Why aren’t British runners as good today as they were 40 years ago?

When was the golden age of British running? With the endless talent coming out of east Africa, will we ever be able to compete at the top level of long distance running? 25 years ago there were 25 sub 2h 15min timings; in 2009 there was just 1 by a British runner.

Jim Alder, 1966 commonwealth games gold medalist thinks the answer is obvious – our runners do not race enough, do the required mileage and do not work as hard as his generation did. However he cites one exception – Paula Radcliffe.

Steve Jones, former world marathon record holder (2:07:13), thinks it’s a little sad. “It's great to have the British record, and it appears that I might have it for some time yet, but I think it's a little sad that the rest of the world – well it's the African nations really – have kind of moved on and we haven't”. So what did he do that Britain’s top athletes are not doing today? “There's no science in it – no heart-rate monitors. It's just running – running instinctively”. Anyone who saw Steve Jones run in the Seventies, Eighties and early Nineties knew that he ran flat out all the time.

Steve Jones wins in 1985 - in a time not bettered since by a Briton

Running legend David Bedford concurs "Most of the youngsters on the men's side aren't doing nearly enough training or distance work. The one thing you can't buy is athletes with the right commitment. They've got to feel that themselves, and at the moment they don't. You have to commit your life. You can't be out nightclubbing or messing around with PlayStations.” He emphasises the immense work ethic required, "We used to train three times a day, 200 miles a week, and it's very clear that if you have that sort of commitment - and can stay clear of injury - then you will run very fast. But you have to be prepared to commit."

Bill Adcocks (PB 2:10:48) has another viewpoint “I thinks it’s down to how they do there mileage. I think that this comes back to modern coaching and technology and in an attempt to control all the factors, the barriers are not being pushed.”

Attitude plays a big part “Society has changed out of all recognition since I was running. Most youngsters do not have the introduction into the sport that I had and of course tomorrow never comes and success is wanted at least today and preferably yesterday. The road to success is long but today's youth very often haven't got the time to wait. There are too many distractions”

He goes on “Many athletes will only continue if there are incentives, they see sport as a way of earning a living. For some and the most successful this will be the case but if this is the reason for starting out then no wonder that numbers are less because the vast majority of athletes will never acquire enough to make the journey worthwhile in a material sense.”

Ron Hill thinks today’s athletes need patience “People look for shortcuts today. It may be a lack of talent, but it’s certainly a lack of perseverance. It took me five years to improve from 2:14.12 to 2:13 42, then years more to get to 2:11 in Fukuoka, then to 2:10 in Boston in 1970, and finally to 2.09 in Edinburgh.”

Nigel Adams, several times Welsh Champion is baffled, but one theory could be that the top runners do not run against each other regularly. “Some would sooner do a low key race to win £50 than go out against good men and win nothing but run a fast time. For me that's not the way to improve. I also think it's strange to see runners chatting and joking with each in the few minutes before a race. That's okay for the fun runners but serious athletes should be concentrating on what they are about to do. The time for socialising is afterwards. I sometimes think there is too much theory and hokum to do with heart monitors, ice baths and such like. Everybody seems to waiting for the new magic way to success, but basically if you want to race hard you have to train hard and if you want to race fast you often have to train fast. As has so often been said there are no short cuts, but I do feel some runners are a bit impatient, because a year or even more of good training might not get you to where you want to be. I was 28 or 29 before I started to fulfill what ever potential I had and I think I was still only just getting there when I was injured and had to pack up.”

Is this justified? What do today’s top British athletes say?

Scotland’s Andrew Lemoncello, one of today’s top distance runners, agrees on the state of running today “I think distance running isn't as good at the moment, (on the men's side anyway), because it's just not as popular nowadays. Back in the day there were loads of runners beating each other up everyday in training and you had to train hard just to make your club team.” He thinks the big races like the London Marathon should do more to help the sport, and be based more on the model of other big city marathons “They get their money from the New York marathon and pump it back into the sport by setting up good races, pace makers at track meets, giving money to squads, paying for athletes to race each other.”

How does he respond to constant criticism from yesterday’s heroes? “It's also quite frustrating to always hear from our greatest athletes and hero's that we just don't work as hard as they did in their day. I know I work really hard everyday but the sport is in a different era now where a being a 13.20 (5k) runner isn't going to get you world medals. I wish we could get help and encouragement from the guys we look up to rather than constant public slating.”

Dan Robinson is far more upbeat “Dave Webb, Andrew Lemoncello and Phil Wicks are both running autumn races I think and could go really well. Andi Jones, if he gets it right, should go much faster too.  With London 2012 fast approaching I'm sure we'll see a big upturn in the next 18 months as there are plenty of guys with genuine Olympic aspirations.  I'd love to see some fast times from British athletes as we have to put up with a fair amount of criticism.”

Up and coming athlete Phil Wicks blames lack of depth “It’s clear to see that distance running in the UK is nowhere near the levels of the 70's and 80's but I think there are a whole of host of reasons why this is the case. I think in the recent past there have been far too much analysis of the situation and not enough work to fix the problems. For me the main reasons have to be the lesser depth of runners and lifestyle changes from that of only a decade or two ago. My personal opinion from a distance running perspective is that it could be beneficial to copy the system being used in America at present where groups of athletes are living, training and eating together supported by the big universities and major sportswear brands.”

International runner Peter Riley, who has a debut marathon time of 2:14, and has the potential to be Britain’s leading marathon runner at the next Olympic Games says, “It sounds very cynical but I am just not interested in the debate. The one thing I have learnt about this sport is to not rely on anyone but your coach, your mates, and your family. Don't hold out for any help from your federation because unless you're potentially going to get a medal in a major champs they are not interested in you. Explore your own avenues for support whether that is physiotherapy, strength and conditioning etc”

The other side of the argument, of course, is that the competition – namely the Kenyans and Ethiopians are just better naturally, either through living at altitude or having better genes, (most of their top runners comes from one tribe), or better culturally, as running is their way out of poverty. But forget the theory that they run 20 miles a day to and from school – most will tell you they don’t even run to the bus stop!

But at the end of the day who are we to say? Anyone running in those sorts of times gets my total respect. I can assure you none of them will be getting any slagging off from me – well not until I do a marathon in around 2:07!

Written by: Steve Myerscough

Submitted: 2^nd March 2011

Edited by: Brenda J Earnshaw WRR Editor