A fantastic new film has showcased Alex Yee’s epic performance at the Valencia Marathon when he became the second-fastest Briton of all time at the distance, behind only Sir Mo Farah.
The Olympic triathlon champion has taken YouTube viewers on his marathon journey this year, first with ‘The London Detour’ as he prepared for his debut at the distance on home roads.
He finished 14th in London in 2:11:08 in April but anyone who has watched the follow-up ‘Vamos’ series will be fully aware that he felt an even quicker time could be within his scope at the Valencia Marathon in early December.
And that came off in spectacular style in Spain as he clocked 2:06:38 to finish seventh, with the latest film giving viewers a fascinating insight to what goes on in the build-up to the race.
Getting the inside track
From prepping his bottles – including Pokemon stickers for easy identification – through to the briefing for the pacers, it’s great to get behind the scenes in what is a beautifully shot and put together film from Dan Vernon, Adam Marsden and Marta Gorczynska.
And what becomes obvious early on is that Alex’s split-second decision to bridge the gap to the third group on the road, who were being paced to a 63 minutes first half marathon, proved to be a crucial one.
He explains: “I was just in front of the 64:30 group early on and had about 15 to 20 metres to make it to the 63:00 group but I really took a chance on myself and made the decision that I was going to back myself.
“And I think the confidence that I found from running across that gap really snowballed throughout the race and meant that I did believe in myself.
“If I’m being honest I definitely thought that once I got in that group there was very little chance I was going to hold or maintain the pace. I’d kind of come to the acceptance that at the backend it was really going to hurt and I was really going to have to fight.
“But I was excited about the prospect of being in that unknown. I’ve always raced my best when I ‘race’ in triathlon. That was the way I wanted to do it.”
‘I was just having so much fun’
But what then unfolded wasn’t a late sufferfest but actually one of the most enjoyable moments of his sporting career, which includes two Olympic gold medals in triathlon.
He would go on to negative split the race thanks to a superbly-executed strategy – much more detail on that here.
He explained: “I felt really smooth within the group. Emile [Cairess, fourth in the Olympic Marathon last year in Paris] was our pacemaker and he did an amazing job of really maintaining the pace and held on to 36k which is kind unheard of.
“And as the kilometres started to tick off I just believed in myself even more. I caught myself smiling and having these little grins because I was just having so much fun and being able to enjoy myself. That’s racing at its purest and me at my best. That was the point where I knew I might be on for something special.
“Of course my legs were screaming at me but that excitement of being on the precipice of something really special kept pushing me on.”
Emotional finish
The joy on his face as he crosses the line was obvious and looking back now he says: “It’s something I’ll cherish forever.
“This was, if I’m being honest, a massive surprise. Training had been going really well and some of my sessions probably showed I was in this sort of shape but it’s one thing executing that on a given day.
“To put so much investment into one race – and it’s not promised to you that you make the start line, it’s not promised you feel good, it’s not promised you execute everything. But everything comes to that moment when you cross the finish line – I think it really transcends anything which I’ve ever felt before.”
And the film also captures some lovely moments as he then cheers his brother Joseph across the line, with their parents on hand to celebrate too.
It’s embedded below – enjoy!
