‘One on One' with Scott Winton

NZR: In the time I have know you you lived in the UK, lived in NZ then back to the UK then back to NZ. What was this all about?
Yeah I have been back and forward a few times. I first came back in 2001 when I was living in Oxford working as a pharmaceutical rep. After two and half years in Auckland, I went back to live in Manchester, and Paris for a while, because my girlfriend got a transfer with work. Early last year I returned to do a diploma in journalism.

NZR: I heard that while you were first in the UK Arthur had you doing just mileage and no races for 2 years. Any truth?
No truth in that whatsoever. I wasn’t doing much training at that time. Just enough to keep fit because I enjoyed it. But by simply doing a lot of jogging, I suppose I was creating a pretty good aerobic base, which is what Lydiard advocated.

NZR: I understand you are now a journalist. Talk us through this?
I graduated last year with a diploma in journalism and I’m now working at Gulf News on Waiheke Island. We cover everything from late ferries to, quite literally, a goat walking around the village (named Coco if you’re interested). When I finish my running, I’d like to concentrate on my journalism a bit more.

NZR: I remember you telling me back in your sales days that you preferred to train early in the morning as it didn’t seem to be any harder getting up at 6am or 8am. Is this still the case?
Absolutely. Changing to doing my big training run first thing in the morning has been a really positive move for me. You’re a lot fresher in the morning and it’s always good to know your training is done by the time you have your breakfast. Sometimes the last thing you want to do after a days work is go out for a run.

NZR: Back in 2002 when we were all over at Zatopek you were just starting to come on as a force in NZ athletics. What pushed you?
I suppose I was curious to know what I could do. Lydiard told us that if you have decent leg speed, the only limiting factor for an endurance athlete is your aerobic base. I felt my speed was all right, so if I kept training I should see a steady improvement.

NZR: You have now notched up a number of sub 2.20 marathons. How fast do you think you can ultimately go?

I think I can run under 2.15.

NZR: What has been your favourite marathon experience so far?
World Champs, Helsinki 2005. I was in good shape and I felt I ran pretty well. Apart from that it was a great course with massive crowd support, which made for an outstanding atmosphere.

NZR: You managed to represent NZ at the 2005 World Champs marathon after qualifying at London that year. Did you always consider that you had the “goods” to compete at the highest level?
I couldn’t see why not.

NZR: Tell us about your training and who is hacking for you at the moment?
No one is hacking for me. (Although I get D Kennan on the bike sometimes). Living on the island means I have to do my training by myself, which I actually quite like. It means the intensity of training isn’t dictated by anyone else. This year I have backed off the speed work a bit and focussed more on endurance. A typical week for me will be a long tempo, a long run on Sunday and some reps every two weeks or so.

NZR: With Toronto just around the corner are you confident?
Quietly confident. It’s always a bit hard to know what shape you’re in for a marathon, but the training runs I’ve been doing recently indicate I’m fit.

NZR: I have just had a look at the elite field and it seems pretty stacked. What are your tactics and aims for this race?
The race director wants a sub 2.10 so the leaders will likely go through half way in a shade under 65. I won’t be with them. I’ll start fairly conservatively and hopefully run down some of the carnage later in the race.

NZR: Olympic aspirations?
Yeah I am aiming to run under 2.15. I’ve been around that 2.17-2.18 mark for the last couple of years, but I’ve been doing a few things a bit differently this year so hopefully I can do it. It’s all about the little one per cents.