TRACK & FIELD
Dullstroom has become a favourite winter training venue for European athletes .
MA : I saw from your World Athletics records that both of you ran your 1500m personal bests in August last year , only about three weeks apart , and both in Switzerland . So , do you think that you are bringing that good form into the 2024 season ?
GM : I think we made good progress last year , but I don ’ t think either of us got to the level that we wanted . I had a pretty good back end of the season , coming fourth in the Zurich Diamond League and third in the Diamond League final in Eugene . And Tom was in the semi-final at the World Champs , but I think we both felt that there was much more we could improve on . Coming back into training this October , and especially the months we ’ ve been here in South Africa , we ’ ve been really pushing the frequency of training , and also the volume . So , yeah , I think we ’ re really trying to make the next step , so that we can really compete on that stage , but in all honesty , we ’ re just head down , working hard , and then we ’ ll see what happens .
MA : Tom , you want to add anything there ?
TE : No , that ’ s pretty much it . Since we came to Dullstroom , we have trained more than ever before in volume , with more intensity in everything . I think we can now look back on the biggest months of training in our lives ! We ’ ll go back for the indoor season , and I hope we get some good results , but that ’ s obviously not the main goal . We ’ ll just try to have a good few races indoors , to test the shape and fitness , and then we go straight back at it and try to put in another three months as we just did , and I think then it will show how well we will respond to this type of training .
MA : Do you do mostly road work while here , or do you manage to get some
track work in as well ?
GM : So we do a bit of both . There ’ s a couple of nice dirt roads around Dullstroom on which we do most of our easy running , and then there ’ s a track in Ermelo , which is about 150km away , that we ’ ve been going to once a week . Then we have some work on the roads , treadmill , gym , that sort of thing , so there ’ s variety to it .
MA : I watched the video you guys made about your trip to Cape Town , where you met up with and ran with some local athletes . Tom , you made a comment in the vid about wanting to organise more of these runs around the world , and suggested viewers send in suggestions and an invite , preferably in cities as beautiful as Cape Town . So , I take it you enjoyed the trip ?
TE : Oh , it was lovely . We really enjoyed Cape Town , and the energy there was just so good and relaxing . Coming in off a very mundane seven weeks of isolation , it felt like we had lost touch with society , and then coming to place like Cape Town , around Christmas and New Year , was amazing . Everyone was in a good mood , the weather was obviously amazing , the food was brilliant .
GM : It was amazing , and the people were lovely . We met some athletes who really helped us with using the facilities , and that was really helpful for us to do the training that we needed to do . It ’ s probably one of my favourite cities – I could actually picture myself living there . OK , the wind was ridiculous – sometimes we couldn ’ t even open the car door - but we got lucky with the track workouts , when it wasn ’ t actually too windy .
MA : I also saw in the video that you spoke about a sensory overload when you got to the airport . Is that literally the ‘ loneliness of the long distance runner ’ for you guys ?
GM : Pretty much , yes . I mean , in Dulllstroom , we just see the treadmill room , the gym , and then the one or two dirt roads that we always run on . And then me and Tom see each other in the house , and the other lad , Sebi , and that ’ s pretty much it . But I think the peaceful lifestyle is really good for the focused training environment . Not that we get distracted , but you don ’ t have extra things to be doing or think about , so you can really nail the basics of training .
MA : So , I have to ask , since you compete in the same events , but you ’ re also training partners … Is this a case of being both friends and rivals ?
TE : Actually , we ’ ve never managed to race against each other for real , so we almost can ’ t answer this question . No , I think no matter what , it ’ s just like we are friends and mates , and also teammates . So , I don ’ t really see this as any kind of rivalry .
GM : When Tom has beaten me in a race , I don ’ t even think of it . We go for dinner after , and it ’ s more like a training session , where somebody ’ s had a better workout than the other person . It ’ s never a problem . That ’ s with most of the OAC team , actually , and it ’ s nice that that ’ s the case with almost everyone , because I think it really helps to have a healthy training environment .
MA : George , British middle distance running has posted some great results at recent World Champs , and I would assume that this must be quite inspirational for you ?
GM : Yeah , I think it ’ s a good time to be in the sport , and if you ’ re going to make a team and qualify for the Olympics or World Champs in the 1500 for Great Britain , you should be making a final and competing in that final for a medal – and I think it really pushes you to get the most out of yourself day in , day out . It almost forces you to have that religious approach to training , and that works for me , as I think that ’ s fun .
Tom , I ’ ve seen Swiss sprinters doing quite well in recent times , but I don ’ t know much about middle distance running from your country . As a Swiss Champion now for five years running , what are your feelings about Swiss middle distance running at the moment ?
TE : Athletics actually got quite a popular in Switzerland in the last eight to 10 years , as we had great success in the sprint distances , but on the longer running events , I think individual runners are enjoying success . They don ’ t have so much in common , so it ’ s more like a coincidence than actually a system that is developed in Switzerland . I almost think that the Swiss running scene is a little bit behind , so if they get the right tools and the right training programmes , I feel that Switzerland could have quite a few more good distance runners in the future . I already feel like some individuals are experimenting with the type of training we do , but endurance training in general is not something you get good at overnight , so maybe you will see the results in three to five years ’ time .
MA : I would imagine that the support you ’ re getting from ON must really be helping in a big way , not just in training and competition opportunities , but also in terms of gear ?
GM : Yeah , on the footwear , they have everything . We have everyday training shoes , there ’ s a road racing shoe , and then they have variations of spikes , which
64 ISSUE 166 | www . modernathlete . co . za