By far, the enthusiasm for a great debut or the annoyance of a narrowly escaped limit prevail?
Those nine seconds made me sad the most after the run, I squatted there and whimpered a little. But I recovered quickly and I’m more happy. It was my first marathon, so I take it as a sign that I have for that time and I was not far from the best.
Until when did you believe on the track that the time was 2:29:30 in your power?
I didn’t quite notice the split times, my brother was more concerned with that, so we sometimes communicated with each other. When we ran into the last round, I was convinced that it was a losing fight, so I asked my brother how much we were losing. And he said it’s still playable, which kicked me, and the last round was faster. I hoped and checked my watch for the last few meters, then I saw the time at the finish, but I kept trying to get the best performance possible.
When did you actually think of trying to reach the Olympic limit in a marathon? After all, only last year you ran the first half marathon and talked about the gradual transition from track to road…
When I was at the World Half Marathon Championships last year, I got it from the coach (Vaclav Janousek) to choose what 2021 should look like. Whether to concentrate on the World Cross Country Championship, which has been postponed anyway, for ten, for the indoor season, or that after that good half marathon there could be a chance to try to fight for the Olympics in the marathon. The vision of the Olympics fooled me, even though it was the craziest of the four variants…
How did you choose the marathon in Belp? It was quite windy at the airport, only four runners finished…
We communicated with Honza Pernica as a running coach and Belp came as a good choice, but it was supposed to run three weeks ago.
But then the weather hit and the deadline shifted. When did you find out?
The evening before departure. We were supposed to move at six in the morning, the afternoon before the news came that the deadline was being postponed. The starting line was supposed to be more busy, maybe fifty men and ten girls, but as it moved, people found other races.
That’s bad luck! The Czech national team narrowly missed the Olympic limit
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Thanks to that, could your brother Gerron, who is three years younger, be included in the starting list?
We received a message in the mail that we could take the wires, probably due to the narrowing of the starting field. And in the original date of the race, my brother and one boy from the group and I ran twenty kilometers at a marathon pace and we ran very well, so the idea came up.
How did your brother look at him? Runs much shorter tracks…
He is training for fifteen or five, he didn’t want to… He is also a bit nervous, he said it would be a last resort, but there weren’t many others, the others are getting ready for the national half marathon championship. So my brother said he would help me.
In the end, he completed almost the entire marathon with you, what was the original agreement?
We thought that he would try 25 to 30 kilometers, if he did well, ideally to get me into a group that I could stick with so that I would not run alone. There was just no one there, the Swiss Fabienne Schlumpf was in the front, another girl was already in the back, so my brother twisted it with me. Every meter I threatened when it would fall off, but it also helped me a lot mentally that it lasted.
Did you promise him a reward?
He was there for free, I paid for all the tests, but maybe I’ll come up with something else. (smile)
During your debut, did you encounter the dreaded marathon wall, ie a more significant crisis?
There was a lot of crisis, from the 25th kilometer it was a drone, hot flashes came, when I ran well, then badly. The biggest crisis came about six kilometers before the goal, it was probably the wall. I had rubber feet, dragged them behind me, but as my brother shouted at me that I still had a chance, I leaned into it, even though I was grinding from the last one.
British triathlete Potter broke a record time on the road five
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You’ve had a great time, but the trip to the Olympics will probably only be with the limit. Will the second attempt come in Prague on May 30?
We are considering it. I’ll probably try, even though I didn’t want to run another marathon right now. But since I was so close…
How difficult was the rebirth in the marathon girl at all? How many kilometers did you run?
Almost day by day, the weekly average rose by about fifty kilometers… Before it was around 120, now it has swung over 170, although not every week. I didn’t have an alpine camp, but when there were piles of snow in the Czech Republic, I went to Portugal.
Have you ever cursed at times that you chose a marathon from the coach’s offer?
At the beginning it was difficult, the increase killed me quite a bit, it also took my legs and I was happy when I trotted kilometers after 5:30… It was probably the most difficult training period.
Before you shone with a time of 1:11:08 just seven seconds after the Czech record at the half marathon world championship in Gdynia last year, it is said that the thoughts of ending running were running through your head.
They flew in my head quite often. I probably wouldn’t stop running, I wouldn’t forgive myself, I rather needed a change after years of circling the track. After all, I’ve been running around for ten years, and that’s on the stick. The change was to come with a half marathon in the spring, but the races were canceled and motivation was declining. It wasn’t until the first half marathon that my mind changed and I started looking forward to the races.
Will you return to the track yet? You have six home titles on it…
This year will probably be mostly marathon, but next year I will return to the top ten, I need to accelerate on it and build performance from below. Faster marathon runners have a better ten than me.
Your whole family is jogging, do you ever go jogging together?
Sometimes, I guess, but I don’t remember that we all run. Anyway, I go jogging alone with my brother, dad or mom often.
After Father Eddie, you have Scottish roots, could you represent Scotland?
I don’t have Scottish citizenship, although as a junior I ran a championship there on the track and three times in cross country. In addition, I would have to represent Great Britain, which would be more difficult, which is why I am glad that I can race for the Czechia.
How often do you travel to Scotland?
Normally every two years during the summer. Behind the family, we also have a house there, which Dad takes care of, so he goes there more often. But now we haven’t been there for a long time due to the current situation…
Your name is already known not only among runners, but you still have to explain your origin often and that you are really Czech?
Last year, after the half marathon, we read somewhere that the Czech association was probably shopping in Kenya… But now I didn’t mean it anymore, the people around running are aware of me.
Are you still racing for Spartak Prague 4, aren’t you attracted to clubs affiliated with the resorts?
I also have support for the preparation from Spartak and since the autumn I have been at the Olympus center, where I have excellent facilities and they take good care of me. I was not offered a transfer, if it was a condition of the support, he probably would not miss me, but as long as I can, I want to run in my section, where I am at home.
Have you studied computer graphics, are you still working on it?
I have a trade for it, I will do something to order here and there in terms of graphics, flyers and advertisements, but now running is predominant. I will be able to devote myself to graphics for the rest of my life, not running at that higher level, so I want to bang on it now.
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