This Is Guernsey

By Nick Mollet

GUERNSEY’S greatest ever middle-distance runner Lee Merrien has completed high-altitude training in South Africa and insists he still harbours hopes of making the Olympics in the summer. The 28-year-old late developer in the sport has a hectic schedule ahead and is heading off to race in Dour, Belgium, on Sunday in a cross-country race.

‘It’s a race to see what my fitness is like - I did not want to go too long without a race after I got back,’ he said.

Next he has his eyes on competing in the national cross-country championships at Alton Towers in a fortnight.

Three weeks later he has the inter-counties event in Nottingham, which acts as world trials.

‘I want to try an make the British team at the trials for the World Cross-Country Championships at the end of March in Edinburgh,’ said Merrien yesterday.

‘I have got as good a chance as anybody on the fringe of the team.

‘Only the top four or five are guaranteed and there are discretionary places after that.’

Merrien finished eighth of the Brits at the European Cross-Country Championships and they take nine athletes to the worlds.

He returned to Guernsey from South Africa last Friday.

Potchefstroom is located about a 90-minute drive from Johannesburg and is at about 4,400ft altitude.

‘Overall the training camp went very well - I was able to take the training up a notch both in volume and intensity,’ he said.

‘I guess these kinds of thing are an athlete’s heaven as the day consisted mainly of training, eating and resting.’

He stressed the facilities and location were also great.

‘I have Cannon [Asset Management] to thank as without their support I just wouldn’t be able to afford to do these types of trip and I feel it’s already making a big difference to my running.’

The altitude is not as high as other popular training locations such as Boulder in Colorado or Font-Romeu in the Pyrenees, but during the European winter the climate and location are ideal and it is still high enough to ensure the body is having to work harder than it would at sea level, said Merrien.

‘While the altitude is a plus, the main benefit was having many good athletes to train with. Although I did much of my training with the other British guys, we also linked in with the Swedish group and one or two others from other European countries.

‘Training with others of a similar standard and better makes a massive difference to the quality of training. I think if I do these regularly during the season, it will assist me massively in making the next step up,’ he said.

After March Merrien will be focusing on the track season in May but may be entering races before that.

‘I want to get as close as I can to the Olympic qualifying time in the 5k,’ he said.

The B standard is 13min. 28sec. and the A 13-21.5.

His fastest 5,000m time is 13-57, so he faces quite a jump.

‘Getting the A standard might be a bit out of reach but I will definitely improve on what I ran last year. It’s a case of getting as close as I can to the B standard.’

He admitted Guernsey athlete Dale Garland had a better chance than him of making Beijing.

‘I’m not giving up on making the Olympics,’ he vowed.

Merrien has also been boosted by the news that he is expecting to become a father later this year - his wife, Teresa, is due to give birth to their first child in August.

‘It’s cool and I’m looking forward to it,’ he said.