NEW LEVELS COACH MATT LONG GOES THE EXTRA MILE:
Several recent podcasts have touched on the work of our growing trail and ultra running contingent. There are lessons to be learned from just a couple we’ve picked out from Episodes 23 with Tom Evans (https://www.newlevelscoaching.co.uk/captivate-podcast/episode-23-tom-evans- 2024-race-plan-inc-utmb/) and more recently Episode 33 with James Tilley (https://www.newlevelscoaching.co.uk/captivate-podcast/episode-33-james-tilley- athlete-special-occ-by-utmb/). The above two podcasts leave us with seven lessons:
Lesson 1: Know your strengths
Are you trying to achieve splits on the road when you may be ignoring your strengths which could lie off it? According to 2hr21 min marathon runner James, “It made more sense for me to turn to the trails rather than race against people who’ve been doing 400m reps on a track since they were 10 years old”.
Lesson 2: Embrace running to feel
Can you embrace running to feel and abandon the pursuit of the stopwatch split? A UTS winner in Snowdonia who represented Team GB in the European mountain running championships earlier this year, James conveys that, “It’s been really nice to run the trails because those 10 mile tempos every week are brutal. It’s just a lot more fun to do a study 3 hour run on trails”.
Lesson 3:
Build the Aerobic Base Are you prepared to put in the mileage required for those long trail and mountain races? Tom, who represented Team GB at the World Cross Country Championships earlier this year in Belgrade maintains that, “Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard. It’s so true in ultra running” before adding that, “Muscular conditioning under fatigue is really important”.
Lesson 4: Train not Strain
Tom maintains that, “My first rep for every session is always my slowest one. If you have a session where its 8-10 reps you don’t always have to do the 10. You can cut it. Less can be more. People always want to do the maximum amount. I flip it on its head and think what’s the minimum I can do to achieve a result. It’s not being lazy it’s just reducing risk. If you were at work you wouldn’t add things to a spreadsheet or to do list if your boss didn’t need it”.
Lesson 5: Plan the Strategy Ahead
Tom who placed a fantastic 3rd in Le Marathon Des Sables 2017 discloses that, “I don’t like surprises. I don’t like the unknown. In an ultra-race there are very few things you can control. You can go too far in trying to control things but you need to have the ability to make the snap decisions that matter when it matters. When it happens deal with it. The uncontrollable almost becomes the controllable”, before adding a cautionary note that, “The race isn’t won in the first half of the race but it can be lost if you go too hard”. In terms of the specifics of his own tactical approach, Tom wisely notes that, “There is a limiting factor on going too hard on the downhills and ruining your quads meaning you are limited when approaching the uphills”.
Lesson 6: Rest and Regenerate
Tom, who ran for Team GB at the 2020 World Half Marathon Championships in Poland stresses the importance of the taper phase of the periodisation cycle and reveals that, “For at least 2 days going in to an ultra I will make sure I do less than 10,00 steps a day including my runs. You want to be horizontal for as long as you can, don’t undo things in the last 24-48 hours”. In terms of deloading post event, Tom discloses that he took a 3 week break from running for his honeymoon in late 2022 and adds that, “You can train for years and years and years. You don’t lose it overnight. You may feel sluggish. Yes you might put on a bit of weight but you have a ceiling of your performance and it’s so hard to maintain that ceiling all the time. You need to go up and down. Consistency isn’t measured in days or weeks or months, it’s measured in years”.
Lesson 7: Keep a sense of perspective
Tom won the Western States Endurance Run back in June 2023 and counsels that, “If you are nervous then sit down with your coach and think about why it is. People tend to be more nervous because they are worried about failure. On Monday you go back to work and life goes on. So many people set the wrong goals that they become so unachievable. I write down in first week of January every year what I want to achieve and put it in an envelope. But if you achieve one goal you are never satisfied and your goal posts tend to change straight away. So don’t let the wins go to your head or the losses go to your heart. Slowly plugging away means you can get there. You come back next year with the fire burning a little more”.
Matt Long has coached three athletes to become world champions and has team staffed for his country on 22 occasions.