The present moment

Ordinary things are not written about.  They are mundane, and we go through them without noticing.  Tales are written and passed from one generation to another because they have something extraordinary about them.  Marathons are mystic because they are extraordinary in their nature.  Their whole point is that they are anything but easy and they strip you from every comfort that nowadays we are accustomed to.  Hadrian Bonello seems to have gone one step further.  It made him feel alive and live the very present moment, forgetting the past in the process.

Hadrian, another marathon, and this time you’ve even recorded a personal best with a timing of 2:46, beating your own optimal time of 2:47 which you’ve achieved 13 years ago.  Congratulations!  How does this achievement compare with you representing Malta in Judo in the Small Nations Games?

This year’s marathon was truly a memorable one. Comparing it to other achievements in my past I must say that anything fantastic that happens in the present just overcomes  what happened in the past. I think way back 16 years ago when I was chosen to take part in the Small Nations Games, I was really happy but those memories fade away and are easily forgotten. The same goes for the marathon of 1999. It was my first marathon but I cannot remember the elation I had when I finished it. I definitely must have been extremely happy but other than a couple of photos that I have I don’t recall anything in particular about the finish. Anyone who does a personal achievement in the present cannot really compare the elation of the past. The present will pass as well and we forget the sacrifices we did in training and also we tend to forget that we ran a hard race. We always look forward to what follows.

I remember in last year’s marathon going up the hill at Blata l-Bajda, I swore that I would not ever run the full marathon again. I remember I was in so much pain. All that moaning was easily forgotten because I did it again this year.

It’s been said that if you win something you run 100 metres, but if you want to experience something you run a marathon.  Was this marathon a simple task of running on your given pace, or did you go through a lot of emotions on the way?

Yes, that’s right. If you want an experience, you run a marathon. Running this year’s marathon was no simple task at all. Firstly there was the pressure of failing to achieve the predicted time for the race and secondly whether I would be able to make a personal best. The week prior the race everything was going the other way round. Nothing was going right. I was feeling a lot of negativity about  whether I would be able to do a good run or not. I was terribly worried about the weather conditions not being right. I was eating more than I normally do and also in the tapering week I felt my running was slow and very tiring which makes you think that something is not right. But my coach, the awesome Has Kesra, told me that my training was complete and if I follow precisely the race tactics and pace I would finish exactly on the predicted time. I still recall his pep talk as we were driving to Mdina on Sunday morning on race day. It really fired me up.

Having achieved your time I am pretty sure you never hit the dreaded wall at KM32 or thereabouts.  Is avoiding the wall simply a case of running strictly on a given pace?

In the 90’s I remember everyone talking about the wall and the dreaded 32km point in the race when everything you trained for just disappears. I don’t remember if I had or had not felt it back then. My coach told me that the wall is only imaginary; something of the mind. So he prepared me for this. He said that if I follow the pace to perfection especially in the very initial stages of the race and think positive about the race then while tiredness would come in, mentally the body will continue to drive me at the same pace in the final stages of the race. There was no wall at the 32km mark or afterwards. When I arrived at the dreaded hill in Blata l-Bajda I looked at the watch going up and found myself running the dictated pace. It was simply amazing.

You remarked you were suffering from a Gluteus Maximus injury.  Did it ever effect you during the marathon, and were it ever at the back of your mind?

Right after the last MAAA race I developed this injury which was really hindering my speed sessions and making my easy runs feel like someone who just started running. I spoke to my coach on this and he showed me some stretching techniques to try and eliminate this pain. I had to simply stretch three times a day for about 30 to 45 min specifically focusing on the gluteus maximus. The pain started to ease up but it did not disappear. I was running comfortable at an easy pace but in my speed session I was not pushing myself hard. A couple of days before the marathon Has told me that the pain will disappear on race day, the adrenalin will kick in and the pain will go away. It did and I did not feel one single twinge along the 42km run.

What enabled you to better your time from last year’s marathon?

The coach is the trainer, the mentor and the motivator. Has Kesra gives so much to his athletes and we follow his guidance to the dot. It is like a little child putting his trust on her father when trying to jump for the first time into the sea. Knowing that whatever happens her father will be there to catch her. Trusting in the coach and his methods of training is the most important thing as an athlete. Believing in yourself that your preparation will enable you to perform optimally in the race comes after that. I knew that my preparation for the race was going perfectly; I was making better times than last year over the 5km and 10km races so mentally I was saying to myself that if the times are improving than eventually my marathon race time would also improve. It did, there were no mishaps, the preparation was done to the book and the pre-race build up went smoothly (in a way!!).

Finally, after such a marvelous marathon, what’s the main motivation for the rest of the season?

There are only two more races that I want to do until summer kicks in, the MAAA Marsaskala 10km and the Mellieha 10km. The main motivation is to do a personal best over the 10km distance. Currently it stands at 35:46 and it was done way back in 1998. That is my current vision or goal. The current reality is that I am fit and strong to race. My path now is committed to move to that vision. If that does not happen life goes on, we look back at the achievements of the past running calendar and move forward to work in reaching that goal.

The quick long road

The road might have been long on Sunday, 24^th February for Mellieha AC athlete Andrew Grech.  But while there were no compromises with the distance, there were no no-entry signs anywhere, all the signs led him forward without any need for detours and being a human, the traffic lights always shone green for him.  And then 2 hours 32 minutes 53 seconds since taking the first step he found not the end of the road but a finishing line, a medal and the confirmation that on the day he has been the second fastest Maltese like the year before.  It took him six minutes and 32 seconds less this time round though.

Andrew, you had another excellent marathon, managed to place as the 2^nd Maltese once again and dropped over 6 minutes in the process.  Congratulations.  Looking at your past timings in the half marathons as recent as two to three years ago, you were recording 1:17 to 1:18 timings in the half marathon.  What is the secret behind such improvement?

I have to admit that for the last 2 years I have finally started taking this sport more seriously than ever. In the past, I used to train 4 times, maximum 5 times weekly, not really following any type of programme. Then there was a turning point where I confessed to myself, either to start taking it seriously or else I remain where I was and I chose the first option. Results started coming sooner rather than later, therefore from then on I started following our coach’s programme vigorously and even nutrition-wise I started following some instructions given by Robert Vella of Nyoo.

I saw pictures of you and your coach Has Kesra looked to be accompanying you on the bicycle the whole route.  How much of a boost was that?

Yes, actually it wasn’t planned that Has would follow me for so long therefore it was even a bigger boost to have him by my side. His presence was vital as he’s a very positive person. He told me that I could do that time way back in November, he really believes in my abilities .And again he was right, exactly like last year.

This being the second marathon, how much was it of a psychological advantage over last year?

Not knowing what to expect can make physical and mental preparation a bit challenging therefore this time around I had to think ‘only’ on my coach’s predicted time, therefore pacing the race as he rigorously planned it for me.

So much is said about the possibility of hitting a wall at some point during the marathon.  Lately, we’ve even seen elite marathoners such as Haille Gebrselassie retiring from marathons.  Was such fear ever present in your mind?

I think proper training, race management and nutrition are the 3 most important ingredients to avoid hitting the wall and all in all I guess I had 2 out of 3 before the start of the race; what was left was to pace my race as given by Has, and I did that, word by word…and never hit the wall.

Looking at your result you’ve finished 4 minutes behind the athlete before you, and 4 minutes before your next rival.  Were you running on your own for most of the race?

I had been instructed by Has to follow the pace given, not the ranking. I felt very strong in the first half of the marathon, could have been faster but I resisted to the given pace. The runner in front of me continued to increase the pace and I was never really in contention with him. The runner who finished behind me stood together with me for the first 20 kilometres but then didn’t keep my pace thus leaving me to run the last 22 kilometres all alone.

And on such a long distance, how much of a challenge is that?  What was your main refuge during the long course?

I kept saying to myself the quicker I finish the marathon, the earlier I meet my daughter Julia and my wife at the finish, and that was it, at 10:32am I was in Sliema.

You were also part of the Mellieha AC team that won the Males Team.  How strong is Mellieha Athletic Club at the moment?

Mellieha AC has a great history when it comes to the Marathon. For the past decade with the help of other great athletes we always managed to top the 1st team in the Male Competition and with the help of the present team we’re trying to emulate them. I think right now we have a very good base with both present and future looking bright.

21 kilometres

In long distances you can’t just think about the goal.  You have to live the moment, run one kilometre after another.  You let the sweat toil with neither the goal nor the towel anywhere to be seen.  There are no immediate indulgences, and you have to save up for later.  In the urban life you get indebted if you live beyond your means.  In your running life you get lactic acid.

I was getting absorbed by the occasion, the day was finally arriving.  It’s a Catch-22 situation, you’re happy you’ve got the chance in your hands, but you’re equally aware that you don’t want to squander it.  As dreams, apart from a reason to live, bring with them responsibility.

Mdina.  In my world today all roads lead to the old city.  We start at the place the Order of St John and then we finish to get a medal reminding us of the same order.  But admittedly, while there, the Order was the last thing on my mind.  And silent the city was not as much.  Inside my head, there were so many voices.

The gun went off.  21 kilometres started.

The first kilometre went as planned.  But then, the downward slopes of Rabat to Mtarfa were too shiny not to blind me and just get carried away.  I was feeling good.  As much as a lad just getting his first pay, with notes burning a hole in his pocket.  My mantra of control slipped me when it mattered.

Kilometre after kilometre, feeling fine, rolling down the hills and flat roads.  I forgot, or was confused.  The mind played tricks, and I wasn’t strong enough.

Running is a lifestyle.  And today was a celebration of that life.  But the dj puts on the anthems only when it hots up.

The fifteenth kilometre came.  And with it the very serious hill.  It was time for payback.  The legs were feeling heavy, the breath equally so.  The average pace on my clock was climbing up more than the elevation metre.

Thus, the last kilometres were spent. I had to dig.  I was expecting to have to dig.  But this time I had to dig with my hands rather than my shovel, as I’ve left it behind me in the first part of the race.

There were the last two kilometres.  I should have been now happy that it‘s almost done, but the toll was clouding it all, it was more a case of survival now.

And then in the last hundreds of metres, I finally found something and rushed to the finishing line, salvaging a personal best in the process, stopping the clock at 1:41:19.

The medal was worn, the coach greeted.

I was depleted but then I finally composed myself, with a bitter-sweet feeling of missing the target time but still getting a pb and thus having just finished the best race of my life so far.  And today part of me wants to kick myself.  But then again, while on the day control was lost, my love for running never did, and I feel a better man having completed another 21 kilometres.

Roll over the next training sessions and 10k race.

Living the hard earned dream

When dreams die, life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly.  When dreams are lived, life is a bird where wings are flapped and you soar high and high in the fresh air and sees all the green underneath you.  Charmaine Mifsud realised all this for the second time as she finished another marathon, but while she were soaring she didn’t take her wings for granted.

Charmaine, another year, another marathon.  Do you foresee the marathon as an annual event for you?

Yes, for me it is the highlight of my athletic season.

You have had a slower marathon than last year but were still rightly very happy about your performance and overall experience.  Were you expecting from before a slower marathon than last year?

Yes, surely.  I have had some injuries which stopped from training for quite a while, and only started proper training in November.  I am very happy to have started, finished and achieved a respectable time.  42.2km are long and anything might have happened but under the training of our coach I was always in good hands.

During the marathon how much of a boost was it knowing that you’ve already conquered the whole distance before?

The will power and determination were there.  I was trained for such a distance, the next step was trying to keep a constant pace for all those kilometres, but when the body is tired then you don’t know how it will react to such stress. However, my mind was set and I knew at what point of the race I will feel in pieces so I focused on finishing to overcome that moment in the process.

You went through a crisis last year between the 33^rd and 37^th kilometre.  Was there any kind of similar crisis this year?

Yes, I had the same injury as last year.  But this time the timing was later as the pain started from the 37^th kilometre and even though I pushed myself the pace still went down drastically.  My determination of finishing was so high that through the last 100m I sprinted very fast.

Seeing pictures of you at the end you looked to be sprinting to the finishing line?  How much did the finishing line make you forget that you’ve been through 42 kilometres?

That race clock is such a view to behold.  I bet every runner feels over the moon as he sees it.  It means the journey is over and your goal is achieved!  I was in pain for the last 5 kilometres but kept pushing and seeing that finish line was amazing as at the same time I finally saw my son waiting for me to run last 20m together as is our ritual.  It gave me shivers down my spine and I naturally ran as fast as I could.

Now that you had time to analyse everything, what would you change?

There is always lessons to be learned if you want to keep on progressing.  I need to keep my pace more stable rather than fluctuating as was the case in the beginning of the race -  I was a bit too fast and this led me to slow down at the end.

The night of marathon day, as you were probably taking in your achievement, you learnt that you were part of the top Ladies Team in the Malta Marathon?  How much did that make it all even better?

I was extra happy as for the first time Mellieha AC won some kind of Women’s team award in the Malta Marathon.  We managed first place in the full…what more could I ask for?

Finally, how much do you feel Mellieha AC is part of your success?

Nowadays I feel close to these people more than ever.  They are part of my life and my family’s life too.  Our running passion is sky high and there is such a big bond between us all.  I used to run for self-satisfaction, but nowadays I run also for the love of my club as well cause that’s the least I can do to something that gave me so much.  Our coach made all the difference - his philosophy of how to manage our club is something extraordinary and we all believe in him and his strategy. I’m already visualizing next marathon.