Striders Spotlight: Graham Smith

In our weekend edition of Striders Spotlight we have Graham Smith. Graham joined striders in 2013. Graham was the club chairman between 2017 and 2018 and prior to that also was the men's cross country captain and also running the club champs. Graham was also the 2018 Strider of the year.

A 5k with a difference. The Mamores Vertical Kilometre in Scotland last year. Straight up a mountain and straight back down!

Graham Smith

Age

V45 😉

Occupation

Pass. Something to do with geography and maps.

Reason you started running?

I was always late for work...

No, actually I entered “Vertical Rush”, a sponsored run up the stairs of a tall building in London, so I started to run as training, and did a few races and parkruns after that. I was already doing quite a lot of cycling so was relatively fit, and enjoyed doing both, entering a few off-road duathlons.

I really threw myself into it as a way to have something to focus on, training up to 20 hours a week including gym and cycling. I quickly got the running bug, and about a year later joined my first running club, St Albans Striders! And so glad I did.

Like many people I was quite apprehensive about joining the club. My first race was the Herts County Vets Cross Country Champs and I was worried whether I’d be good enough to enter such a prestigious sounding event.  I managed not to embarrass myself, and have always loved racing with the club (and at random races pitching up on my own) ever since.

Striders has meant an awful lot to me personally, through the friendships I’ve made, and in my time on the committee as club champs manager and cross county captain and dedicating a couple of years to the chair’s job which I loved and was terrified of in equal measure!

It was a special moment carrying the baton over the line as Striders smashed the 2 hour marathon barrier by relay in 2017.

...and I still run to the station when I’m late for work.

Favourite race distance?

10k. Better if that’s off road, and better still if hilly. I do love a trail race. There are loads in the Chilterns and North Downs like this. But really anything between 5k and half marathon whether off or on the road suits me.

Flitwick 10k 2014. Finishing line and the race face comes out!

Favourite running route and race?

It has to be Ashridge - running from the monument across to Ivinghoe Beacon and back. Graham Foster and I used to do a regular long Sunday run up there and it was always great fun and got you working hard. I do like to push myself and enjoyed a well deserved coffee and chat afterwards. Wendover Woods is a close second. I also really like the course of the Wheathampstead 10k as a training route.

Every race seems to be my favourite race! But I think it has to be the Ridge Off Roader 10k. I ran it once on my birthday and got a box of chocolates from the organisers. Nice touch! On the road I really like the Great South Run and the Maidenhead 10.

Great South Run 2013. My first taste of a big city race

Running goals / targets?

For a long time my biggest goal was to go sub-35 for a 10k. I was looking good for that at the Bearbrook 10k a couple of years ago and then I “bonked” at 8k, having not eaten or slept much the day before. Just as the race route starts to go downhill to the end and I should have been tanking it downhill my legs gave up. It was still a PB but I lost about half a minute as a result. Excuses, excuses! Anyway, since then injury and less racing means that I’ve not got close since, and to be honest, I’m no longer that bothered.

My goal now is to stop age slowing me down too much, and maybe do some big mountain events – sky running looks like a blast! I’ve still not done a marathon but there’s always time for that isn’t there? Next year?.. Maybe the year after?..

How often do you train?

On average about 5 times a week. In terms of distance about 60-70k a week when things are going well, much of it in London, either run commuting or at lunchtime. Tube station stair cases are my big tip for hill training, though I’ve neglected this lately.  I’m also lucky to have a gym at work so I use that most days for stretching and a bit of core work (you can’t beat a good side plank to strengthen those hips).

What motivates you?

I don’t often struggle for motivation to run as I enjoy it so much, but coming back from injury is hard, not being able to run like before and finding every run a real effort. For those times I try to remember just the basic fun and enjoyment of running, and forget race times. I try anyway! Going for a run somewhere scenic always helps.

Great to bump into Christine McIntyre at the finish of the Snowdonia Half Marathon last year.

I’m definitely someone who is spurred on by my own performance rather than anyone else’s. I like to race competitively but I’ve never considered anyone else a rival – perhaps because I train on my own so much. I like seeing everyone do well.

Most memorable run / race?

My most memorable race and proudest moment was at the Yorkshire Half Marathon (aka Sheffield Half Marathon) in 2015, where I came 6^th and 1^st Vet (and 1^st Southerner, based on an analysis of running vests!). The crowds in the city centre were pretty huge with over 6,000 runners taking part.  It’s a pretty demanding course, with the first six miles all uphill and the last six miles all downhill. In fact I got an unofficial Strava 10k PB of 33:34 in the process (as I say, all downhill at the end, and great to race home like that!)

I was also delighted that Bernard Lagat was 1^st Vet at the Manchester Great Run a few weeks later, as though this put me on some kind of a par with him. He got the 10k V40 world record in the process, so actually I would have been several miles behind him!!

Injuries?

In my first two years of proper running (2013 and 2014) I didn’t realise how lucky I was, racing just about every weekend with only one week of injury. Improving my running form got rid of a lot of the early niggles. Then a string of quite lengthy injuries punctuated my running from Summer 2015 to the end of 2018 between ankle, calf, hamstring and back to ankle again. Last year I discovered the joys of fell and mountain running (as much as you can when you live in St Albans). This, and not racing as much have hopefully made me a stronger runner, and fingers crossed a bit more robust.

Other hobbies?

Photography, cycling (need to do more), drinking red wine and eating chocolate.

During 2018 and 2019 I enjoyed taking photos of runners as much as running myself. 

Guilty pleasure?

None. Just hobbies.