Interview With Ellie Greenwood Post World Championship 100k

Crossing the line in 7:30:30 at the WC100k in Qatar. Photo: irunfar/Bryon Powell

After being named Ultra Running Magazine Ultra Runner of the Year (UROY) in 2011 and 2012 (plus probably winning it this year too), Ellie Greenwood has already had her share of success. However, this year is arguably her best yet due to wins at Comrades in South Africa and the recent 100k World Championship in Qatar. In addition she also won the 2014 Chuckanut 50k and the Squamish 50k.

I've been lucky enough to help Ellie through this year by coaching her, plus she now coaches others through my company too. There are a lot of interview with Ellie right now, but I wanted to ask a bit more about how she's approached races this year and what she's learned about coaching.

No doubt Ellie will continue to dominate global ultra running for years to come, so here's an insight into how she does it:

1. How did you deal with injuries in the last year, given you weren’t able to run much in 2013?

Ellie - Coming back to ultra running in 2014 I have been very careful to avoid getting injured again.  I now work closely with a Sports Med Dr., a physio and a massage therapist to work through any little niggles before they turn into injuries and prevent me from training.  I appreciate their expert advice and am careful to follow it.  In addition, I have focused on building back to high mileage very slowly and instead have done more quality rather than just pure quantity of training this year, so get a bigger bang for my buck in the miles that I do put in.  This year I have had some little niggles but with careful maintenance, foam rolling, stretching and being smart I have been able to work through them and still perform at my key races.

2. What cross-training did you incorporate while injured and what will you continue to do now you’re injury-free?

Ellie - I pool ran, cycled and rowed/ used elliptical in the gym.  I continue to cycle and use pool running when I feel my body needs a break from too much pounding of outdoors running.  I also was more dedicated to basic strength training when injured and continue to do this regularly even now I am 100% healthy as I know this is vital in injury prevention and making me a better runner.

3. How does your training differ for road races compared to trail races?

Ellie - In training for road ultras I tend to spend a similar number of hours each week training as if I was training for the trails but the mileage goes up and the amount of elevation goes down.  I focus on more consistent pace long runs, rather than just time on feet and hiking, when training for a road ultra.  I will always incorporate some tempo runs and speed work into my training, but these sessions become more important when training for a road ultra.  However even when training for a road ultra I'll spend some time of trails but just choose flatter and less technical trails, this gives my body a reprieve from the hard tarmac and also adds variety which is key for motivation.

4. How do you deal with unexpected factors on race day, such as the harder surface (tiles) and large number of 180 degree turns at the WC100k in Qatar?

Ellie - I just accept that all athletes are running the same course so no one has an advantage or disadvantage over another.  My UK team mate Jo Zakrzewski had run the course before so we checked out the course two days prior to the race, even this amount of time meant I was able to be forewarned of the courses challenges ahead of the race so there were no surprises on race day.  With the hard tiles I chose to wear a more cushioned shoe that I might have done otherwise, and with the sharp turns I didn't obsess if these kms were slower than others as I accepted that the turns would slow me down a little.

5. What have you learned from your experiences this year with wins at Comrades and the WC100k that you’ll apply to coaching others?

Ellie - I have learned that volume in training is not the be all and end all, and that fewer miles with quality can achieve just as good results.  I have also learned that really training specifically for a course (terrain, elevation etc) yields the best results and thus targeting one or two 'A' races each year is the way to really perform at one's best, if that is your goal.  I have also learned to take care of what seem like little extra factors e.g. trying to travel pre race a few days before, having a race day nutrition plan, heat training etc.  There is no point in just doing the run training and missing these extra factors which can really make a difference to race day performance.

Running on the tiles in the WC100k. Photo: irunfar/Bryon Powell

Welcoming Ellie Greenwood to the Sharman Ultra Coaching Team

Ellie winning Comrades 2014. Copyright MMPhotoSA

I'm really excited to announce that Ellie Greenwood is joining the Sharman Ultra Endurance Coaching team. Ellie needs no introduction as a runner, having won almost everything out there, including Comrades and Western States. Her focused training and smart race tactics make her almost unbeatable in races, while her smiley demeanor is legendary. So now she can pass on that experience to others to allow people to maximize their running potential, however an individual chooses to define that.

As well as her stellar personal achievements, Ellie has given numerous talks to runners and has the USATF Fundamentals of Coaching qualification. Ellie uses the philosophies and tried-and-tested methods I've developed through Sharman Ultra to provide the best advice and highest levels of personal contact in the online coaching business.

In honor of Ellie joining the team, Sharman Ultra also has a new website, so check it out at www.sharmanultra.com.

Comrades Marathon 2014 - All About Ellie

Ellie in her moment of victory.

It's three years since I was last in South Africa for Comrades and I almost forgot how much I enjoy the event and surrounding atmosphere. This was my sixth run, my fourth 'down run' and it was the first time I hadn't focused 100% in my training on peaking and nailing the 89.3km road course. So I felt much more relaxed for starters and managed to treat it as a surprisingly fun 80-90% effort training run for Western States 100, four weeks later. I've done that with marathons to use them for training in the past, but I wasn't sure how it'd work out for something much harder like this. Judging by how I'm usually a cripple after Comrades, but am walking normally today, I think I got the balance right.

With around 4,000ft of ascent, the down run isn't exactly flat or purely downhill, but it does have a net loss of about 2,000ft. My Strava file gives a good idea of what it's like.

However, the real story was Ellie Greenwood's spectacular win. I've been lucky enough to help Ellie with coaching in the build-up, although what made the difference on the day was undoubtedly her iron will to push to her maximum.

Ellie had a lot of pressure on her with local media expecting her to break the decade long Russian winning streak. Last time Ellie ran was 2012 when she ran one of the fastest times in race history in 6:08, but eight-time winner, Elena Nurgalieva, ran 6:07. Having had injury issues through 2013, Ellie was very hungry for this race (a massive understatement). She set off at a good pace, settling into third while the Nurgalieva twins went off fast like always. She was four minutes back at 45k in 3:07, which was well within striking range.

Unfortunately Ellie wasn't feeling great and lost a little time over the next 15k to be as far back as 8 minutes. For most people racing against such dominant and successful siblings, it'd be easy to accept a solid third and a very respectable finish. But that's not the way Ellie races.

I was lucky enough to see the action first hand, although I didn't expect to. Per the plan, Ellie should have stayed ahead of me the whole way by a large margin since I was aiming for 6:30, which was far slower than her expected time. So it wasn't a great sign when I caught her at 69k with just under a half marathon to go. However, I'd seen Ellie running down the huge Fields Hill as I approached her and she was clocking off a solid pace around 6-6:15/mile and was moving well. Just as I was going to give her words of encouragement she briefly walked and I couldn't help but run past, still egging her on but with no conversation.

I kept looking over my shoulder to see if Ellie was moving well but lost sight of her within a couple of miles and hoped she wasn't cramping or injured. At 7k to go I rapidly came upon the twins who looked exhausted and kept walking uphills. If only I could have let Ellie know that they were spent then I know she'd be spurred on, but I suspect the crowd told her that as she ran by anyway.

Just 3k from the end I noticed the lead vehicle for the women was visible behind me, which it hadn't been since I passed the twins. It was approaching me fast despite the fact I hadn't slowed and was still moving the same speed as all day long. My first thought was that Elena must have found a second wind and was somehow closing fast to make sure she stayed ahead of her sister. Yet that car was approaching me rapidly and I couldn't see how she'd have turned that around so much. With 800m to go the car and lead motor-bikes went by then a green bullet shot past instead of a Russian in red. It was Ellie and she was closing with a steely focus that only champions have. I cheered and shouted out to her but she didn't even look to her left due to her single-mindedness of purpose. Looking behind I couldn't see any women so knew she'd won and achieved her biggest running ambition.

Running into the stadium I got out my phone and aimed to take a shot of her crossing the line but she was charging so hard that she finished before I rounded the final bend into the finishing straight. It was inspiring and exciting to run in behind her while Chariots of Fire played through the loud speakers. I must have been almost as excited as she was then I crossed the line and congratulated her before she was whipped away to TV interviews and drug testing.

It was one of the best running experiences of my life to cap a really enjoyable personal run throughout the day.

Durban beachfront.

Nedbank elite team, including Camille Herron, Amy Sproston, Ellie Greenwood and several others who got gold (including the first two men, just out of shot)

The start pre-dawn.

Finish selfie just before crossing the line.

Ellie receiving her prize on the big screen in the stadium, plus live on national TV.

My own race:

I'd aimed for around 6:30 but didn't intend to push since I didn't want to jeopardize Western States. So 6:18 with a negative split (3:12/3:06) and a 5:40 through 50 miles was really encouraging, especially since I've never felt that good in a race before. It also makes me hopeful that one day I can come back and run a gold medal for top 10...which required a 5:40 finish time this year.

For those who haven't considered this race yet, I couldn't recommend it highly enough. Here's a more detailed race report with plenty of stats about the race from my 2010 run.

Gear:

Scott AF Trainers
Clif Shot Gels x6
Julbo Dust shades