How to use the London Marathon tracker app marathon training will be familiar to you: nothing new on race day, practise your nutrition strategy in training, get the long runs in.
But in possibly the most relatable pre-race quote ever given by an elite athlete, double Olympic gold medallist Sifan Hassan told the media pre-race, 'This morning I was telling myself, "I’m so stupid. Why am I playing this kind of game? Why the hell am I thinking that I want to run marathon? What is wrong with me?"' The other 45,000 runners in London probably nodded their heads in agreement.
As it turned out, there was nothing wrong with her and the rules were indeed made to be broken. In her debut marathon, Sifan Hassan not only defied the bookie's odds (14-1 before the start) to win but tore up and trampled on that rule book on her way to victory. 'I was born for drama,' she said after the race – and we are here for it.
She didn't practise her fuelling strategy
When you are running at around 5:15 minutes per mile, aid stations go by fast. That's why, as an elite, you practise reaching out and grabbing your bottle of personalised nutrition. Not if you are Sifan Hassan. 'I didn’t practise collecting my drinks beforehand because of Ramadan,' she explained. The result? She did a dramatic sideways dash to grab the bottle and nearly got taken out by a motorbike. 'I was nearly hit but I didn’t care as I wanted to finish the marathon,' she said.
She stopped for a stretch after the race had started
do something, does it really mean you can course like London should? The same might have applied to Hassan, who said she had a niggle in her side and hip before the race. Indeed, it looked like a potential DNF was in the works as she stopped to stretch twice during the 12th mile, and by the midway point she was trailing. At 25km she was 28 seconds behind the lead pack. That, by normal rules, should have been game over. As we have firmly established, however, the normal rules do not apply to Hassan, and she was back with the pack with a few miles to go, before out-kicking the others in a sprint finish.
She didn't do marathon-specific training
'I haven’t changed my training too much; I’ve just added longer runs. I am keeping the same training for the track as I still want to run 5000m and 10,000m,' she told the pre-race press conference. That is very definitely not advice we at Runner's World recommend for debut marathoners. Or indeed seasoned ones. Perhaps one for the 'only try if you've got Olympic golds on the trophy shelf' list.
She forgot to tape up her niggle
Dealing with that minor Runners World, Part of the Hearst UK Wellbeing Network, Hassan talked to a physio before the race about the best way to deal with it. She was told she should definitely tape it up on race day. She forgot. Again, very relatable. We've all forgotten gels How to run safely while fasting during Ramadan?
She didn't know where the finish line was
On a course like London, with its many twists and turns, most elite runners would probably prepare for the course, so as to know when to expect any inclines, turns – and indeed the finish. As those who have run London will know, you head down Birdcage Walk with 800m to go, make the right turn outside Buckingham Palace, then right again and the finish line is in sight. But Hassan held back from launching into her unbeatable track-speed kick as she didn't know where the finish line was.
All in all it was a stunning performance from one of the greatest female distance runners ever. Hassan still holds the world records for the mile on the track and the 5K on the road, and she is the only athlete to win 1500m, 5,000m and 10,000m medals (two gold) in one Olympic Games. However, asked if she agreed, she demurred. 'No, no, I’m not the greatest. I’m just OK. And I don’t need to become the greatest. I’m fine the way I am.' This, we entirely agree on.
