RE: 'The Road to Beijing': 3 hour marathoner wants to make British Olympic Marathon team in 2008

Vero is back in business

http://www.parkrun.com/Default.aspx?tabid=189

Sub 18 minutes today for 5km, if he maintains that pace for the marathon he'll run 2.30. Go on Vero!

I have been amazed to read the abuse posted on this web-site, as a good friend of the person in question it astounds me how small minded some people can be. Despite the blatant jealousy and cowardice that I have read, does no one realise that rather than trying to take a short cut to 'celebrity' by conjuring up a 'publicity stunt', Alex is simply trying to push himself further than most of you would dare. This is not about money, not about self promotion, but 1 person trying to prove the lengths that must be gone to in order to achieve the seemingly impossible. Should he be punished because he dares to share his ambition with you? Should he be mocked because you think it's arrogant to take on such a challenge? And should it be any of your business if he chooses to seek out sponsorship (not from you as individuals, but from corporate backers) to achieve his dream? The answer is NO, and as fellow runners of different levels you should be proud to have someone represent your sport in such a way.

Agree completely.....just wish he would update his website so we could see how he's getting on now.

This is awsome stuff. Check out Vero's documentary pilot.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7yG4tImGd0

Andy Barber makes an excellent point - Sponsorhip is given by companies when there is something in it for them. Obviously, in this case, the upside for any potential sponsor would be the publicity that a documentary would give them. If it made it onto national TV, then I would imagine that £70k would be cheap for the type of coverage that they would receive.

The liklihood that this documentary gets picked up and aired by a TV company will be decided by how much of a debate / controversy it causes. That is what will pull in viewers.

So (and here is where it gets really good!), the more vitriolic and spiteful that Alex's detractors get about his project and the £70k he's asking for, to complete it, the better the chance he has of getting the sponsorship as the project will undoubdtedly get more publicity.

The longer and harder that these bitter, jealous and angry people lay into him, the closer he gets to the £70k regardless of whether he makes teh time or not!!!

Amazing!

I'm a big supporter of what he is trying to do. Are his goals unrealistic? Are they offensive to other athletes on the cusp of running 2.15 who have been training for years? Maybe - I don't know. But he's giving it a go, and much of what is written on this site stems for pure jealousy that they haven't had the guts / forsight / intelligence to give it a go themselves!

Reading some of this crap written about Vero makes me laugh. I have met him on a number of occasions and he seems a decent kind of guy. You forget that he is a filmmaker and to make a documentary you need to create interest (read outline of documentary page on

www.theroadtobeijing.co.uk

)

Like what Andy Barber and C Dog said the unwitting stupidity and bitterness of many of the posters on this forum are just adding to the story. I don’t think that he will get anywhere near 2:15 for 2008, maybe 2:25 if he gets his head down and things go to plan. Everyone in the running world wins either way. Firstly he shows how hard it is to get to the very top (credit to the top runners). Secondly he shows that you can progress far beyond your perceived barriers (inspire others into the sport). Thirdly he raises the profile of marathon running, increasing funds to present and future athletes (many of whom have posted on this thread).

Vero might be a shameless self promoter, but he makes documentaries for a living. What he has achieved to date has been staggering and to have the guts to try something on this scale is admirable.

Peace and Greetings all,

"Make Mine", I totally agree with you. I looked at clips of his documentary and found them very inspriring. This guy actually appears to enjoy engaging in humanitarian work and movie making, first and foremost. He is obviously NOT someone who runs for a living. I think the average runner like myself finds it inspiring for "one of us" to seriously pursue so daunting a goal as Alex's. Many years ago my times were similar to Alex's present times. I thought I could at least qualify for the Olympic Marathon trials (in the late 90's). I found, as has Alex that shorter distance times (as well as a hardy work ethic) don't always translate into faster marathon times. Anyway, I'd love to see him get to a low 2:30's. For a guy with average running talent, I believe that shows extra ordinary work ethic and integrity (and luck w/out injury)on his part. That is what running is all about. And THAT's why I'm planning to donate funds to help him with his documentary. Further, I'm looking forward to purchasing a copy of the documentary when it comes out.

Is he still training? As he's taking his training of the website.

I don't know if still training Kyano. I sure hope so. I found his goal no matter how seemingly implausible , to be quite inspirational. I e-mailed him and got this weird return message about "no training logs" and taking the website off.. doesn;t sound good.

Looks like Vero's hit some roadblocks that are jeopardizing the documentary. And he's backed off achieving a OQT:

His May 28 post includes this:

"I will certainly be continuing but realise that even if I trained full time from now till April 2008, and all went perfectly, I understand that it is now physically impossible to progress quickly enough to run a sub 2:15 marathon. I would be lucky to get to 2:25 but would probably spend most of the time with horrific 'over use' injuries. I will now be aiming for a very tough but certainly attainable target of 2:30 for the London Marathon in 2008."

Still, he's moving forward admirably.

http://www.theroadtobeijing.co.uk/trtb-updates.htm

Thanks for the update Noz4nuz,

I think for him to run a 2:30 marathon is still quite remarkable. It gives me hope for my own goals. I mean the guy weighed 102kg at the start of all this acording to the trailer when (he got on the scale). I mean that\\\'s HUGE; 228 LBS !!!. I\\\'m only 145lbs (64.73 kg)at 5'9". If he can run a 2:30. I sure as heck can ! I think he\\\'s put in extraordinary effort and is to be applauded no matter what he runs. It been really amazing to see the transformation that his body has made throughout his training. By the way, his 1:14 half marathon ain\\\'t bad; especially for a big guy.

Thanks for the update Noz4nuz,

I think for him to run a 2:30 marathon is still quite remarkable. It gives me hope for my own goals. I mean the guy weighed 102kg at the start of all this acording to the trailer when (he got on the scale). I mean that\'s HUGE; 228 LBS !!!. I\'m only 145lbs (64.73 kg). If he can run a 2:30. I sure as heck can ! I think he\'s put in extraordinary effort and is to be applauded no matter what he runs. It been really amazing to see the transformation that his body has made throughout his training. By the way, his 1:14 half marathon ain\'t bad; especially for a big guy.

Looks like things are slightly behind schedule.

http://secure.greatrun.org/results/quickresults.php

Vero just posted a trailer for his film on YouTube. Looks like it won't be solely a profile of him afterall.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zwTz1JoYC0

Vero just posted a trailer for his film on YouTube. Looks like it won't be solely a profile of him afterall.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zwTz1JoYC0