Renato Canova knows a thing or two about preparing athletes for the big time in the marathon – and big time in more than one sense, not only fast performances but also the pinnacle of championship excellence. The Italian had therefore double reason to reflect with pleasure upon the success of Arne Gabius in Sunday’s Frankfurt Marathon. Gabius had run 2:08:33 to break the German record which had stood for 27 years, having been a regular recipient of Canova’s wisdom since the former’s thoughts had turned to the marathon and then his impressive debut in 2:09:32 in Frankfurt last year. What Canova witnessed in this year’s race was an athlete capable of making an impact on the Olympic and World Championship marathons.
Looking every inch the eminence
grise behind dark glasses and leaning nonchalantly against a table in
the crowded lobby of the race hotel, Renato Canova explained the path of
discussion between adviser and athlete in the last ten days or so
before Frankfurt: “We had two possibilities for the race, either for
Arne to have personal pacemakers and go through halfway no faster than
64 minutes and then try to run under 2:08
or, and this is what we chose, for him to run in the lead group which
was going through halfway in 63:30 or 20. We did this because Arne is
not so young, he is 34, and, with a view towards the Olympic and the
World Championship marathons over the next two years, he would have the
chance of developing a better understanding of what happens up front in a
race.”
The new German record holder’s time puts him 12th in this
year’s list of leading performances worldwide if you take into account
that only three runners per nation are able to compete in the Olympics.
But when you consider championship prospects, other factors take on far
greater significance than the plethora of fast times we have come to
expect from the talented runners of East Africa in the big city
marathons. Arne Gabius is as much aware of this as Renato Canova: “I’ll
have a chance of being up there in the Olympics. There can be surprises
in the marathon, anything is possible. It’s very rare [in championship
marathons] for the first half to be run under 65. The American Meb
Keflizighi won tactical races in Boston and New York and won an Olympic
silver medal in 2004. It shows surprises can happen and those kind of
stories motivate me.”
Gabius still had energy enough several
hours after his record to visualise the ultimate scenario: “If I have a
really good day in Rio, I might finish inside the top 10 and that would
be fantastic. My experience of track races could help me because of the
tactical aspect of championship races and that a lot of super fast
marathon runners never run races without pacemakers.”
Renato
Canova agrees that Gabius has gained crucial insight from the way he ran
here in Frankfurt in his second marathon, ie, being in a large leading
group for much of the race rather than being down the field with his
personal pacemaker: “It was 100% more important that he did this and
learned from it rather running faster but in a competition which was not
a race. I can believe he will improve still further in the marathon and
achieve a high placing in the Olympics but probably his best chance
will be at the World Championships in 2017. All the top Africans want to
run the Olympics but that’s not always the case with the World
Championships.”
While believing that it will be important that
Arne Gabius continues to include fast track sessions in his marathon
preparation, pointing to the German’s retention of track speed with a 13:27
for 5,000m indoors this year, Canova explained his nuanced approach to
the marathon: “I believe you can reduce the volume of running
progressively for each marathon because the body has profited from what
you have done before. It’s different with the Africans, they take long
breaks after a marathon and many times they lose what they have. This is
not a problem with Arne, he will be “tranquil” for fifteen days or so
and then be back in training.”
“Tranquil” might not be the
description Arne and Anne might choose as they prepare their wedding and
honeymoon, both to take place in the USA shortly. Let the marathon sage
Renato Canova have the last word on Arne Gabius’s potential for
championship success in the marathon: “By 2017 he should have run five
or six marathons and will have a better understanding of tactics. He has
the brain, the mind to manage the competition which is completely
different to one with a rabbit or pacemaker.” For all the fascination of
fast times and world record attempts, how refreshing to contemplate
tactical demands as the ultimate test in the marathon.
Written By: Andy Edwards
More Information is available at: www.frankfurt-marathon.com
Photo credit: www.photorun.net