Chaps;
I met today, for the first time, my boyhood idol and all-time favourite athlete, Sebastian Coe.
The Foreign Press Association in London (of which I am a memeber) held a luncheon to discuss London's 2012 Olympic bid chances. Lord Coe, the bid's chairman, was the guest speaker.
It was a small affair and I was able to speak with Lord Coe for a few minutes afterward. (He also signed my dog-eared copy of his biography "Born To Run" and was exceedingly gracious and polite. It was a great experience and one that I won't soon forget.)
Now - to the bitter part: mileage.
As many of you know, I've aruged on several occasions that Coe's weekly mileage totals were much, much lower than assumed. It turns out I was wrong.
Coe was asked by a Finnish reporter if he was still active and fit (which, if you look at him, is self-evident: he's quite thin and looks much younger than his 49 years).
He said: "Yes, I run about 30 miles a week or so and lift weights a couple of times a week."
I asked: "How does that compare to when you were racing?"
He said (laughing) "It's quite different. I was doing about 100 miles a week in twice daily sessions back then."
I said: "As much as that?"
He said: "Well, not every week, but during the bread and butter months, I would get up to 100 miles a week. During track season, it would be much lower, of course, but I would say the average was about 70 miles a week."
Well -- that's it. From the horse's mouth, as it were, to the Let's Run board. Seb ran mileage. Lots of it.
I was wrong.
Martin