Steph Twell and Jo Pavey talk running

Commonwealth 5000m champion Jo Pavey and World Junior 1500m champion Steph Twell are at different ends of their respective careers. All the more interesting then for the pair to come together and have a natter with spikesmag.com about all things running.

Do you have a favourite run?
ST: I love training at home in Farnborough because we have amazing woodlands that spread for miles and miles. When I am at St Mary’s [University College] Bushy Park is a really nice place to be. It’s got deer, it’s got parrots... bit of a contrast!

JP: In this area, Bushy Park is definitely my favourite because the running surfaces are so brilliant. I train in Richmond Park as well, which I absolutely love, but for me the amazing thing about Bushy is that it’s so flat. I can specifically go to Richmond and think, “I need to keep a track of my hill ability”... I’m not that good on hills.

Can you tell us the techniques you use to relax before a big race?
ST: For me it’s maybe getting an afternoon nap while I’m at a championship. I also try to visualise the race – I think that’s a really important skill. I like to listen to music and just carry out my everyday normal life. You’ve just got to do what you do best and that’s: train, eat and sleep. [laughs]

JP: Keeping relaxed is definitely the most important thing. I listen to music and I use the Nike+, which has a power song, which you can choose... at the moment it’s U2’s Vertigo.

Do you ever wake up in the morning and think, “I really don’t fancy that run today”?
ST: No, not really.

JP: No. I think when you’re actually an athlete, you’re taking it very seriously. You don’t really stop to think about whether or not you want to do it, this is what you do.

ST: It’s escapism, isn’t it? You switch off...

JP: Yeah and enjoy it. It’s a time to think when you’re out running and you do look forward to it. Especially when the weather is nice.

ST: I think it’s the appreciation of being in the outdoors all different times of the year. Recently when it was snowing some people might think, “I’m not going out of the front door” while I think we would both have the attitude of wanting to go out and run and see the world in a different light.

JP: When it’s cold I don’t mind running. I find it worse walking about. I went for a walk with my parents at Christmas and I was freezing by the end of it... I couldn’t feel my feet. If you run, you feel good.

ST: Go for a family run...

JP: Yeah, next year we should do that instead.

Was there a moment in your lives when you thought, “running – that’s the sport for me”?
ST: For me, I’d always been competitive at sports days and generally when I turned up to the club, it was the taking part that counted. As I started to work hard in the groups and move myself forward as an athlete, my coach gave me a lot of belief in what I could get out of the sport. The turning point was winning the nationals as a top year under-15 and I was probably the underdog.

JP: When I was really young I did a lot of roller-skating and football. When I went to secondary school my teacher asked me to try running an 800m and she was pleased with what I did. She recommended going to an athletics club and it went from there.

What’s the best piece of advice anyone’s ever given you about anything?
ST: I have two: success is only achieved through hard work, that’s what my coach Mick Woods has taught me. And, there are definitely no shortcuts in athletics. It’s not just about turning up to a session on Tuesday, Thursday, Sunday and the runs in between, it’s the commitment you make with your lifestyle which defines your achievements.

JP: When I was younger I had a coach called Christina Boxer [the 1982 Commonwealth 1500m champion] who I’m still grateful to...

ST: She’s a member of our club...

JP: Oh really... she’s nice Chris... I’d been injured for about two-and-a-half years because I had a knee operation and unfortunately it went wrong – they didn’t do a good job of it. She had a good phrase for a distance runner which was “do what you can do, rather than what you should do”. In doing that, I was able to remain consistent and make the Olympics in Sydney in 2000.

Jo Pavey and Steph Twell were speaking at the launch of Team Selects which is part of BUCS’ and Nike’s campaign to inspire women at university to take up sport. Check out the Here I Am website here.

The BUCS Championships are in Sheffield March 11-15, for more information go to www.thebucschampionships.co.uk.