Q Running – anyone can do that, right?
A Oh yes, definitely. All you need to do is put your shoes on, leave the house – and off you go.
Q What kind of personality makes for the best runners?
A If you are talking about those people who just want to go out and enjoy running, anyone can do it. But if you’ve got aspirations to be good, you need to be hard-working, determined and you need to run consistently on a regular basis.
Q How do I pick which type of running to take up?
A My advice would be to go out and try every distance. That way your event will find you. We all fall into an event because that’s the one we're best at, the one we enjoy. When I was young I wanted to play football for Liverpool. But I knew that was not going to happen; I was good at running. I started out in cross-country and found my way into middle- and long-distance running.
Q What’s the toughest form of running?
A I found the 10,000m on the track to be the hardest. The concentration and patience that is needed, as well as coping with the high-level fatigue, make it a tough event. However, the 400m is also a tough event because of the amount of training and the amount of lactate the athletes have to tolerate.
Q How much will it cost to buy the kit I’ll need?
A You can get a decent pair of running shoes, the most important bit of kit, for around £50. When I was competing it used to cost about £50 for a decent pair of trainers, and somehow they’ve never gone up in price. Including shorts, T-shirts, running tights, warm-weather kit, it will probably total around £200-£300.
Q What’s the best way to pick a running club?
A Go down to your local club and see if you like the people there and whether they cater for your needs. You’ll also need a good coach, someone to give you direction – and most clubs normally have that.
Q How do the training plans vary between sprints, middle-distance and long-distance?
A Sprinting is a lot more technical and you need to include other training elements to enhance your ability: bounding, movement skills, hurdle drills, etc. Sprint training also involves longer recoveries during training sessions, whereas in distance running you do a lot more work with very short recoveries.
Q Can you learn much from watching the top runners?
A That’s something we advocate strongly in our programme: watch and observe. You really pick things up and can adapt them into your programme. It is very, very important.
Q What kind of diet should I be on?
A How you fuel your body is key. Sprinters have to concentrate on carbohydrates and protein whereas distance runners tend to refuel with carbohydrates.
Q Is there any sort of training I should be doing away from the road/track?
A It is important to concentrate on your movement skills, plyometrics [stretching] and conditioning. But I would seek advice before trying these elements. I wouldn’t jump into it. If you don’t know what you are doing it could lead to injury.
Q What’s the best piece of running advice you’ve ever been given and who gave it to you?
A It was from my dad, who was also my coach. He said: “Don’t let the gaps appear… [that way] you’ve less chance of losing.”