WORLD MASTERS CHAMPIONSHIPS 2015

WORLD MASTERS CHAMPIONSHIPS – Lyon 2015

BEFOREHAND

2014 was a pretty successful one for me as I had finally broken the 2.40 Marathon barrier at the 11^th attempt (2^nd serious attempt), won the inaugural Barry Buddon Half Marathon, achieved a few other running goals, and although I started 2015 by gaining a marginal 3,000 metres indoor pb in January and had fared reasonably well in Februarys Barcelona Half Marathon I did struggle a bit after this. Possibly running 3 Marathons in 13 months had caught up with me (and even more likely I had subconsciously rested on my laurels a bit) but by the end of February I felt that I needed something to kick start things.

A constant foot problem saw me make the decision in March to withdraw from this year’s London Marathon – a decision that would ordinarily frustrate the life out of me – but by now I had my eye on something a wee bit different that would definitely keep my running mojo up.

The next month I signed up for the World Masters Championships which were being held in Lyon.

I knew that this would be a huge jump in class for me but I also had a wee inkling at the back of my mind that I could do fairly well so after weighing everything up I entered the Half Marathon, although I did decide immediately that I would keep it very quiet.

The reason the discipline I chose to enter was the Half Marathon was pretty simple. I felt that by running track events and/or the Cross Country it would mean that I would get the warmest of the roasting temperatures at that time of the year, and that brought me to the realistic choices of the Marathon or Half Marathon, both events starting at the much cooler time of 7am (field events were a big NO as anyone seeing me attempt a High Jump or Shot Put will testify).

My foot issue probably meant that the Half was always my best option, but I had a look at the entry lists as I did want to give myself the best opportunity of an extremely ambitious medal. By running in the Marathon there would be a decent chance I could be in the top 3 GB finishers (which would put me in line for a team medal if GB were to finish in the Top 3), however realistically on paper my age group did look a bit stronger over the Half Marathon than it did over the full Marathon. To be in contention for that I would have to be in the Top 3 British finishers, not an easy task as I knew the team was strong but it was a judgment call and one I felt was the correct one.

Decision made and race entered, so the next few weeks were all about trying to get back in half decent shape. One thing I believe is my strengths is training solo, and by late July I was feeling a lot fitter and stronger  (although having the Juniors at Kilmarnock jumping in on some of my sessions did keep me on my toes and helped a lot, so thanks guys!).

RACE WEEK

On August 13^th, after watching the mighty Killie playing Celtic at Rugby Park the night before, I drove to Edinburgh at 3am to fly to Brussels, and onwards to Lyon for the Championships. In France I was staying with good friend Colin Feechan of Cambuslang and his wife Beth, and Colin was great as he picked me up at the train station in Lyon which saved my terrible navigation skills being tested early doors.

The next couple of days were spent doing a couple of easy 7am runs with Colin – again important given the fact the race began at that time – and catching up with some sleep. By this time we had also met up with other good friends Chris Upson, Sharyn and Alan Ramage, and Kerry Wilson and we also took in some fantastic athletics action in the couple of days leading up to race day.

Sitting in the stadium watching over 70’s competing was inspiring to say the least, and going down the age groups it was great to see English friend Louise Rudd take gold in her 1500 metres race to complete the double having triumphed in the 800 the previous week. We also bumped into the Finlay sisters Lisa and Sian (Dumfries) and Hill brothers Les and Alan (Dumfries/Springburn), as well as catching up with fellow Scottish athlete Claire Thompson (Victoria Park) so there were plenty of well known faces around.

The day before the race Kerry, Chris and I spent some time doing a bit of sightseeing after the athletics, but after doing a bit of early evening carbo loading it was an early night before the 4.30am rise for the 30 minute commute to the start of the race.

RACE DAY – SUNDAY AUGUST 16^TH 2015

Sleeping like a log we woke up bang on time and Beth, Colin and myself arrived at the course around 6am. Beth had agreed to look after our bags etc so Colin, Chris and myself went for an easy warm up and we then headed for the start line along with the thousand or so other athletes from around the world.

Lyon was a fantastic experience, although the one big disappointment for me was the start of the race. Being a World Championship Race I expected us to be lined up in a decent order with a bit of self policing by the very experienced athletes themselves. When the race started however, a number of us spent the first half mile or so weaving through traffic and with one or two people seeming to walk/jog at the start (having lined up near the start line) I found it particularly annoying to say the least. Never mind, we were on our way.

My pre race tactics included not looking at my watch as I knew that there was nothing much to be gained in doing this in a Championship Race. I also knew that although the course profile was extremely flat, the number of sharp turns would mean that there were a number of places where we had to slow down although this did have its advantages as well.

Feeling fine on the first of the 2 lap course (as you usually do at this point), I tried to check roughly where I was in relation to the race where possible and around 4-5 miles I tried to count on one of the U-turns the British guys ahead of me. I reckoned at this point there were about 8 GB vests in front although with the Marathon and Half Marathon taking place at the same time I also knew that at least one of those guys was doing the full distance. Kerry Wilson was one of these guys and was running extremely well at this stage, so it was great to give him a roar of encouragement. I also took the opportunity to give a shout out to Colin, Chris, Lisa and all the GB athletes who were just behind me so all was good so far.

The advantage of the 7am start was that the 41 degree heat that some athletes had experienced in earlier events was never an issue, although the humidity did mean I was sweating more than I would like. No real problem though and by halfway I was still feeling fine.

One good thing about the setup of the course being around a park was that it was extremely spectator friendly and we were extremely appreciative of Beth, Sharyn and Alan who had picked out a spot where we seemed to pass numerous times. The on course support from everyone was fantastic, but as well as the cheers, the assistance leading up to the event from the Feechan’s and Ramage’s (who between them had been to a number of these Championships) was out of this world. Without it I would have struggled to have done a number of things I needed to do in the lead up so a massive thanks have to go to them all.

With around 3/4 of the race gone I was thankful that we had worked out the Marathoners were wearing red numbers, as every time I passed/was passed I knew if they were in the same event. Age group categories were also on the numbers so I tried to keep tabs of where we were in the standings although to be honest a lot of it was guesswork.

At 11 miles a GB runner in my age group passed me and as I knew I was running okay myself I worked out that the team was definitely in line for a medal at this point. I also knew that by being overtaken it did mean that if another pair of GB athletes in our category were up ahead then this put me out of a medal myself. I had no idea the age groups of those ahead but reckoned I was around 8^th Brit overall so I pushed as hard as my legs/lungs would allow me to as it was overall times that counted and not places, and every second counted.

Coming into the stadium, the clock ticked a bit over 1 hour 18 minutes, around 3 minutes outside of my pb for the Half Marathon but as I said earlier this didn’t overly worry me as the course wasn’t the quickest, I generally felt I had ran okay, and for my debut in a GB Masters vest I was overall pretty pleased with the way things had went.

Coming home just behind was Colin (who added a Team medal to the one he had already won in the Cross Country race……..boom!), Chris, and Lisa Finlay who not only finished 3^rd overall but was crowned World Champion in her age group. She also was part of a winning GB Team that included sister Sian so a fantastic achievement for the family.

POST RACE

Eventually sourcing the results, I found out that I was 83^rd overall and 8^th Brit athlete. I also discovered-as suspected-that 3 Brits in my age group were ahead of me so my pre race target of a medal was over. The Team did get into the medals though so that was great and also gives me huge motivation for next time as I now know that I can hopefully  compete at this level as long as I say fit and healthy. Damn those 22 seconds!

Doing a cool down afterwards we then took in the last part of the Marathon (who were doing 4 laps). I also mentioned earlier that the course double backed on itself a number of times so Chris and I spent a mile or two cheering on Kerry who was doing brilliantly.

At 24 miles Kerry actually took the overall lead in the race, and although he did slow down a bit in the end it was great to see him finish with an individual bronze medal. He also teamed up with fellow Scot Grant Ramsay and Paul Cheetham for Team Silver. Like myself, Kerry kept the fact he was doing the race low key so it was great to see him come through on the day as he’s one of the hardest training athletes I know.

Labours over for the day it was back to the apartment, a quick cheerio to Beth and Colin (who were leaving the day before me), and a couple of refreshments. The night was spent having dinner with Kerry and Paul so a great few days were had by all it seems.

In summary, although personally disappointed not to get a medal, I did go close so that gives me heart. A few of my friends did however and that also gives me a huge boost.

Special mentions to all 38 Scottish athletes who took part, including like myself  fellow debutant Clare Barr of Motherwell  AC.

A really great event, one I hope to do again soon, and I would encourage anyone age 35 and over to consider it as well.

Scott Martin (23/8/15)