Motorbike star James Toseland talks athletics

Top British Moto GP rider and former World Superbike champion James Toseland is also a massively keen runner. The Doncaster-born motorbike ace talks about painful treadmill runs, his admiration for Linford Christie and why he might make his marathon debut this autumn.

How much emphasis do you put on running as part of your fitness training for Moto GP?
JT: I run for general fitness because for my job cardio-vascular fitness is important and it is something I genuinely enjoy doing. I’ve always enjoyed running since I was a kid and it helps that I enjoying it because it can be hard work, especially training at a high level.

Did you compete much at athletics when you were younger?
JT: Oh yes, school competitions. As soon as I left school I was a professional motor cyclist and competing in World Championships, so I never took up athletics or running seriously but I did cross country and I was always pretty competitive at sports days.

What is the biggest thing you ever won at school?
JT: I was more of a sprinter and I never lost a race at the 100m at junior school. I was quite fast off the mark. I was a sub-12 second guy.

How useful is the running to meeting the demands of Moto GP?
JT: For general fitness it is important. Riding a motorbike is really physical, especially in hot countries like Malaysia where you need really good fitness and because I enjoy it I do run long distances for endurance training.

How much running would you do as part of your weekly fitness regime?
JT: In the off-season in the winter I’m forced indoors onto the treadmill but I try and mix it up. I have a challenge on the treadmill of running ten miles in an hour. I’d not normally be in the bike for more than 50 minutes, so I try and train just over that at 60 minutes. In the off-season I’d do at least 40-50km a week, I’d be training almost every day.

Have you ever been tempted to compete in the odd out-of-season road race event?
JT: Yes, I was hoping to run the London Marathon this year but it has been put back a couple of weeks and it clashes with my first race at the beginning of April. I would hope to sustain 13 or 14km an hour for the marathon. I haven’t really worked out the time but I would hope to run under three hours. I’ll maybe run the New York Marathon in November because it is the end of the season. I’m hoping to run it with the World Touring car champion Andy Priaulx.

Do you have a favourite running destination?
JT: When I’m away I like to run on the beach with the sun beating down on me. I like running at Phillip Island in Australia. I’ve been going their for 12 years and I still enjoying running on the beach.

Are you one of the better runners among the Moto GP riders?
JT: Possibly. But I’m at an advantage because I’ve had some injuries on my legs but not as bad as the other guys. I’ve only got two screws in each ankle!

Are you a keen follower of track and field?
JT: Yes, I’m a keen follower of athletics, especially the Olympics in Beijing on TV. I don’t get the time to watch it live because it clashes with the Moto GP season.

Do you a favourite athletics performer?
JT: I’m a big fan of Christine Ohuruogu. I did BBC Question of Sport with her and she seems like a really nice girl. I watch her a lot.

Did you have an athletics hero as a youngster?
JT: Oh yes, it has got to be Linford Christie. He was the big name and Colin Jackson, both these guys were important to me, although I was a bit too young to remember the likes of Daley Thompson.

Would you swap life as Moto GP rider for that of a track and field athlete?
JT: I was okay, I was good but I don’t think I was talented enough to think about a career in running. It was only because I started my career so early it really ruled out anything else. When you start a professional career at 15/16 years old you have got to be committed from age 12 or 13 to reach that level. And because of the dedication I put in I couldn’t really concentrate on anything else.

***Read about how James Toseland and seven other sports stars have used athletics to reach the top in our latest issue of SPIKES magazine.