Phil is also out spoken and his recent disappointment with the NZ selectors over the World T&F selections have been well documented. Through it all Phil has retained his work ethic, he trains hard and he races hard. Alberto Salazar once said "I'd rather lose a fast race than win a slow one" and Phil has always gone out, believed in himself and chased his goals.
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Where did you come from and how did you get into running?
I hail from Wairoa on the East Coast, half way between Napier and Gisborne. I used to run
at primary school (won Wairoa schools 800m title twice) but got involved in rugby, soccer
etc at Sec. school (Napier BHS), running was also there but never won a race at Napier
BHS (was beaten in X-C by future All Black Stu Forster!) Ran a few NZ Sec X-C and managed
a 35th.
Sister Jill was also into running at this time so followed her to marathons etc.
Went to Massey Uni and got in with the 'wrong crowd'... runners, and have never looked back. Jamie 'Struds' Strudley, and Alistair 'Rock' Hudson etc.
Give us a standard week in the training of Phil Costley? I know you do a fair few miles at a solid pace - do you think a lot of the rest
of us have gone a bit soft?
Build-up week:
I replace the Tuesday with 1, 2, or 3 k reps and Thursday with 400-600m hill reps after the build up phase.
I don't think people have gone soft! I look at my training and ask myself what am I trying to get out of this? A lot of the time you won't get what you are after without a bit of sweat, and to me that means pushing it along in some cases, but often I have to make myself back off a little.
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You seemed to have made dramatic improvements in your mid-20?s (in your
first senior cross I think you were outside the top-50 to winning it in 97?). What do
you think are the factors that have led to this?
'90 41st, '92 6th, '93 4th, '94 3rd, '95 3rd, '96 2nd, '97 1st, 99 2nd, '00 2nd.
In 1992 I joined the Potts stable and began training with Richard. I realised that I was handling the training that Richard was doing and he had had some brilliant results, so began to believe in myself... and train properly.
What do you consider has been your finest athletic performance thus far?
I am still waiting for it. Winning any National title is still a buzz to me, and
in some instances just to get a medal is great. I guess the ultimate would be to
slot a Commonwealth Medal, or something similar into the collection. I tend to
remember every race that I do for different reasons, be it a club race through the
mud of Marton, or the London Marathon, I have vivid memories of each for different
reasons, and I learnt something from each one.
Who has been the biggest influence on your running career and what impact
have they had?
My sister Jill provided the inspiration and motivation, and still does in many
ways. Struds really got me into this thing seriously and provided the bench mark
for the Massey Harriers. Alan and Sylvia Potts took me from the good club runner
to National Champion and I am more than aware that their time and efforts are
still in my legs every time I race. Richard Potts showed me how it was done in both
the training and racing. I simply followed his example.
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You do a lot of training alone - is this just a lifestyle thing or do you think its better for your running?
A bit of both. My job allows for me to hit the roads at 3pm which doesn't suit
many. If I wait for the 5 o'clockers it gets dark, cold and the roads are much busier.
I believe that the steady runs are best done alone for many reasons. And the long
hills are also better run at a pace which is beneficial (not too fast or slow).
Willie (my dog) often accompanies me on the runs, so technically I am not really alone!
What motivates you to put the shoes on and run each day?
I run for the enjoyment of running. I look for interesting places to go and get
excited about the adventure that I am about to undertake, just as I get excited
about running a race etc. and although some training sessions are tough, I must
do them to get the future enjoyment. For the steady runs, I tend to set myself a
target depending on weather etc and again see this as a challenge, rather than a
repetitive exercise day after day.
You've been quite outspoken at times about selection issues etc. - tell us
what in your opinion would be the ideal selection procedure for NZ marathon runners
to the 2002 Commonwealth Games?
Within a qualifying period of say 12 months, a marathon runner can run 3 quality races,
if the first one is within the first month. To target a race in a thirty day period
needs a lot of preparation: selection of race, and training schedules etc. I would
request (and did) that the qualifying period be advertised six months before it starts,
so that we don't waste the first few months of qualifying sitting around having
completed a marathon six days before the period begins (as with Gold Coast). At least
one month before the period begins the standards should be known by the athletes so that
the training benefits of time trials etc. can be maximised.
The Games standards for 2002 were released some two weeks into the period! It's a case of..... "by the way you guys could have been qualifying already"!! The current qualifying period for the Marathon has been shortened, as in past years (and understandably) so the I wonder whether it should be stretched out at the beginning for equality (as the Aussies have done). It also grates me that for teams such as Basketball, their International Federation qualifying tournaments provide the right to compete. Yet when the Athletics International Federation provides qualifying standards they are frequently altered. We all know how well the basketball team did at the Olympics, but they earned the right to be there by International standards... so too did Dale.
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Why didn't you run a fast International Marathon in April (London,
Rotterdam etc) and qualify for the World Champs earlier? [Phil's 2.13 at Gold Coast
qualified him for World Champs but with so little time to recover Phil wisely chose
to bypass them and focus on the Commonwealth Games]
To be honest I didn't contemplate another marathon until my Buller Half marathon of
63min. I had been informally informed that the 2002 Commonwealth Games qualifying period
was beginning in June, so started looking from that date. Given that there was 'no
standard' I thought I'd take my chance and have the Gold Coast as the back-up. As it
turned out London and Rotterdam were still too early to do a
qualifying time... there still was 'no standard' to achieve.
Give us one or two things about NZ Athletics that you would change to
improve the sport in this country?
Organisation. It would be ideal I know, but imagine getting a complete summer
programme following the NZ road season and the Winter programme following the
NZ track and field season. Would this not get athletes planning their seasons
in advance and possibly boost numbers. Over the past seasons it is often a case of...
"the athletic league is on, no it's off, hang on there is a North
and a South..." etc.
Enjoyment. After reading Peter Snell's book I couldn't help imagining that we took athletics back to the small towns and ran handicap races with locals. Picture this: A field of athletes, including Hamish Christiansen, line up on the athletics track in Dannevirke over a handicap mile. Three days later they, including Richard Potts, are over 1500m in Taihape then off to Wairoa for a 3000m. Something of a traveling roadshow, going to the smaller places with the 'home grown' athletes. Get the best locals in the races and size them up off handicaps against the best in the country. Sponsored by Tranz Rail, the athletes would train from one town to the next and call it: Trackies on Tracks! or Training on Trains etc! Man... I think too much when I run!
Make athletes realise the prestige of a National Title. Publish a booklet of past winners so they can see the traditions they are carrying on. At the moment a 5k is a 5k whether in a league final etc. But to put a name next to Murray Halberg, or Bill Baillie would give a little more emphasis on a NZ title.
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What does Phil Costley hope to achieve within the next 3-4 years?
My achievements of the last 3-4 years have surprised me, given that my initial
goal as an 18 year old was to win a NZ medal. Everything that I do now is about
enjoyment and this takes the stress and pressure away. The Comm Games would be great
and an Olympics would be the ultimate.
Thanks for your time Phil. Good luck at Fukuoka with the Commonwealth Games qualifying and we look forward to seeing you running well at Manchester.
Cool Running 31.07.01.
