Run Norwich winner Logan Smith spoke to Sportlink about his win around the streets of our fine city last month.
The City of Norwich AC athlete revealed his delight at retaining the crown he first won in 2019 and spoke to us about his plans for the future.
Here’s our exclusive Q&A…
What were the closing stages of Run Norwich like for you?
I’ve never experienced anything like it in those last couple of kilometres. I was telling myself to just hold on as I came into the last 500m or so. I was gritting my teeth and telling myself that I had got the hard work out the way but I had no idea if Reuben (Andrews) was catching me. I had no idea what was going on because obviously going up there (Theatre Street) I felt as though I'd dropped the pace massively because it's just such a hard, hard effort.
When I was hearing the crowd shouting left, right, and centre, I couldn’t get that gauge of how close he was. In my head I'm thinking he's going to come past me at any point potentially. He might be feeling really good at the end and he might be really good on the last hill. But no, I was pretty calm. I was feeling pretty good and yeah, I turned the corner, looked behind me, and saw no one there and I thought ‘yeah, this is a good day’.
What was the plan at the start of the race?
Well, we got on the start line and obviously know who's there and who's not. Obviously Reuben (Andrews) had a sub-15 5K recently and Danny’s (Adams) gone closer to 15 minutes as well. You pick those guys out and think they could be at the front for a good chunk of the race.
We chatted to each other to see what they're going for, see what they're after, how they're feeling, how training's going, and then try and get a gauge.
We all joke, Danny's got a nice speed at the start of the races, so I was hoping that he might do his usual, go off hard, take it for the first couple of kilometres for us so I can do as little work as possible. Thankfully, he did that and then at 3K that's when the pace started to drop a little bit going to Carrow Road.
I then took it around Carrow Road to Reuben. It was then just trying to feel each other out a bit. We're all club-mates at the end of the day so we're not trying to hide anything from each other. At the end of the day we want everyone to run fast and if we can help each other to do that then it's all good.
Did the crowd help you?
In the first half of the race I was trying to soak up the atmosphere. When you're feeling good, you’re taking all those extra little bits and pieces. Towards the end I was really feeding off the crowd’s energy, going around Castle Meadow coming up through Tombland and still focused, and still trying to take in as much as I could.
I'm not going to say that I wasn't focused on my running, but at the same time I was able to get the head up, look around, and see everyone shouting, see everyone cheering, everyone coming down the other side, down Castle Meadow towards the football club, see them shouting and cheering, it was just a really good feeling.
With the amount of noise that's coming from both sides, it almost felt like it could have been 50 people deep. You wouldn't have known. I couldn't even hear myself think. I was just trying to feed off that energy.
You get a bit of a goosebump feeling because it's not something I've experienced regularly. Obviously, I'd love to do that in the future, experience that sort of big race feeling and coming toward the finish line, and to be able to get that in my home city around Norwich is something special.
Why did you take your bib number off before the finish?
It’s been something that's instilled into me since I've been young; I always tuck my t-shirt in or tuck my vest in for the race. Coming down the home straight, I was just untucking my vest and really showing this really means a lot, and then I kissed the number on my top.
As I pulled it up again the number just came off because it was so wet. I was like, "Oh, I don't think I'm supposed to have this in my hands!"
So I just had to roll with it and I was like, "right, let's just put it up there!”
When I go back next year for the hat-trick of wins, I'll have to take off my number again. But hopefully next year if I get a hat-trick I'll get that bloody big trophy as well. I really want that trophy. I keep asking… ‘can I have it?’
Tell us about your win at the Great Eastern Run in Peterborough the week before…
That's what the last three months have been building up towards, the Peterborough Half. Obviously, I was going for Run Norwich in July before it got cancelled, so I ended the summer season early and thought I'll go have a little break and then come back for the Peterborough Half in October.
I went over there, and the intention there was to go up against a really good, strong field and hopefully run in a good pack of us. Usually, it's won in about 63 or 64 minutes, so I was thinking to get myself in there.
Obviously, with Covid in the last few years, I think that maybe took a bit of a hit because the field wasn't as deep, and then I found myself running pretty solo from three miles.
There was a pack of three of us for the first two miles. One dropped off and then again about three, three and a half miles, I found myself at the front and I was just like, ‘Oh, well, here we are’.
I thought I’ve either gone off way too hard and I’m going to feel it after 10 miles. I got to 10 miles still feeling good, and then did the last couple of miles, which was just trying to hold on.
To come away with 65:55 was something. I went out thinking 66:30, or anything sub 67 would be a good day. 66:30 would have been a really good day, and then to get sub 66 was crazy.
Do you think you could go quicker in a pack?
The cross country season is upon us, but next time maybe I’ll look to go into a race with a deeper field - something like the Big Half or somewhere where you know there's going to be a lot of good guys running around 63 or 64 minutes, and just see if I can get dragged along. I felt really good up until 10 miles running 5:00 to 5:04 (minutes per mile) pace. The last three miles is where you get dragged along (if you’re in a pack).
What’s next?
It's now cross-country season and we’ve got the Liverpool Cross-Country, the British Cross Country Championships, which is at the end of November. That's also the European Cross-Country trials so you've got the European Championship in December, and I'm going to go along there and get myself in the race and just try and get amongst it really. I just want to try and put myself out there, at the sharp end of the race or as close to the sharp end of the race as I can get.
I had a really good race there a couple of years ago as an under 23 - I was in the top 15 in my first year. I’ve had to miss the last three years because of Covid or injury, but I just want to go there and get among the seniors to see where I can place. Whether that's top 50, whether that's top 20, whether that's top 15, I have no idea. But I know all I want to do is just go there and give it a real good crack and see where I can get.
I know with (coach) James (Senior) he’s going to try and get me there in as best shape as possible. We've got a really good squad together and he's treated me well now for almost four or five years that I've been with him. I trust him and trust the process that he goes by.
We’ve also got the Mansfield Cross-Country relays on November 5, so that's going to just be another feeler into the cross-country season. CoNAC are sending a team there.
We had a really good team in 2018, I think it was where we finished sixth. We’ve got a good young team; I think there's probably four of us who are under 24, so there'll be a young team but a lot of good talent in there, so hopefully we can place well.
So that's the plan, pre-Christmas, and then we’ve got the Norfolk Cross Country Championships after Christmas and then all the Southerns, Nationals and Inter-Counties, maybe a road race here and there, but we shall see what comes.
What distance do you see yourself prioritising in the future?
I think half marathons and full marathons are where I’d like to take it. I really do enjoy the short stuff like 5K to 10Ks, I like racing them. Obviously, they're over quicker but the longer stuff is where I really do feel as though I come out of my shell a little bit more.
It's just something about the longer sessions we do in training; I feel better in them. I look forward to them more. I come off them feeling great. I go to the rest of the week still feeling good. I just feel the longer the race goes they're not easier, but the more I can sustain harder effort.
I see myself doing the marathon in the future but, like coach says, ‘not just yet’.
I’ve got to build up first, and I’ve got to make sure the legs are ready. I’ve got to do all the mileage. Obviously, at the minute, my mileage is quite high. I'm a high responder; in most training weeks it's 90 plus miles, and that's just where I feel I gain the most amount of fitness.
“You've got some people that run marathons on 50 miles a week and do really well. But for myself personally, it’s the longer, the bigger miles, that lead to greater fitness. I'm pretty open with that and I'm not going to hide away if I have a bad session. If I have a bad session, it happens every now and then, but yeah, definitely the marathon, one day, and see how fast I can go over that distance.
Watch Sportlink's chat with women's race winner Anya Culling here.