PERFORMANCE RACE PREPARATION
M
O FARAH and Lasse Virén
are of course proud
owners of an athletics’
“double-double” – Virén
achieving his 5000m and 10,000m
successes back at the 1972 Munich
and 1976 Montreal Olympics, while
Farah triumphed over the same
distances at London 2012 and Rio- As world-beating athletes both
shared resting heart rates of a little
over 30 beats per minute, both have
mightily impressive VO2max figures
and both would regularly run well in
excess of 100 miles per week.
So, what else do they have in
common? Both men fell on their
way to one of their respective
10,000m triumphs. Farah took a
tumble mid-race in Brazil after
10:56 of running while Virén crashed
to the track in Germany after 12:28.
Both would recover in similar style
with Farah kicking home to win
gold and Virén doing likewise while
remarkably setting a new world
record.The psychology and
physiology of the fall
For every Virén or Farah there is a
Mohamed Gammoudi. The Tunisian
tumbled with Virén and resumed
running in Munich but could not
maintain his pace and had to
drop out a lap or so later. And then
there’s perhaps the most famous
of all endurance runner falls – the
one that happened to Mary Decker-
Slaney. Few will forget the drama of her drop at the 1984 LA Games and
the “trip” created by Zola Budd and
her tears and failure to continue.
All this being said, why some
runners get up while others don’t or
can’t is an interesting subject and
one which has some answers within
the realms of sports psychology
and perhaps the playing of other
sports and “athletics preparation”.
From a physiological point of
view, let’s consider not why but how
Virén and Farah got up. For what is
similarly remarkable about the two
falls is that it took them no more
than between two to three seconds
to get up and back into running
again.
In Munich, Virén lost about 20m
before catching the field in less
than 150m, whereas in Rio Farahrolled on to his right-hand side
and used the counter momentum
to roll back to his left-hand side
and pushed off the track with
his right hand while his left foot
simultaneously pushed off ground,
as he remarkably avoided being
trampled.
Of course, such a tumble spikes
adrenaline and this can lead to
reduced energy later on in the race
after the spurt to regain contact
with the race leaders, but it can also
steel the mind – as it seemed to do
in the case of Virén and Farah.Toughen up
Fundamental and foundational
physical skills can be important
when it comes to a quick “get up
and go”. Prior to being coached byFalling to
victory
TAKING A TUMBLE ON THE TRACK HAPPENS
TO THE BEST, BUT IT IS TRULY THE VERY BEST
WHO GET UP AND THEN RACE TO VICTORY,
WRITES MATT LONG PICTURES: MARK SHEARMAN
Lasse Virén leads the field in the 10,000m at the Munich Olympic Games in 1972