Where did you grow up and how did you get into running?
I grew up in Dunedin, and lived there until 1999 when I moved to New Plymouth with my girlfriend, Heather, for a year. We have since moved to Sydney. I stumbled across the sport when I was at Intermediate, age about 10. I knew that my oldest brother was in the Kings High School Harriers Team. Not really knowing what "harriers" were (I had a vague idea it was related to running, but I also had strange visions of birds and planes), I chose harriers as my Friday afternoon sport/club.
Over time I seemed to do OK on the runs, and won a membership to Caversham Harriers as a prize in the school cross-country. The rest, as they say.... Dunedin is a fantastic nursery for distance runners--the off-road training within a stone's throw of the city centre is in my opinion the best in the country. It is a shame about the weather.
You and Heather moved to Sydney a couple of years ago now. Have you two enjoyed your time there?
I have really enjoyed living in Sydney. I think Heather has, but I haven't really asked her in a while.... We certainly have enjoyed the warmer weather, the lifestyle, beaches, and we have a supportive training squad who have become our good friends. As for the city itself, if you were looking for good training venues and terrain, I wouldn't leave New Zealand. Dunedin, Wellington, New Plymouth, Rotorua, are all miles ahead of anything I have seen here for long running. It has also been difficult for Heather's triathlon cycle training, she is getting used to sucking pollution and dodging cars (not Kangaroos).
The other negative is that Australia is a fairly grim place to be a Kiwi at times--in particular, the AB's indifferent recent record combined with the Wallabies recent successes has been making life tough (the only thing worse that a losing Kiwi is a winning Australian)! However, the reason that we moved here is to train in a high quality training group, essentially completing the same program, and Sydney has certainly provided that. Another plus is that I see my coach, Ken Green, on a daily basis, and it is great to run at the Olympic venue each week.
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Why do you run? What motivates/drives Blair Martin?
Aside from the obvious--weight loss, that is a difficult question to answer. Really, I think it boils down to personal gratification, a sense of achievement. I have a competitive nature (my training partners call me "Angry Ant"), so naturally I enjoy racing people, and the accomplishment of the occasional win. I also really enjoy beating the clock, being competitive within myself and chasing PBs, and I often find this more satisfying than winning races. The camaraderie in the sport, the friends I have made, the exotic places I have visited and the interesting countryside I have run through all contribute to my enjoyment of the sport.
I certainly would not be able to give running away before I could say to myself that I had fulfilled my potential, and I could improve no further. To me, that would be such a waste, as it is not in my nature to give up without giving 100%. I want to shake that favourite tag that running magazines give runners like me, "another talented junior who hasn't fulfilled his potential."
Is there a person/runner/mentor that has especially inspired you?
I am not a running historian, so I would not say that I have been especially inspired by any one individual. Of course, I am amazed by the athletic feats that Walker, Halberg, Snell, etc. all achieved, and as any Kiwi is I am proud to hail from the same country.
There are, however, many contemporary athletes that I greatly admire, and not just because I regularly get a whipping from them, either! Two classic examples spring to mind. I have seen first hand how much hard work Dale Warrander puts into his running, and I really look forward to him going on to gain the glory he deserves. The other is Jonathon Wyatt, purely because of the fact that he has chosen the direction he has wanted his running career to take, rather than conforming to what others expect he ought to be competing in. It is clear that he is an athlete driven by personal satisfaction. I also really admire the mature decision that Phil Costley has made to not compete in the World Champs Marathon, and wish him luck for Fukuoka.
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In recent years some disappointing performances by our distance runners have led to comments by commentators and some former greats that our current elite crop have "gone soft" especially in terms of training--what is your opinion of this?
With the utmost respect to our former greats I find comments such as this particularly hurtful. Let's face it, athletic "freaks" such as the John Walkers and Peter Snells usually only come along once in a lifetime. Where is Great Britain's current Seb Coe? New Zealand sport has been "spoiled" by our history, because we produced a half dozen such athletes in a 20-year period.
I train as hard as my body will allow, to push it further (as I have done on many occasion) results in it breaking. The John Henwoods, Dale Warranders and Richard Potts of this world I would imagine will have learned the same thing. Perhaps a comment that is nearer the mark is that New Zealand hasn't recently produced have an athlete with such extraordinary, world-beating talent. I don't think the hard work by the athletes is lacking. Again, I think it comes down to why we compete as athletes. The media accolades are nice when they come, and the criticism from former greats is hurtful when it comes. Regardless, I am in this sport for myself, for my own satisfaction. I hope others are able gain enjoyment from the achievements that I have made, but in reality who cares what others think?
After a couple of years in Aussie, what have you seen done/not done that you would like to see replicated in NZ?
I think the training camp concept, such as the one the Aussies have at Falls Creek each year, is a winner. Because my squad had attended Falls a number of years in a row before I came here, over Christmas 2000 "Team-Green" spent a couple weeks in Noosa, Queensland for a change.
I gained tremendous benefit (and lost many kilos) from training hard over that fortnight. I think that that contributed to my return from injury with reasonable racing form following a relatively short period of training. I think that there is a lot of merit in getting a number of athletes training hard together, in an environment that is conducive to running, as well as getting plenty of rest (lazing on the beach in Noosa). I think we ought to arrange such a camp for New Zealand athletes - perhaps in Rotorua or Queenstown?
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You moved from a more Lydiard-oriented programme to a system-type approach with a change in coach about three years ago. What changes has this meant in terms of training and what benefits or disadvantages do you think you have got out of it? Is it really that different?
There are a number of differences in the program that I have been following under Ken's system, compared to the traditional training approach that I used to run with Alistair McMurran. The major difference is the way that the training is periodised. Previously, I used to break my training down into large blocks within a major training phase (eg. 13 weeks). I used to have a several-week build-up (6 weeks), transition / speed (4 weeks), anaerobic (2 weeks), and "taper" (1 week). Now the periodisation occurs within the week.
Throughout our entire build-up we are doing two long runs and three sessions, including either one or two track sessions, depending on the season. I am still running 130 to 140k per week, but to prevent my body breaking again, I am only running twice on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturdays (my session days), and Friday is a running optional day. The reasoning or philosophy behind this approach is that running is a 365-days-a-year sport. At the level of running that I am currently at, I don't have the luxury to pick and choose the races I am going to win, or the times that I am going to run, or for that matter even the events that I am going to compete in. It is far from guaranteed that I will run next year's World Cross Country, or Com Games, even though they may be goals for me.
This has been perfectly illustrated recently, the World Cross Country and the Prefontaine Classic were both events that I managed to compete at with last-minute notice, when five or six months earlier I couldn't run a step due to an achilles injury. The training has to be geared toward such opportunities arising.
In recent years a number of our leading sports people have defected to overseas countries - so far you've continued to compete for NZ. Are we likely to see you in a green and gold strip some time in the future?
No. Like a half-blind old dog, I am quite a loyal person, and am very proud to be a Kiwi. I do feel the financial hardship associated with being a sub-elite New Zealand athlete, and it is VERY disheartening to have to pay some of my own way to International and Grand Prix events when my training partners get full funding. However, I have been extremely fortunate to have a very supportive athletic network, and I am greatly indebted to the clubs that I have run for (especially Scottish Harriers who have been great over the last 2-3 years) for supporting me. The last thing that my conscience would let me do is compete for another country!
Aussie commentators tend to put more of a positive spin on their sporting performances whereas we Kiwis tend to be pretty quick to knock people back. Do you think this has contributed to their sporting success?
I think that poor performances are able to be swept under the media rug here, because there are many more positives to talk about. Australia has a larger population base than New Zealand, and there is also more money being injected into sport from various sources, so therefore Australia will naturally be having more success at any one time than New Zealand. Media is able to focus on those successes rather than dissect the failures. The other positive spin that Australia has, is they have the infrastructure and funding system to be able to say "how can we improve?", rather than telling the athletes to just train harder. The "knocking machine" still exists here, however, with the commentators (Jane Flemming, for one) saying that it is time for Matt Shirvington to take another step up.
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What does Blair Martin hope to achieve in running over the next three to four years?
I want to get good enough to decline NZ Runner an interview! (I am still dark over that "talented junior who hasn't fulfilled..." remark!); to help Scottish to gold at Akaroa; to represent New Zealand at the the three big ones (Com Games, Worlds, Olympics). I also have some pretty significant time goals that I want to knock off, one I got close to over 3k in the summer.
If there was one thing you could change about NZ Athletics or one message you would like to send to our administrators, what would it be?
Ha ha, are you trying to sabotage any chance I have of running for NZ again? I would encourage Athletics NZ to be a little more proactive about helping their athletes gain entry into meetings, to "stick out their necks" a little more. This is one thing that Athletics NZ can do for their athletes that doesn't cost money. An approach could be to utilise the profile of some of the former NZ greats of our sport to endorse our entries or submit the entry for us. Alternately, submit a short profile including Athletics NZ's hopes for the athlete with their entry (eg we anticipate XX will gain selection for the NZ Team following a top performance in your meeting). This will give to meet promoter / organiser more reason to accept the athlete in their field.
What's it like having a partner that's more of a top class/elite athlete than yourself?
Matt, I was hoping you would be able to tell me - at least your fiancee has a decent half marathon PB.
Thanks very much Blair (due to space requirements we may have to cut that last question and answer). We look forward to seeing you over here for the National Cross and Relay and wish you all the best for the future.
Statistics: Blair Martin
Personal bests
1500m 3:42
3000m 7:53
5000m 13:40
10,000m 29:16
Half marathon 65:00
Records
NZ Junior 10,000m record holder (still!), World Juniors, 1994
Cool Running 06.08.01.
