024 London Marathon)about it. (Mhairi MacLennan who ran 2:29:15 at the 2024 London Marathon). She did so well in London last year and her mileage was relatively low. It wasn’t like she was bashing out huge sessions every week.  I mean, she’s a totally different runner to me and like, you know, she’s made for the marathon, but it was nice to hear that there are different approaches and that her relatively low-volume approach worked really well for her.

 AS. I have to ask this because I know one of your other long-time old friends is also running her first marathon in London.

JS. Laughs.Yeah. She’ll be a few miles up the road.

 Note: We are talking about Eilish McColgan, who Jenny knows very well from being in the same Dundee training group several years ago and then in the same Commonwealth Games team in Birmingham in 2022. 

 AS. Have you had the time to share advice or share marathon stories?

JS. Although we keep in touch, I feel like we’ve not really talked that much about the marathon. I mean, I feel like, for me, I’m just doing this for fun. I am taking it seriously and I’m training hard, but there’s no pressure on me. Nobody really cares what time I run. Whereas, for Eilish, there’s just pressure. I mean, I think she’ll do really well, but there’s just so much pressure on her. So many people are talking about it and will be watching to see how she runs on the day. 

It’s just such a different experience for her going in with so many people watching. To be honest, I don’t envy her at all. But you know, I do think she’ll do well. Eilish is built for the long distances.

Keeping it in the family.

AS. Your husband Dougie is also running London.

 JS. Yes, yes.

 AS.. Dougie was also a good 800-metre runner when he was a boy! Now, he is more of a marathon and 100km runner. 

Note: Dougie, Jenny’s husband, had an 800 metre Pb of 1:51:42 as a junior. He has a current Marathon PB of 2:20:27 and a 100km pb of 6:34:28  achieved when winning the British 100k title in the Sri Chinmoy/Anglo Celtic Plate 1ookm at Perth in 2024.

AS. How has it been around the house? I am thinking that your breakfast conversations were probably in the past, “What’s harder, a  two minute 800-metres, or a 2:20 marathon or a sub-7-hour 100k? “

Now you’re both doing marathon training, what do you talk about over breakfast? Is it just marathon, marathon, and more marathon?

 JS. Not really, honestly! He might say differently, but I don’t think either of us are too intense about it. We’re both training hard, and a lot of our time is taken up by running. It’s been really useful for me particularly, but maybe not so useful for him. It’s been useful for me that he knows so much about marathon running and can answer any questions that I have, but I don’t feel like we talk about it all the time, and we’re not too intense about it.

Marathon. The Iconic Challenge

 AS. The marathon has always been this great iconic challenge to do at least once in your life. Most people try and do one. At London, you’ve got people from all walks of life and all abilities. For many of them, it’s probably the hardest thing they ever do in their lives. They’ll never do another one. They just want to do London, tick the box, and they’ll just be toast for a few weeks afterwards, but they’ll be so, so happy they took on the marathon challenge.

Have you ever got to a point where you found that the training has just been too hard?

JS. I think it’s amazing all these different people run London.  I guess, for me, the training hasn’t been too hard. I don’t know if that maybe means I haven’t been training hard enough, but I think I’ve been quite realistic about what I can and can’t do in the time frame. I’ve set myself more manageable goals. I’ve not tried to emulate training that people are doing who, you know, have done loads of marathons in the past. But even for me, I’ve tried to keep it a bit more manageable, but it is still really hard. There have been some days where I’ve come back from a long run and I’ve had to go for a nap. It’s a lot to put your body through, so I honestly can’t believe that people who have never done much running before or have maybe done a park run or two, then take on a marathon.  I find it so impressive that they can then go and do a marathon because it’s hard for me, and I’ve been running all of my life.

 AS. Are you nervous about race day, or are you just happy to embrace whatever the race throws at you on the day?

 JS. I’d say I’m not overly nervous yet. I’m sure I will get more nervous as the week goes on, but as if I’m probably just going to do one marathon in my life,  I want to be able to look back and think that it was at least a semi-enjoyable experience, as much as you can enjoy running a marathon.  I don’t want to look back and think, “Oh my goodness. That was so stressful. It was horrible. I didn’t enjoy it at all, because I was so worried and anxious about it. It’s supposed to be for fun, isn’t it?

 At the end of the day, you know it’s not super serious. I’ve not got my career depending on me running a good marathon.

 So I don’t feel too nervous about it, although that might change by the weekend.

 AS. Finally, All runners need to have a why. A reason to run and get out of bed in the morning to get out for their run or whatever? Sometimes, in any marathon, there will be a point where it’ll get interesting.

 JS. Yes, I know. I’m a bit worried about that point.

 AS. It just gets to a point where you say to yourself, “This is just too hard.” Notwithstanding, you’ve got a strong “why” because you’ve been running for years, have you prepared any distraction techniques or mantras, or anything that you might have to deal with if that big hole opens up in the ground in front of you, that you just want to dive into? 

JS. I haven’t really thought this through properly yet, but I definitely need to do this before Sunday because I know there’s going to come a point in the marathon where it starts to get hard. Depending on how well I pace it, there might still be a good 5-10k to go when it starts to feel horrible. I’d imagine it would be useful not to think of it as 26 miles, but to break it into more manageable chunks and try to think of particular points in the course. Tick those off as you pass them, or think okay, “I know my family are going to be at mile whatever.” You know. I just need to run to that point, and then all you need to do is run to the next mile and you just break it up into more manageable chunks. I think of when Dougie ran his 100km races, which is different as it’s’ so much further. It makes the marathon seem quite pathetic. He had all these silly little techniques just to add a bit of variety, and when things were getting a bit monotonous, he would take a different gel. Silly little things like that, just to break it up by thinking, “Oh. In 5k, I can take a gel, and then in another 5k, I’ll see my sister. In another 5k, I’ll see my friends, who I know are going to be there. Just breaking it up into manageable chunks rather than thinking of it as 26 miles because that’s a bit intimidating.

AS.Final question. After London, how are you going to enjoy the rest of summer? 

JS. I don’t know. I haven’t really thought about anything after the marathon. I feel like the marathon is quite all-consuming. So all I’ve really thought about running-wise for the last 12 or 13 weeks has just been this 26-mile race on Sunday. I haven’t thought about anything after that. I’m assuming I’ll feel pretty tired afterwards, so I’d imagine I’ll take a little break. We’re going on holiday the following week to Italy, so I’m going to miss your 5k at Silvernowes,* and I always enjoy that. 

( *The Sri Chinmoy 5km. incorporating the Scottish 5km Road Championships)

I guess I’ll maybe start doing a little bit of running if my body allows when we’re in Italy and see how I feel.

 I wouldn’t be averse to a couple more road races. I think that my body is made for shorter distances.  Even throughout this marathon block, whilst I’ve really enjoyed all of it, every time I do something faster, it just feels so much more natural to me. Even doing little hill strides at the end of a session, I’m like, “Oh, this is the speed my legs are supposed to go at.” I don’t think I’ll do a track season, but I wouldn’t mind doing a few shorter races because it’s more within my comfort zone.

Will there be Meadows relays?

 AS. Yes. We have a July date pencilled in.

AS. I think if you enjoy the day on Sunday, you can start to make some summer plans.

JS. I think Sunday is going to be a good day. There are so many Scottish people going down and all in good shape, it seems. It’ll be good to see how everybody gets on.

AS. Okay, Jenny, all the very best. We’ll be keeping an eye on the screens on Sunday.

 JS Thank you so much.

One senses Jenny has totally embraced the challenge of the marathon and, with Lewis her coach, has passed the first test of getting to the start line in one piece.  Although we did not discuss goals, a PB of 79.24 over the half-marathon distance at Inverness in March gives an idea of potential. One can play “Fantasy Athletics” guessing what that could be.  One hopes, although the distance may be longer, her years of experience racing on the track, will, in a different way, help her pace things well and ensure an enjoyable marathon experience, whatever the time.

 You can read Jenny’s full race history on her Power of Ten page 

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Adrian Tarit Stott.

The author is a former GB 24-hour ultra international with over 100 ultra race completions.  He has also been involved in organising ultra-distance races for over 30 years.  Still an active recreational runner, he is currently a member of UKA’s Ultra Running Advisory Group (URAG) and the Mountain and Trail Advisory Group. He also contributes as part of the selection and team management for both Scottish and GB ultra teams. A freelance writer in his spare time, he contributes articles and reports to several websites and magazines including Athletics Weekly and Irunfar.