RENATO can you talk about the preparation of Emile Cairess 2:06

My team for Kenya and Ethiopia :

Eliud Kipchoge (he has the right to try to win again, also if can be difficult)

Benson Kipruto

Alexander Mutiso Munyao (the winner in London can't not to be selected)

Ethiopia :

Sisay Lemma (with him, the race of sure is not tactic)

Tamirat Tola (the most consistant in the last 7 years)

Kenenisa (if he increase still a little his shape without injuries, in my opinion can look at Gold)

Renato, thank you so much for your detailed post on Emile's training.
The top British runners seem to have really improved in the last couple of
years.
Based on what you have seen and working with Emile, what would you suggest
is the key cause for this improvement, and what can other elites from other country’s
learn from this?

Thank you, for being so open and honest about your athletes workouts, Renato!! Your full disclosure of your thoughts and methods is a gift to this board and the whole sport itself. We owe you the highest amount of gratitude for your willingness to share your knowledge with us. Thank you, again!!!

A) Emile uses to have 3 periods in altitude (2 in Kenya and one in Italy in Sestriere) for a total of about 3 - 3 and half months. In my opinion, it's important to train in altitude with continuity for long periods at the beginning of this choice, but remember that our muscle have a memory, such as our physiology, and when an athlete reach the ADAPTATION we can reduce the length of periods in altitude, maintaining them normally till 60-30 days before the marathon.

Altitude training has the effect to increase the Aerobic Power, and is a direct key of improvement when we speak of 5000, 10000 and HM (all distances athletes run over the LT) while for the Marathon, run UNDER the threshold, it's no more important approaching the race.

B) My athletes go to gym 2-3 times per week during the fundamental period, when are in Europe. Kenyans go to gym for about 1 - 2 months during the recovery after a full marathon. But don't forget that running in Kenya means to use very hilly courses, that increase the level of muscle strength, something not usual for European runners

C) I believe in the effect of a big modulation during every phase of training. This is for example the reason of "special blocks". So, sometimes I use special blocks, sometimes 2 following days of high specific intensity (for a marathon runner intensity means to run very fast for not less than 25-35 km) followed by 2-3 easy days of recovery. Normally, if there is a good recovery, one week after special blocks or similar training, every athlete improves his shape

D) Everybody who is at the second or third year of training for Marathon goes to run 1-2 times 45 km or more (Bordin, Olympic Champion 1988, ran in Sestriere 52 km in 3 hours) at good speed. The 45 km of Emile are still very far from the 45 of Sondre Moen, who in 2017 before Fukuoka ran in 2 hr 27, like Moses Mosop 2 months before running his first marathon in 2:03:06 in Boston

E) One of the goals for the future is to increase the pace during the recovery. Compared with last year, there are less km in the range of 4'10" - 4'20", this year the most part of "basic mileage" is 10" - 15" faster than in 2023. But in my opinion the pace must arrive at 3'45" > 3'50" during the recovery, everything slower is "regeneration".

F) I write in details all the training of not less than 20 athletes. It's easier with European, because everybody is educated to write their training, adding some time also the feeling (Amanal Petros, Tadesse Abraham, Sondre Moen, Julien Wanders...) also before entering in my training group. It's by far more difficult with Kenyans, very few of them write their training, and when I'm not in Kenya they send me only the pictures of their watch with time and distance, but very few infos about what there is around (easy run, moderate run, and all the small things they add tio their workouts)

You are a true Legend, we love to have you in Mexico, of course we dont have the running culture that you have in Africa, but there is a lot of talented kids waiting to be discover. A bunch of 14 years old kids running fast.

Example: 2024 Guanajuato State Championships at 1800m above sea level (14 years old and under)
2k race (dont ask me why they run a 2k)

1 place.- 5:51
2.- 6:02
3.- 6:09
4.- 6:10

Your coaching of Cairess is still two minutes from his marathon limit at the moment.A runner with a 27:30 at 10 k and 60 min half should run sub 2:05.It's the same story as always when you get to coach great talents or already proven fast runners.Some you succeed with and some you destroy e.g Julien Wanders.

British endurance has a long history of successes and of Champions. This was based on high volume of mileage, also for athletes of 1500m (800m is a different story). After 1990 there was a wrong interpretation of the book written by Peter Coe, because his way to consider thye mileage didn't include any type of long run, that Sebastian instead used when young, and in winter.

An anecdot : in 1988, in the Italian National Center of Tirrenia, Sebastian (there in training with the Swiss Wirz) asking me to follow him by car for a training of 30 km, completed at 3'18" pace in 1 hr 39'.

As result of the cut of volume, for more than 15 years there were no more results of international level for British middle distance runners. If you go to see the British statistics for 1500m (top 10) at the end of 1991 and 2011 (20 years !), nobody was able to go in top 10 (the best specialist in 2011 was Shane with 3'36"22 !)

And longer is the distance, worse were the results, till the ridiculous situation in the Marathon. GBR had a great tradition in Marathon, starting with Jim Peters several time WR holder, continuing with Ron Hill (2:09 in 1969), Ian Thompson (winner European Ch in 1974 and under 2:10), till Steve Jones, who was the first athlete in the world trying the pace normal today in Chicago, when, without rabbits, went alone from the start with a split in HM of 61'53". Today, in a comfortable group of African, with the same first half, the Steve Jones of 1985 could probably run under 2:04.

With all that tradition, in 2003 THE BEST MARATHON RUNNER IN UK WAS A WOMAN (Paula Radcliffe with 2:15:25, NO MEN RAN FASTER).

So, it's very easy to identify the key : it's the come-back to the volume used 40 years before, sometimes with more quality.

So, the lesson is clear : if you want to improve your perfromances you need to run more volume in the specific speed of the race, but for doing this you need to increase the volume of the BASIC AEROBIC RESISTANCE, and in second time of the AEROBIC POWER.

Training is like a pyramid : for having the top more high, you need to have the base more wide.

Renato what is your opinion of “regeneration” pace, Can it be too slow? or is it of no importance if the athlete runs 5:00 or even 6:00/km pace on days after hard sessions?

You couldn't be more wrong in your analysis.Steve Jones wasn't a high mileage runner and despite that ran a fast opening half in 1:01 and just had to cruise home to win easy in 2:07.He never had to show his limit to win back then.

I don't know what your agenda is, but you are wrong about Steve's performance that day.

Jonesy was a consistent 100-115mpw runner. Depending on your definition that falls into the range of "high mileage."

Do you have any thoughts on which women should be selected? Thanks for sharing

The March 11 workout is outrageous in that his sense of pace is unerring! Just a few seconds off here and there from alternating kilometers of 2:50 and 3:25 for 24K!

Olympic marathon should be a good one and you had better have trained over hilly routes before you step on that starting line.

Renato thanks for the informative discussion, you're always welcome.

Coaches of top American runners must be very very bad then.

Amazing thread and information, thank you for sharing.

He was not. I know him close.That mileage he reached just few weeks when preparing for marathon.70-80 mpw was his bread and butter.