Runnerslife

Meet The Guest

Steve Binns


Personal Bests

1500m - 3:49.9

3,000m - 7:51.84

5,000m - 13:23.71

10,000m - 27:55.66

5Mile - 22.38

10k - 28:02

Marathon - 2:13.32

 


Questions


When did you start running and why?
I started at school, usually doing a race each week which I won but found myself limping for days after with soreness!

Who got you into athletics?
Dennis Quinlan a school teacher at my grammar school who was himself a very good level at road and cross country.

When did you realise you were pretty good?
It really took off when I started to train 3 times a week as a 17 year old with Bingley Harriers

How did you organise running around work?
My first job was in a dye house where I was lifting rolls of cloth 8 hrs a day loading vehicles, and I am sure that this was the reason i could handle a tough workload of running at 17 years old

You won the Junior silver medal at the world cross country 1979, can you talk us briefly through the race from your point of view?
I had what I thought was a poor race personally. I had lined up coming down with a cold so I felt weak throughout and not on top of my health, the weakness meant that I just struggled through the mud throughout the race. When I finished I felt that I could have done better and that was what spurred me on for the summer.

What happened at the World Champs in 1987?
World 10,000mts.... we ran a very slow first 6,500mts then the Kenyan took off and we were in a race the Kenyan Kipcoech was away, but Panneta the Italian was being caught by Kunze, Barios and myself. I was totally transfixed into the race for second and third and I had a look every couple of laps at the lap counter, the last 8 laps were very fast and when it came down to three laps to go we came through the finish line and the lap count had turned to one lap and the lap count man was ringing the bell so me, Arturo and Hanz Yorge Kunze ran what we thought the last lap in 58 seconds! With Kunze Third, Baros 4 and me 5th, after getting over the line we stopped and I had my hands on my knees, I looked across at my agent and wife and they were going crazy to keep running, I started again but very bit of the edge had gone and I ran as fast as I could round another lap, which resulted in me running a 73 seconds final lap with the stoppage of probably ten seconds. The last 5k was 13.48 and the last 2 miles were approx 8.20 all with a 73 final lap !

You were racing in probably the golden generation of British distance running, did it feel like that at the time?
No not really, there was some great runners to look up to who were towards the end of their careers. The likes of Brendan Foster, Dave Moorcroft, Ian Stewart, Bernie Ford, Dave Black, Tony Simmons and Nick Rose (who seemed to go on forever) but also we had other great runners about at that time who were a bit younger in Steve Jones, Eamon Martin, Mike McCleod and many more who inspired you to improve just to get into teams for every championship whether track, or cross country.

How was your Olympic experience in Seoul 1988?
When looking back becoming an Olympian was a fantastic achievement however the actual experience was my poorest for about three years in lead up to that race. I had won the AAAs and then gone back to St Moritz for Altitude training, however my big mistake was not to travel west to Boulder and do my training there, continuing west to Seoul, however I travelled direct east and never acclimatised... I was drained, not sleeping and lined up drained and lifeless, not great for the biggest race of my life.

You ran your personal best for 10,000m in Oslo the same race where Nick Rose ran 27:39 and Steve Jones ran 27:31. How did the race pan out?
Don't remember much about the race, I would have run much faster in 87 but I ran the trial and the World Championship final but that was the best shape I had been in since my junior days.

Did you ever train with the above athletes?
No most of my training was done back in Keighley with my club mates and on my own when doing specific quality sessions

Do you still keep in touch with any of the runners you trained/raced with in the 70's/80's?
I do, I am in touch with Steve Jones and John Doherty, the internet does make it easier to keep in contact with old rivals.

Are you still involved with athletics?
No not at all, I do not run anymore. I have put on a lot of weight and just do a bit walking and jogging 4 times of week. I play golf which I enjoy a hell of a lot and is great fun and competitive.



Do you still watch running events on television and have any favourite athletes around at the moment?
I do watch it regularly and enjoy it, the Kenyans, Ethiopians and north Africans dominate and never look like they are out of breath even when at maximum speed and I am sure that it is the benefit of living at altitude

You also ran a 2:13 marathon in Chicago, did you have a favourite distance and how did training differ from your 10k training to marathons, just more miles or different sessions?
My distance was 5,000 and 10,000mts. I never really made any impression at the marathon, within 18 months of the Olympics I started to get issues with my pelvis, a chronic tilt in my right side which end my career

Do you have a favourite race in your career?
The world championship 10,000mts 1987, I had spent years since being a junior trying to show how good I could be as a senior and that year I proved to myself how good I was. It should have lasted longer however but injury stopped that happening.

Any regrets?
I finished my career feeling I had not quite made it, not achieved my potential even though I had achieved a lot, I left a lot on the training ground and did not let it all out. I was very competitive but did not quite get there.

Did you ever go away training at altitude or warm weather?
Yes in both St Moritz and Boulder,Colorado.  Boulder was the best a great town, great people, and just a great place train hard and chill out.


Interval Work


Three times a week and then sometimes five in summer with shorter sessions in the mornings, I did a lot of interval work, and very slow resting running when I was at my best

Key sessions?
Winter sessions were mainly on grass football fieds at my club and would consist of 8 mins, 4, 2, 2, 4, 8mins, or 6 mins, 3, 1, 1, 3, 6 x 2, on weekends I would run a sustained 25 minute run at 4.45 pace

Summer time a combination of 1000, 600, 300100, 100, 300, 600,1000 x 2 sets, 600,300,100, 100,300,600 x 3 and again at weekends a sustained run of 5,000 meters usually around 13.35 to 13.40

Did you change surface dependant on time of year?
I never did indoor work but did change the training in winter to summer, but always kept in touch with the track work once every ten days in winter.

On own or in a group?
Both, the slow running was done with the club and then on the track it would be done in the main on my own

Hardest session?
The one above in bold as it calloused me for 10,000mts

Typical Week

Sunday 16 miles, Sunday evening a weight session and 5 miles jog
Monday 5 miles am , 10 miles PM
Tuesday 5 miles am, fast running session
Wednesday 13 miles very slow am, weights and 5 mile jog pm
Thursday 5 miles am, fast running session as above pm
Friday 8 miles easy
Saturday 8 miles with a sustained run during am , 5 miles easy pm

Total 90 miles per week

I realised through mistakes that i ran best off 85 to 95 miles a week. Whenever I tried long slow distance running it over fatigued me from which I never recovered, I ran stale for months, everyone is different.

Mileage

Did you do much longer running, maybe more distance running in the winter?
I ran my best off 95 miles a week, winter I would put more endurance in, summer more track work

What was your longest run of the week?
22 miles Sunday morning

How would you struture your plan?
I would usually set my target race and work back from there, months in advance with a rest week every 2 months.

Steve Binns (3rd from left) just behind former world record holder Steve Jones

Strength Work

No circuit work but I would do two multigym sessions a week on a Sunday evening and Wednesday evening after my two long runs of the week, mainly more strength endurance weights.

Massage

Yes I was a very 'Toey' runner and had issues with my calfs which needed massage to break down the knots and fatigue. I would get one three days before a race and I used to get a good leg massage to help with the rest and recovery before a big race.

Diet

Low fat, white meat, high carbo's.

Group Training

I only really trained in a group for slow recovery running, though when I did quality work I went to the track with club colleague but did my own specific session most of the time.

 

Racing

Did you go into races with a plan?

Yes

What were your strengths and weakness's when racing?
Most of the time I had to have an honest pace to run my best, then because I did not have a world class sprint, relatively speaking I knew I had to go for a longer drawn out finish to give myself the best chance. 

Did you race as training sessions?

Yes, at shorter distances like 1500/mile and 3,000

Did you ever have superstitions before a race?

None

Rest / Recovery

Yes a couple of weeks at the end of the autumn

 

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