One month on...

One month from today is the biggest event on the Maltese athletics diary.  It is the day of the marathon and half marathon.  It's not just about athletics though.  Thousands gather at the oldest city of the island, but the history of the place is probably the last thing on their mind.  They just want to savour the moment, and go through the 21 kilometres and the bit to finishing line at the more modern Sliema.  For most, it's not just about starting from a place with great walls that saw sieges in the past to somewhere else with high rise flats.  It's about ditching the car and all its comfort to experience something through their sole legs.

Just a couple of hours before, a few hundreds, not only ditch the car but decide to get to Sliema through the longest route possible.  Short cuts for these people may only exist in the morning to beat the rush hour traffic.  On the day, they want to challenge their legs, their morale, their spirit and their whole self to the limit.

Julian Borg, chairman of Mellieħa Athletic Club will be one of the latter.  A hat-trick of any one thing might be the pinnacle for most.  But Julian, after three marathons he wants to live a fourth one.

Julian, you are a past marathoner.  How many marathons have you done, your pb, and your most memorable one.

I did three marathons London 2000; Prague 2002 and Malta 2005. My PB is 2.43.05 in Malta. The first marathon is the most memorable. The experience and lessons learnt are still very vivid today, after 13 years.

You seemed to have taken a sabbatical from competitive running.  Now you seem very much back on track.  Was the sabbatical beneficial, and does it feel different toeing the starting line nowadays from the past?

I started running in 1998 and till 2003 I was very consistent and competitive. I firmly believe in priorities and achieving set goals.  And goals do change in the course of life. Therefore I had to forgo running to focus on other aspects of life such as work and family. Having said this I always kept the Sunday run. End of 2004 I set a very short term target to run the 2005 Malta marathon. That was three months of running and running and running. The end result was a PB. After this race I returned back to being a casual runner.

In an ideal world I would have worked on my other commitments and kept running competitively also. Therefore I cannot say that I am happy to have stopped running for such a long stretch.

January 2012 I felt that I could shift some of my energy back to running and I made a definite commitment with myself to return back to running on a regular basis. The beginning was very difficult and finding the time to run was a big challenge. However today I can say that running is again part of my lifestyle. 

Does it feel different being on the start line today from the past?

Now that I am following a training programme and have set targets I feel the same level of excitement on the start line. 

Last year you were covering the route, supporting MAC athletes on your bicycle.  What made you do jump to take on the full route on your sole legs?

The option of riding along the marathon route with the bike rather than running it was always a self imposed decision because of lack of training. In fact I always felt a great sense of guilt feeling at the start of the Marathon for not having made the time to train and be part of the crowd. Having said this, by the time I reach the finish I was always very happy to see Mellieha AC runners accomplishing their goals. Knowing that I was able to support them gave me great pleasure. So I do not regret being on the bike in the last few marathons.

Going back to your most memorable marathon, what were the main factors that contributed to it?

The first memorable moment of the London marathon was being one of 33,000 runners. The atmosphere and support along the route was something which is very difficult to describe. The next memorable moment was when ‘I hit the wall’. I had only been running for two years and completed only three half marathons. Little did I know how one would feel after surpassing the 30km mark. I ran the first half some four minutes faster than my planned time. My first reaction was that I am fine, feeling good and enjoying it. However as soon as I passed the 30K mark, it was like switching a light from on to off. My energy levels reached the empty level. I hardly recall crossing the finish line but I do recall struggling very hard to get to it. Today I know very well that what really matters in a race is the second half.

I do encourage runners to travel and race in major cities around the world. The experience is great and it does give you a new dimension to running. Through running I have made lots of friends and I have visited places which I would have never visited.

You are also the MAC chairman.  The MAC team won last year’s Malta edition.  What gave MAC the edge over other teams?

The MAC team has won the team event for the past 15 years, with the exception of a couple of years. Team spirit, personal dedication and consistency are the major contributors to MAC’s success.  The decision taken years ago to appoint Has Kesra as the club coach was very instrumental to achieve these three factors.

Do you believe MAC can repeat the feat this year round?

We expect to have stiff competition but we do have a talented team of runners to give us the edge on our competitors.

Marathon training involves both track training and long running spanning into hours.  Which of the two do you find mostly challenging and satisfying?

Long distance running is therapeutical. I do most of my training early morning and that injects me with a ‘feel good factor’ to deal with the daily challenges in a positive way. Speed work and track training are always the most challenging.

Finally, on the 24^th February, you will be toeing the line at Mdina, 42 kilometres away from the finishing line at Sliema.  What will be the main driving force that will carry you through these kilometres?

The confidence that I have trained well, the determination to achieve my target and the support shown by my family and coach, Has Kesra will drive me to the finish time.