Personal Best's

800m - 1.53.01

1500m - 3.41.04

Mile - 4.01.23

3,000m - 7.50.95

5,000m - 13.24.60

5k Road - 13.46

10k Road - 28.02

You won the European Junior 5k in 2003 beating fellow British athlete Mo Farah to the Gold medal, what do you remember of that race?

{Laughs} I can't believe how long ago that race was! It feels like a lifetime ago, it was definitely a massive highlight in my career. I went into the race with a personal best faster than anyone else in the field by (around 15secs I believe). I had run 13m34s that season so I felt confident but also like I had huge expectations on myself. I particularly remember Tim Benjamin saying every time I saw him that week "So you're here to pick up your gold medal then?" Mo was coming back from injury in the winter so it wasn't clear how his fitness was, Even he wasn't sure!

The race itself was weird. I never really felt great the whole race and left a guy (I forget his name) to take an early lead of around 40/50 meters. Mainly because he had won the 10k earlier in the week, so I figured he would be tired and not maintain the pace he was running at (around 13m50 pace). The rest of the group gradually caught him up, before Mo and I kept pushing at the front until Mo broke away from me with two laps to go. At this point I was not confident or feeling like I had much to come back at him. With 400m to go he was around 40 metres ahead and I had given up on him to be honest. I also felt like there was a group of guys breathing down my neck. I still remember what went through my head that moment as I heard the bell 'Come on Thommo don't throw away getting any medal at all'. So I put my head down and tried to push with what I had to 200m to go and then deal with the rest of the lap from there. As it turned out the breathing behind me went and I looked up to see Mo had come back to me ever so slightly, I then started looking at him and ignoring what was behind me. My confidence and speed grew as I closed him down, catching him only metres before the line. I think my time was 13m58 to win. To this day I still feel like I didn't deserve the win as Mo ran the gutsier race. Immediately after I actually felt bad I had nipped him on the line. But I think since then he has made up for it ten times over. It was an awesome feeling in the end and finally standing on the podium in first place and was something I never thought I'd get to do at that level of competition. Mo and I often joked about being on the podium together, until we did it that day. I hope one day I can join him there again.

Since that race you seem to have suffered a lot with injuries?

It's been one long nightmare to be honest. In December 2004 I developed a stress response in my shin. After a lot of complications and re-injuries, making a very long story short, I started running again in December 2005/jan 2006, after having a very severe medical drug to help with my problems in my shin. That year (2005) on the sidelines brought with it a lot of weakness to develop all over my body due to being unable to run. Try as we might to build my body up again slowly, to be strong enough to just train, let alone race, was a massive challenge. The reason it was so hard was because I would run so fast so quickly it was hard to hold back. I mean try telling an athlete to race at 90% effort every time, It's just not in our instinct. I would run for a period of time then different injuries would pop up. I've had a torn calf, torn Achilles, knee cartilage irritation, knee cap movement issues, torn back muscle, a quad injury which I was out for 2 months with (we are still not sure what that was, but it's gone now so happy days) plus other small issues which just eat into your progression. It's been so frustration as I would miss massive chunks of the winter, hence why I rarely get to race x-country these days. However I'd get a months training done, come out on the track and run ok. But always below where we felt we could be with a bit of consistency. That's all behind me now as I have managed to put a year uninterrupted for the first time in nearly 5 years. With a lot of patience and help form so many people I have finally been able to get strong enough to train. I hope to put everything that's gone before behind me now!

Some say you are potentially UK's best athlete, do you ever feel pressure being such a talent?

That's a massive complement and I am extremely flattered. The thought of being able to compete with Mo again would be awesome, but to be honest I feel I have such a long way to go. There are a number of athletes coming through who I believe have an equal amount of talent (Andy Vernon especially as a 5k/10k runner). Hopefully one of us can break through and join Mo at the heights he is achieving. As far as pressure goes, being the best in the UK has never been a major concern of mine. I love to compete and I really love to run for my country. I like the thought of my fellow countrymen and I trying to beat the best in Europe and the World. I see the challenge is for us all as a team to try and win medals. If I can't then I hope someone else in the team will.

Have you got over your injury problems now or is it more a case of just keeping on top of them?

It's been a year and counting without any problems. Anytime someone asked me how things are going I developed a bad habit of talking injuries, which just attracts bad thoughts and a poor mind set in general. I would keep saying to people "Just give me time and consistency" and people would laugh at me thinking I'm talking crap due the fact I could race ok, meaning things can't be that bad. This would frustrate me but there's no point in trying to convince anyone verbally because that is not sport and that's not me. I would always leave my response to my racing but I felt frustrated that it was never quite good enough. Finally I feel like I'm getting the consistency and can put that line of conversation behind me. So when people ask "How's it going" ill be able to say "Great thanks", I got stuck in a rut and finally I feel like I'm out of it.  

Is it true you would go on the bike to make up miles and just do the sessions in a weeks training?

No that's never been true. I had periods of time when I have purely aqua jogged or purely x-trained. But never mixed and matched with running. It would have been a good idea at times. Also could be something for the future!

You took a bit of stick from the Euro Cross last winter (being selected), how did you feel about that?

That was one of the worst experiences of my running career. I was devastated to be honest, I have always wanted to get along with people in this sport and for most of my running career I have felt like I have made some great friends and met some great people. But when my selection was posted, my initial feeling was great, as I really felt ready to run a great race. Then the backlash hit and although a lot of people where attacking UKA. I took it very personally and was an emotional wreck going into the race. From the go in the race I felt shattered from the lack of sleep and worry. I learnt a lot about myself that day. I have never been one to be affected by nerves but this was different. I realised I have to become a more hardened athlete and not let my decisions which are criticised affect me. I appreciate how things look without the facts and I have to remind myself about that. Its not peoples fault for looking in with bad eyes or having an opinion. I was just looking to run for my country, although I appreciated the fact I was not in a good position to be picked. However, to be picked then all that happened, I felt gutted. Phil Wicks and Scott Overall were both very good about it and if they had been picked I would have wished them well also, as they did with me. They are both great athletes. This whole experience has definitely made me a stronger person and athlete, so it's not something I regret or wish had never happened.

You recently ran 28.02 at Trafford, was this expected?

This was not expected at all. I was as shocked as everyone else. I never considered running that fast in my life let alone that day. Training had been going so well and I had a good stint in New Mexico at altitude the 6 weeks prior to the race. I came back to England on the Thursday night. I did a long run and weights Friday morning before reading an e-mail from Dave Norman (race organiser) about the 10k on the Sunday. I had wanted to run the inter-counties but was unable to change my flights, I figured the 10k would be good. I went up the next day and Dave kindly put me up. From the gun I went out hard and just ran without thinking about time or anything. I felt really good, but didn't realise how fast I was running until I came into the home straight and saw the clock ticking on 27m55s. I was instantly gutted and happy at the same time. I think if I had known where 400m to go was, I might have timed my effort enough to nip under 28minutes. With competition I definitely feel like I could have found more. But I guess anyone having a good day would feel like that. A massive thanks to the whole race organising team for that day, as that result has filled me with so much joy, I seriously struggled to hold back some tears on the way home. It was like everything people had done for me and supported me over the years, along with my persistence to not give up, was looking like it might pay off. For that one moment it was more than worth the wait. The hard thing is it means I have to translate it to bigger and better performance's in the big races now!

Are you in the best shape you have ever been?

Without a doubt, I'm definitely in the best position I have ever been before. I also have a really good long-term mind-set, which is helping keep a lid on things.

What are you aims for the summer?

Cracking my personal best over 5k after 6 years! Maybe even sub 13m20s if things go really well. Make the European team and maybe the Commonwealth team. A top 8 finish in both would be awesome, and a great stepping-stone for next year. Also getting a 10k on the track under my belt..... don't ask me time though, I'm just going run it and not worry about that bit, 25 laps is a lot of laps to get my head and body around {Laughs}.

So will you be going for the 5k or 10k this summer at the Championships?

Good question. 10k didn't really enter my head until recently for obvious reasons. My friend keeps trying to convince me to run the 10k. I get with e-mails titled 'alright 10k man!', but all I know is that I'll be running a 10k in a month or so on the track and then running a 5k in June sometime. I'll then assess and see where the land lies. A lot of factors depend where I go from there. I want to run the Europeans. The event will depend on whether I run the qualifying standard and the AAA's result. Also if things go really well I may even look at how the rest of Europe is getting on to make my final decision.  But my heart is with the 5k as I still have unfinished business there.

Could it be a big race off with you and Mo at either/both the Commonwealth games and European Championships?

And all the other runners! {Laughs}. Like I said, Mo is a great athlete and for me the best British distance athlete ever and he isn't done yet. So it would be an honour to run with him at either event. To be competitive with him too would be amazing and certainly something I'm aiming for.

Training

Typical week training

Monday: 8 miles am (weights after)  4/6 miles pm

Tuesday: am: Normally 10k volume session with short recovery. We manipulate the            session in a lot of different ways, but it's usually the harder session of the week. For example 10x1k off 1 minute recovery. 4 miles pm

Wed: 8 miles am (weights after) 4/6 miles pm

Thursday: Threshold running. We manipulate our threshold curves to different speeds for 8/9 miles. E.g- 15 mins@5m30 miles, 15mins @5m15 per mile, 15mins @ 5m per mile. 4 miles pm

Friday: off or a cheeky 4/6 miles depends of fatigue levels from the week.

Sat:: am:  Hills- 15-20mins of uphill running time, split into varying length reps each week. E.g - 5 x 4mins, jog back recovery Pm: 4 miles

Sun: am: 12 miles

Race week training

My week leading into the Edinburgh cross in Jan this year was as follows:

Sat: am: 11 miles easy

Sun: am:  4 mile warm up...10 x 45 sec hills/ 15mins threshold./ 2 miles warm down

Mon: am 8 miles - pm- 4 miles

Tues: am: - 4 miles - pm- 7 x 800m on the track off 90secs average 2m12. Done with Ross Murray (a huge talent)

Wed: 8 miles

Thursday: am: 4 miles with strides - pm: 4 miles

Friday: am: 4 miles

Sat: race

What type of sessions have you been doing recently?

This winter I have been on a diet of threshold running, hills and fartleks each week.

Do you do all runs pretty fast, what sort of pace outside of sessions?

If I ever run faster than 7m30 per mile I'm having a fresh day! I try not to run any faster, for me it's pointless. Every now and then I feel good and run a little faster. But a massive reason I think I'm holding together is slow miles. I don't feel the need to run quicker. The sessions sort that out for me. The steady runs are slow so they are the glue that holds me together.

What is your longest run?

12 miles on a Sunday. And it's the worst bit of my week. I hate running slow and long. It actually winds me up!

What is your group like now you have moved over to the USA to train?

It's awesome. The guys in Oregon have been very welcoming for both Jemma Simpson (my girlfriend) and I since we have come here. There are some real characters, nearly as funny as me at times {Laughs}. We have some great talent ranging across  different distance's. The women's side has (apart from Jemma who has run 1.59 800m) a 2m00s athlete, and two sub 15minute 5k women. On the men's side we have a 1m43s 800m guy called Nick Symonds, along with plenty of 1m45s-46s guys to back him up, then 1500m guys running 3m37s and a few 8m20s chasers. At 5k we have a sub 13m20s 5k guy called Ian Dobson. Recently one of the team, Shadrack Biwott ran 61m50s for the half marathon on two separate occasions in one month! a huge talent. His brother is second on the all-time marathon world record list, so it's in his blood to get a lot faster. Being around this much talent helps to push Jemma and I. The team has certainly been a massive help in boosting my own career again.  We can work together without stress or over competing, which really helps keep a lid on sessions. As you can see from the talent there is a jack for each trade in sessions, which also helps keep the quality high.

Who is your coach at the moment?

It's a combined effort between Mark Rowland and John Nuttall.

While I'm in the U.S, Mark drives my programme and I remain in constant contact with John. John helps me keep a lid on things and makes sure I'm not digging myself into a hole. He was with me through my tough times and he knows me better than anyone. We had a real moment after the 10k at Trafford, a feeling of finally its starting to happen. I owe him a lot for what he has done, and still does for me. I certainly would not be here now if it wasn't for him. He also drives my programme while I'm in the UK. I try and see him as often as I can, now that I base myself in London with Jemma, when I'm home from the U.S.  

Mark and John are both awesome coach's and I feel so privileged to work with them. While I'm in the U.S Mark has really helped develop me. He offers so much knowledge when it comes to drills, plyo's and strength work. It was a real honour and it meant a lot that he offered me the chance to come out to the U.S to join the team. It gave a real boost to know he also felt like I was worth investing time into for the future. I hope I can repay them both with some good performances over the coming years!

I would also like to mention Mick Woods who did so much for me when I was a developing Youngster. He brought me into the sport and gave me so much. His passion for the sport rubbed off on me to train hard and compete to the best of my ability. An attitude I still carry with me today. He helped me so much and I will be eternally grateful for everything he did for me in the beginning of my career.

Thommo

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