K42 2010

OK, I have had a few days now to lick my wounds, mend my ego and to assess what went wrong during the K42.


Last weekend Gran Canaria held the first race in the K42 Mountain Marathon World Series. After winning this race in 2009 I was the pre-race favourite to win again this year and to go on to represent Gran Canaria in the final in Argentina. However things did not quite go to plan.

After having a bad race I am often the first one to start making excuses for myself! And this is something I could easily do now.

Photo: Alberto Cardona

However I am not going to do this, instead I am going to list the things which went well and the things which went wrong. Hopefully this will let me see what changes I need to make in my race preparation and execution.

Things which went well

My build up to the race I felt had gone well, and I was definitely in a lot better shape for this year’s race. I had gained a lot of valuable experience in marathon running this past year and I was feeling confident to repeat my victory again in 2010. However I did spot some weaknesses during the race that would suggest that I need to readdress several aspects of my training.

I also felt like I got off to a good start in the race, I often start off quickly in races such as this, putting the pressure on my competitors early on. I have considered since Saturday that this may have let me down during the race, however I on reflection I think other factors had a far greater influence on the outcome of the race.

Things which did not go well

My footwear. I suffered blisters very early on in the race.

Water intake, even though it was not a very hot day I did not drink any way near enough water during the race. I think I could have taken at least twice as much fluid onboard during the race.

My up-hill running. I often pride myself on my ability to run up hills very fast, however this was missing during Saturday’s race and I in fact often found myself walking up the steepest hills.

My down-hill running. After last year’s race I realised that my downhill running needed to improve and I have spent a lot of training sessions practising this, however it did not pay off on Saturday, and I lost lots of time on the downhill sections.

Things to change

I am adamant that I want to compete in the final of the K42 in Argentina again this year. My only opportunity to qualify now is in the Sahara in September. Before this year I have many important factors that I need improve. Apart from the things I mentioned above that I need to change I think I need to go back to basics. Since last year’s K42 I have focused mostly on mountain running training, and I have abandoned my track/ road running background, I feel this has had a negative effect on my speed. I need to go back to basics! I need to strip my training down and follow a more traditional ‘athletics’ training schedule with some specific mountain running training incorporated into it. I will keep certain things like my weekend long mountain runs however I will reintroduce my weekly track training and I will also start going to the gym to try to improve my downhill running and to help with injury prevention.