Tomorrow, October 4, 20 men and women will storm the paths of London’s St James’ Park in the most unprecedented marathon event in British history.
The London Marathon usually takes place in April but with the Covid-led lockdown impacted all sporting events across the UK and beyond, the event was unsurprisingly cancelled. The postponement of the event understandably frustrated elite athletes and recreational participants alike. Having such a monumental event to focus on is usually the motivator for putting in the hard work and miles during long period of training. Big city marathons are more than that though, they are cultural icons, opportunities for tens of thousands of people to be part of a community, and share an experience, London is often viewed as the Mecca of marathon running events.
With such a reputation, it would have been unwise for the London Marathon organisors to not try and salvage something for this year. However, the limitations on numbers for gatherings have remained, meaning that mass participation events are simply unpractical and unsafe. In a surprising move, the London Marathon team decided to go ahead with the elite race, and keep this organised for the original-delayed date of October 4. Unlike the usual elite race, this will be held in an enclosed biosphere, within St James’ Park. This means that marathon fans across the world, will still be able to watch online and form their television, but they will not be able to witness the action life.
All in all, being able to put this together under the unprecedented circumstance is nothing short of miraculous.
For the athletes taking part, this event will provide a unique and original challenge for them. A multi lap marathon race! There does not seem like much could be any more unique and daunting challenges in this marathon, but imagine if this was your debut! That is the case for a young elite distance runner from Britain, Josh Lunn. I wanted to get an understanding of how he feels about this race.
Tell me a bit about your background, how long have you been running, what distances do you specialize in, and have you competed in any noteworthy races?
I started running when I was roughly 14 after a few races with my school. I joined the local club, Nene Valley Harriers training normally twice a week. I had a few breaks in my later teenage years and then started running a bit more seriously when I was 21 and built from there.
I’ve never been someone who has a lot of natural speed so always struggled with 1500 and below. I mainly ran over 5000 and steeple chase when I was younger but over the last few years I seem to have found that I’m much better suited over the road. Probably my HM is my best event where I came 15th at the Great North last year (5th Brit).
In theory, this is your “full” marathon debut, how does this feel?
This is technically my 3rd marathon build up now, last year I made my debut at Frankfurt but had some nutrition issues and was sick after 25km. I had a good build up for in Spring for London so I was disappointed I couldn’t race. In truth, I struggled for motivation after that so I had a few week off/jogged minimal amounts. But I’m definitely in the best shape now for the race, obviously I’m a bit nervous of the distance at pace but my sessions have been going well.
What has the transition from Half Marathon training to full training been like?
I think when I built up for Frankfurt I was probably in better HM shape than full marathon. This block I’ve changed a few things and I’m actually running slightly less than I was last year/beginning of this year and slower on my easy runs. My sessions though are really ramping up now. 2 sessions a week is half my mileage currently so it’s a bit of a change but the easy days are definitely easier!
What are you aiming for from tomorrow?
My main aim to be honest is to finish and feel strong. If I can run fast as well, that would be a bonus - but I’ll be aiming to go through in 68 mins and then if I can pick up from that it would be great.
Has the pandemic and lockdown impacted your training in any ways?
Definitely things have changed for me. At first it was all about my motivation, or lack of. I really struggled to go for runs when I had no target but as soon as I had a bit of confidence with London that all changed. For me personally, it’s been a better environment with lockdown as I’m not working from home so I have less travel time to the office meaning I can get more sleep and recovery.
What advice would you give to any athletes who are trying to return to sport post-lockdown?
Give yourself a target. If you give yourself a target you’ll have some ownership on yourself to achieve it.
What are your future plans post-marathon?
At the minute I’m planning on a shorter track season next year as London has been moved from April again and then I’ll aim to run London next year in October.
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