The flying debut

Speaking to Andrew Grech, less than two weeks before the Malta Marathon in his interview here, he admitted that the marathon is the race that he has been dreaming about. On the day, he probably not just lived the dream but thought he’s in a fairytale. Stopping the clock at 2:39:25, he was the second Maltese to enjoy the privilege to stop his clock after crossing the finishing line with forty-two kilometres and a bit in his trail. Alongside Jason Martin and Fabio Spiteri, he confirmed Mellieha AC as the winning team.

Debuts can hardly get any better than this.

Andrew, such a great result, honestly were you expecting it at the starting line?

In the context of timing, yes I was expecting to do a 2hr38-2hr40 Marathon despite getting sick three weeks before the marathon and spending nearly a week in bed. In regards of placing I wasn’t expecting to finish second Maltese. A third place finish was more within my limits as I knew of the potential of Jonathan Balzan and Jason Martin. I thought of a long tussle with Johann Galea who experienced the marathon on several occasions, but I had the better of him around the 17km mark.

Being at the starting line of a marathon for the very first time, did you have any fears or maybe doubts?

Yes, especially when hearing other runners and experiences about the dreaded wall around the 32k mark. Luckily I didn’t hit it and kept on going with a constant pace till the finish.

What has been the furthest distance you ever ran even in training before the marathon?

Two weeks before the marathon I did a three hour session covering just over 39.2kms. It gave me a big boost and felt more confident to produce the predicted time by my coach Has Kesra.

After covering such a distance, were you wary that now you were treading on new grounds, or was it too close to the finishing line to follow?

I think once you taste the marathon you won’t look back to shorter distance. If you are well trained it’s too nice a race to miss. So from now on I try to improve on this one.

The Malta Marathon only has about 400 athletes. Did you have periods when you were running on your own? How did this effect you?

Yes, I ran the last ten kilometres alone which actually is the most difficult part of the Marathon. I think if I had someone else to run with, I could have even improved on my time.

Andrew, can you tell us about your feelings as you ran the last stretch of the distance through the Sliema ferries?

It was a great feeling, I had no one in front of me and no one just behind so had no pressure in regards of placing. My wife was waiting and calling my name together with my work colleagues who were on duty that day next to the finish line.

Looking back at your race, would you change anything you've done. Anything that you feel that was paramount to your success?

I would have postponed my flu for post marathon… I’ve been running for eleven years but this is by far the year which I prepared best for - firstly in terms of nutrition. This season I’m in better form than ever before, Robert Vella of Nyoo helped me in that field. And then my coach Has Kesra who was instrumental with his approach. Not just a coach, but a very inspirational person.


As for the preparation, what part of the training do you feel was the most beneficial to such an optimum performance?

I think it’s a total package, all sessions were important, but the the long run is the most important component of all because it teaches the body to both mentally and physically tackle the challenges presented in completing the full marathon.

Would you like to dedicate your victory to anyone in particular?

First of all to my coach Has Kesra for his coaching skills and for keeping my spirits high throughout the season. To my family, especially to my wife Diane who is expecting our first baby come June and finally to our hard working Club President Julian Borg.