How Elite Runners Train For The Olympics And Boston Marathon – Forbes

It’s not uncommon for the world’s top runners to compete in one marathon while setting sights on the next big run. Just before the winter holidays, two-time Olympian and Boston Marathon winner Des Linden announced she would compete in this week’s U.S. Olympic Trials in Atlanta, on February 29, while staying on pace to run Boston seven weeks later, on April 20.

Yet, being fit for one world class running event doesn’t guaranteed you’re a shoo-in to conquer the next. Last year’s men’s race in the Boston Marathon was decided by a battle and one split second at the finish line. Even the greatest runners in the world utilize special coaches and join up for elite training leading up to they next big race.

Enter Mary Kate Shea, a 23-time Boston Marathon runner, and Senior Director of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship for John Hancock, which is celebrating its 35^th consecutive year as the principal sponsor of the Boston Marathon.

Shea’s other principal role is as the organizer and driver of the John Hancock Elite Athlete Team. For the last 20-plus years Shea has helped elite runners like Linden and others prepare and elevate their performance. Currently, the John Hancock Elite Team consists of 75 athletes from 17 countries, including 16 Boston Marathon champions, plus Olympic and Paralympic medalists, and several world record holders.

Recently, I connected with Shea to find out how the world’s best distance runners get better with elite team training and coaching.

Andy Frye: The Boston Marathon attracts all kinds of runners. What does it take to get to elite status and performance levels?

Mary Kate Shea: The Boston Marathon is a “bucket list” item for many people, and winning it remains one of the highest accomplishments in the sport of road racing. As one of the top six races in the world, when an athlete podiums in Boston, their career is made. They will be recruited to run in other top races and may be selected for their country’s World Championships and Olympic teams.

The elite athletes chosen for the John Hancock Team are among the most accomplished athletes in the world: Olympic and World Championship medalists and Abbott World Marathon Majors winners, which include the Boston, Chicago, New York City, London, Tokyo and Berlin Marathons. Combined, the elite field recruited this year have won more than 230 global marathons.

AF: Do you think the Olympics highlights distance runners the way it has for celebrated swimmers like Michael Phelps and Katie Ladecky?

Shea: In some countries, runners are the athletic heroes and are widely celebrated. While they don’t typically garner the same level of fame in the United States compared to other professional athletes, social media has given elites a platform to converse with runners of all ages and abilities, and to share their remarkable stories and success. 

Elite marathoners focus on competing, on average, in two high-quality marathons a year. Several factors may come into play here, such as injuries, proper nutrition and weather – John Hancock recognizes this commitment and fairly compensates the athletes for that work through appearance and prize money, even if they don’t podium.

“Running is one of the few sports where you line up next to some of the world’s best athletes.”

AF: Kathrine Switzer ran Boston 53 years ago. How big was breaking the gender barrier? How has it inspired women to run?

Shea: Kathrine Switzer changed the game, and went on to organize many running events, authored several books, and is still going strong with her 261 Fearless group. What sometimes gets overlooked, though, is that from 1966 until the official participation of women in 1972, Bobbi Gibb and Sara Mae Berman won three titles each. They are all amazing athletes.

U.S. women marathoners from Joan Benoit Samuelson to Shalane Flanagan to Des Linden have been exceptional role models to women and men alike. To be an elite runner requires commitment and determination—characteristics that everyday participants also need to reach the finish line. Running is one of the few sports where you line up next to some of the world’s best athletes.

John Hancock was among the first organizations to pay elite athletes for competing in major marathons and has always offered equal prize money for men and women, since we became the Boston Marathon principal sponsor in 1986. Today in road running, across all distances, men and women are fairly equally represented, which is inspiring.

AF: Besides being an exemplary runner, what comes into play in selecting runners for the John Hancock Elite Athlete Team?

Shea: Part of my role as a recruiter for the Boston Marathon Elite Athlete program is to become an expert in the sport: know historical progressions, accomplishments, times, rankings, rules, etc., as well as who has raced each other, who can race without pace setters on the world’s most challenging course, who has strength and speed, and who is hungry and motivated.  

Throughout the year, I travel to Berlin, Tokyo, London, New York City and Chicago, to attend every major marathon, speak with agents and athletes and watch how they compete against each other. I identify which athletes are the ones who have a “no quit” mentality, since running Boston requires a great deal of grit.

Our goal is to make sure the Boston Marathon is a world-class sporting event, and one which provides excitement for fans along the course and fans around the globe. Our elite athlete team always puts on a great performance, in all kinds of challenging weather. Our John Hancock sponsorship, marketing and communication teams, in partnership with the Boston Athletic Association, make it happen year after year.