He’s the current Olympic triathlon champion and she is an all-time marathon legend so when Alex Yee sat down with Paula Radcliffe to talk all things London Marathon it was no wonder he took the opportunity to ask for a spot of advice ahead of his 26.2-mile debut on April 27th.
Yee of course is far from a novice runner. He was British 10,000 metres champion on the track before focussing more on triathlon and in 2024 he enjoyed the ultimate year with that individual gold in Paris, followed by a first world title.
But he’s never run a marathon before, though his home event in London has always been an ambition ever since he represented his borough on multiple occasions as a child in the Mini Marathon.
The first year of the next Olympic cycle has given him the perfect opportunity to focus a big training block on London before heading back to swim, bike and run – and it’s something he relished.
Learning curve
Talking to three-time London winner and long-time world record holder Radcliffe on the ‘Paula’s Marathon Run Club’ podcast, the enjoyment he’s already gleaned from the process was obvious.
He’s targeted a debut time of something between 2:07 to 2:10 and when Radcliffe pointed out he’s going to have to make decisions in terms of which pack to go with, saying there probably will be a group going out at one hour flat pace for the first half, Yee was quick as a flash in saying: “I won’t be going with that one – disclaimer!”
And he turned the conversation back to Radcliffe when he asked: “What was the biggest thing you learnt from your first marathon and how can I apply it to mine?”
And the answer was illuminating. Not just for Alex but potentially for the thousands of other runners who will also be taking part in London for the first time.
‘Just have fun with it’
For Radcliffe said: “I had a bit of a rocky spell coming into my first one because I picked up a knee injury about four weeks out.
“So I remember my biggest thought predominantly on Blackheath that morning was just being thankful for being there. I was actually there and able to do it and just really, really excited.
“Then it didn’t help when I went to the toilet before the race and was told how much money people had bet on me in the race, because that kind of just really added to nerves.
“And I think you will definitely have that level of expectation and people are really nice, but that is another level. But I guess that’s a long way of saying the biggest thing is the pressure you’ve put on yourself.
“My overriding thought was, I need to do it to find [things] out. I think I’m good at it, I think I’m going to like it, but I need to do one.
“Because you don’t really know. I hadn’t gone the full distance in training, I’d probably gone about 22 miles. And so it was really about, can I get in and enjoy this and find out? And what I did find out was that I absolutely loved it from start to finish.
“And I think a lot of that was due to the magic of London, because it was the race that I’d grown up being inspired to do, the marathon. And to the extent that the plan was to sit in the pack until halfway and I went through Cutty Sark, and when I came out the other side, which is about seven miles, I had a lead.
“And then it was just like, oops, what do I do now? Because you’re not supposed to slow down once you’ve got a lead, are you? So I was kind of really having fun with it, and I think that would be the biggest advice I can give.
“And that’s to every single runner listening to the podcast. Going out and doing the London Marathon one of the most amazing experiences you will ever have.
‘Nerves and anticipation’
“But I expect there will be some rough spots within there, at least two or three. But you know how to come through those, and you have your coping techniques and you’ve shown that you can do that. So that would be the biggest thing – have fun with it and enjoy it.”
Wise words indeed and they definitely resonated with Yee.
He replied: “There’s an element of the unknown in what I’m doing and that excites me. Like 40,000 other people, I line up on London Marathon start with those nerves and anticipation.
“Fundamentally I’m doing my first marathon so I’m excited to see what happens.
“I think whenever anyone asks me about a time goal or anything like that, my first answer is my goal for the London Marathon is to enjoy it.”
