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<\/a>In this exclusive feature article, we bring you some of the coolest snippets from the book; we take a look at some of these amazing athlete\u2019s favourite sessions.<\/p>\n
Athletes studied:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n “Not having a coach is where I hurt myself a lot. Between 2000 and 2008, someone else could have stepped in and sorted me out.\u201d \u2013 Lee Troop (taken from the book \u2018Australian Marathon Stars<\/em>\u2019<\/a>).<\/p>\n In the book, Australian Marathon Stars<\/em><\/a>, when Troopy was asked his favourite session, he replied:<\/p>\n \u201cMy favourite session is hills. I used to drive to Ballarat from Geelong every Saturday for eight years to run one particular course that I loved.<\/p>\n With the hills everything was an all-out effort. Once you are blown you are blown, it\u2019s you versus the hills, 50m to 500m in a 7k loop. Everyone tries to tell you how speed is so important, but it doesn\u2019t matter how fast you are if you\u2019re not there with a lap to go. It\u2019s about how strong you are.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMy coach Dick Telford is amazing.\u00a0 He is arguably the best marathon coach in Australia and in my eyes, the world.\u00a0 He has taught me so much and without him I would never have taken the steps I have in terms of volume and specific training for the event.\u00a0 \u2013 Lisa Weightman (taken from the book \u2018Australian Marathon Stars\u2019<\/em><\/a>).<\/p>\n In the book, Australian Marathon Stars<\/em><\/a>, when Lisa was asked her favourite session, she replied:<\/p>\n \u201c4x1600m is a good mix of speed and endurance if you match it with short recoveries!\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWhen in heavy training I would usually run twice a day, seven days a week.\u201d \u2013 Pat Carroll (taken from the book \u2018book \u2018Australian Marathon Stars<\/em><\/a>\u2019).<\/p>\n In the book, Australian Marathon Stars<\/em><\/a>, when Pat was asked his favourite session, he replied:<\/p>\n \u201cToward the later stages of my career I did this run where I would jog for a while then go into a 15-minute hard effort in which I would really go for it and run as hard as possible. I always started at the same point and knew where my record was. I would always try to better by personal best. I really felt that simple session helped me improve a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI feel the marathon is a complete challenge for you. Yes, it is a race, but how you prepare, your training, nutrition, mental focus, patience and determination will make or break you.\u201d \u2013 Benita Willis (taken from the book \u2018Australian Marathon Stars<\/em><\/a>\u2019).<\/p>\n In the book, Australian Marathon Stars<\/em><\/a>, when B was asked her favourite session, she replied:<\/p>\n \u201cI did a session of 6x2km on the track with very short recovery and the pace of each 2km got faster and faster. At the end, I\u2019d run a flat out 1km. I knew what times I could do for this and if I got near this, I\u2019d know I was ready for a good one.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI think it is important to note that I always ran by feel. The key with training is to push yourself without tearing your body apart.\u201d \u2013 Derek Clayton book \u2018Australian Marathon Stars<\/em><\/a>\u2019).<\/p>\n In the book, Australian Marathon Stars<\/em><\/a>, when Derek was asked his favourite session, he replied:<\/p>\n \u201cMy long run on a Saturday. It helped build strength and stamina as well as mental toughness.\u201d<\/p>\n Clayton\u2019s Saturday run consisted of\u00a0 a 15-17-mile run, usually at Ferny Creek in Vitoria. Clayton would run hard, today it would have been referred to as a tempo run.<\/p>\n \u201cI raced the marathon in Turkey 10 days prior to the Antwerp race. It was too much for my body. I really think I would have broken 2:08 in Antwerp if it wasn\u2019t for the Turkey race. After Antwerp I was so sick: I couldn\u2019t eat, and I was vomiting and urinating blood. I was too frightened to see a doctor as I didn\u2019t want to go to a foreign hospital, so I just sat it out.\u201d \u2013 Derek Clayton (taken from the book \u2018Australian Marathon Stars<\/em>\u2019).<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cBeing a truly world class marathon runner is more than just being fast over 5km,\u00a0 you need to have your cardiorespiratory, musculoskeletal and neurological pathways (when related to efficiency) all working together. These three areas take many years of hard training to develop.\u201d Rob de Castella (taken from the book \u2018Australian Marathon Stars<\/a>\u2019).<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u2018Deeks\u2019 is famous for his session of 8 by 400m with 200m float jog recovery. However, in the book \u2018Australian Marathon Stars\u2019<\/em><\/a> Deek\u2019s sheds light on another regular session that he did most Saturdays during his base building phase. It involved hills, and lots of it.<\/p>\n From Australian Marathon Stars<\/em><\/a>, the training of Deeks most Saturdays looked like this:<\/p>\n \u201cFor the hill session I used to warm up as usual, with a 20-30-minute jog, and then I would find the biggest hill I could, hopefully around 3km long, and just run up time and time again for about 20km in total.\u201d \u2013 Rob de Castella<\/p>\n \u201cI ran as many days as I could. No idea how many in a row, but over 15 years I missed very few days.\u201d \u2013 Steve Moneghetti (taken from the book \u2018book \u2018Australian Marathon Stars<\/em><\/a>\u2019).<\/p>\n In the book, Australian Marathon Stars<\/em><\/a>, when Mona was asked his favourite session, he replied:<\/p>\n \u201cMy fartlek, people refer to it as \u2018Mona Fartlek.\u2019 It is a continuous fartlek that lasts for twenty minutes. The breakdown of it is:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think any one session was key to getting fit since all of the different types of sessions (tempo runs, short intervals, long intervals) complemented each other and were necessary as part of the whole program.\u201d \u2013 Lisa Ondieki (taken from the book \u2018Australian Marathon Stars<\/em>\u2019<\/a>).<\/p>\n![\"Advertisement](\"https:\/\/runnerstribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Autopilot-landscape.jpg\")
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Lee Troop- Something to Prove<\/u><\/strong><\/h1>\n
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<\/a>Lisa Weightman<\/u><\/strong>–\u00a0 More than just a Marathoner<\/u><\/strong><\/h1>\n
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<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\nPat Carroll- The True Competitor<\/u><\/strong><\/h1>\n
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Benita Willis <\/u><\/strong>– Our Fastest Ever<\/u><\/strong><\/h1>\n
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<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\nDerek Clayton <\/u><\/strong>– Leading the Way<\/u><\/strong><\/h1>\n
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Robert de Castella <\/u><\/strong>– \u2018Deeks\u2019 de Master<\/u><\/strong><\/h1>\n
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Steve Moneghetti <\/u><\/strong>– The Inspiration of a Generation<\/u><\/strong><\/h1>\n
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Lisa Ondieki – Track & Mileage: To the Extreme<\/u><\/strong><\/h1>\n
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