Road to Berlin for Jo Murphy 

Being selected for a World Championships

AS You qualified for the World 100km Championships in Berlin by winning the trial race at Perth in the A standard. Was that race in line with expectations or exceeded expectations?

JoM It exceeded them. I had a team standard from my run in Ireland in August 2021, but felt it would be good to go for the A standard again of 7Hrs 55 min  if all went well at Perth.

You set your A, B and  C  standards for a race as usual. My training had gone really well in the 3 months leading up to Perth and I knew if I paced it well it was achievable, all other things considered too.

 AS How did it feel to have your selection for the GB team for the world 100km championships in Berlin confirmed?

JoM Unreal really. Like being picked for Scotland, you have a dream that it might happen, and when it does it just an amazing feeling knowing all the work has paid off. During the pandemic I was selected for two of the IAU virtual 6 hour runs, but to now actually going to represent GB in a REAL world champs is unreal.

Building up to the World 100k Championships.

AS Since Perth. has your training gone well and have you changed anything?

JoM I had a little break after Perth as I had had almost a year of working hard building up to the Anglo Celtic Plate in Ireland last August, then following that up with the Gloucester 24 hr in late October. After a wee break it was then straight into building up to April and ACP again in Perth.

I felt I needed a little down time. Since June I have been back in a good routine .

I haven’t really changed much. I  feel with the base I have built over the last 2-3 years I didn’t need to do big mileage again in this block, but just aim to get in the key sessions. The last month I have been able to get back to similar sessions to my build up to Perth, so I feel I am in a good place.

Looking ahead to the race in Berlin

AS Looking specifically towards Berlin have you been looking at any factors?

JoM Well we know it is going to be hot in Berlin so I have been trying to get out in the heat when I can. The Berlin course also is a longer loop of 7.5 km, longer than other 100k’s I have done, so I have been practicing on a 4 mile loop to mentally prepare for that. Also working on whether I can rely on getting enough fuel at the start and finish of each lap or whether, on occasions, I may need to take a small soft bottle with me etc. You just look at the course and possible conditions and try not to leave anything to chance.

Being involved with Teamhour7 has been really useful as they have been able to help with some additional nutrition advice and other things. I was part of the training camp they held in Italy recently and it was really good to just have a 10 days training hard but being able to spend time recovering too.

AS In a World Championship how do you balance individual goals against team goals?

JoM Well I would obviously love to run a PB again, but know that championship running, especially in warmer conditions, is totally different.

I feel it’s such a privilege to run for your country. We have a strong team too, capable of doing well so you are aware of balancing those things but, if we all run sensibly and to our potential on the day, we will be mixing it with the other countries for team medals.

“Just running my own race”

AS Much hs been made of how strong a race Perth was with 3 women going under 8 hours and Amy just missing that by a few seconds. Berlin promises to have many more runners capable of going considerably under 8 hrs. How do you feel about that?

JoM To be honest I haven’t really looked at the entry list. I like to run my own race  and be in my own head space if that makes sense, and am happy not to get caught up racing other people too early. It has served me well in previous events to allow me to be strong later in a race.

In a 100k you need to be able to adjust pace to how you’re feeling, being prepared to ease back a bit to just get you through a bad patch or push on in the last third of a race when you know things are flowing well and feeling strong.

 I could run a pb and finish 15th or 20th but would still be happy.

Advice for anyone wanting to try a road 100km

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?

JM At the sharp end 100k is definitely more suited to those with a solid marathon training background wanting to move up. That’s not to say those with a trail or mountain background can’t do well too.

The training for a road 100k is pretty intense and more geared to running at a good tempo for a few hours rather than the different  paces required for more technical terrain.

Looking beyond Berlin

AS Looking beyond Berlin what does the future hold for Jo Murphy?

JM I don’t just want be seen as being  in a little niche as a 100k runner, there are so many opportunities out there. Having achieved the qualifying standard for the GB 24 hr team I am  really tempted  to see what I could achieve at the longer events. I have a little itch to deal with maybe nailing a good 100 mile time too, so the focus could switch to that looking towards 2023  after the dust has settled on Perth. I still love running and training in the hills too, so haven’t ruled out doing the odd trail race going forward.

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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