The Athlete's international correspondent Professor Sean Hartnett (also a T&FN correspondent) sat down with Sammy Kamau Wanjiru in his Tower Hotel suite overlooking the Thames River the day after the 22 year old Kenyan claimed his first London Marathon title in a course record 2:05:10.While other Kenyan marathoners have run faster and won more titles, Wanjiru has already earned an exalted aura among athletes based on his stirring Olympic gold medal race and his No Fear approach to running's most feared event.
Sammy has returned to his native Kenyan training base after spending six years in Japan. His smooth stride with low slung arms and a quick low-heeled turnover reflects the Japanese mentoring and penchant for high mileage training. Unlike the Japanese, Wanjiru's stride is driven by powerful piston-like quad muscles, similar to Ethiopian great Kenenisa Bekele.
Wanjiru's first international break through was a 26:41.75 track 10K in August, 2005, where he finished third behind Bekele's world record effort. Later that year he clocked 59:19 at the Rotterdam half marathon. Injury reduced his profile in 2006, but he returned as a force in 2007, twice running under 59 minutes in the half marathon including a 58:33 world record at Den Haag.
Wanjiru moved to the marathon in December 2007, and has never looked back as he has won three of his four 42.2 K races, taking titles in Fukuoka, the Beijing Olympics, and 2009 London, while finishing a close second to Martin Lel last year in London.
Watching Wanjiru compete it is apparent that he has both a commanding and comfortable presence on the roads. He handles the aid stations, turns and pack running with the casual ease of his personality, yet dictates a captivating spell over competitors who all too willingly buy into his penchant for starting races at a ferocious pace.
Special thanks to Sammy for conducting this interview in English, which is the fourth of the four languages he has mastered including his native Kikuyu, Swahili and Japanese.
Hartnett: Like your victory in Beijing, you pushed the pacers to a very fast start in London, covering the first 5 kilometers in 14:08. This fast start is more like the Kenyan tactics for cross country than marathon.
Sammy Wanjiru: I like the high pace, the conditions and the weather was very fine and the body was ready so I told the pacers to go faster. You know that tactic you must do that to kill the other people. I feel comfortable with that.
Yesterday the pace was very good, but from 25K the pace did not go fast. I like it to go quicker. I told the pacemaker that the pace was slow but the man was very tired. Ramala was very angry because he told me it was too slow, too slow, so we start to move at 27K.
I am very happy because my condition was very tired at the finish and I got my best time today 2:05:10. Maybe next time we can get a good pacemaker and then we can go faster. If the weather is fine and no rain maybe we can get the record.
Hartnett: What was the most difficult aspect of your victory in London?
Wanjiru: The most difficult aspect of the competition was determining how to win after 30 kilometers. At 40 kilometers I sensed Kebede was there so I sprint and did not take fluids.
For the last kilometers I was very tired, and when I see the time I realized that the world record was very hard now and I can not do it, but I could do the course record.
Hartnett: While you missed the world record, you gained experience running very fast through 10K in 28:30 and the half marathon in 61:35.
Wanjiru: Yes, I got good experience. You know this course is very hard not like Berlin because you have a lot of curves and corners. If I go to Berlin in the Fall maybe I can run faster than here. If Berlin is not possible maybe I will go to Chicago because now I focus on the record.
I am also very happy because there were many Kenyans watching me on TV. For everyone in Kenya, if we can work together, I can improve my time and try to take the world record.
Hartnett: After great success over 10K and half-marathon, you have now made the transition to marathon.
Wanjiru: The marathon is good for me. Maybe next year I will go after the half marathon, and run maybe 57 something. You must have good speed if you want to break the record for half marathon. You know for marathon you must go about 40 kilometers per day and you can not train fast.
Hartnett: How would you adjust your training to attack the half record?
Wanjiru: More speed, a lot of speed. Maybe one week three times speed work, track and fartlek.
Hartnett: Tell us about your training?
Wanjiru: I train with a group in Nakuru, but sometime I train alone. Sometime I go to Nakuru for speedwork at low altitude. Also I train sometimes in N'gong with Tergat and Chelanga. For 40 kilometer I train alone.
You must prepare a good program, and you must do the number every day. So when I prepare to go to the track I think how to run.
Hartnett: Can you describe your daily training schedule, your daily routine?
Wanjiru: I get up around 6. I have some tea and then go for a run around 7, sometime for 50 minutes, sometime 80 minutes. Then I have some practice at the gym, and lunchtime is free. Then around 5 o'clock there is some light jogging. In the evening I like movies and to relax.
My favorite training is the endurance, the long runs. I like the up-down runs, I like the challenge of the hills. On Monday, I run 40 kilometers, then on Saturday maybe 35 kilometers.
Hartnett: You are one of many Kenyans who sign-up and go to Japan to attend school and compete for the Japanese corporate teams. You left home at an early age and had to learn the Japanese language and culture, but you developed a very efficient Japanese-style marathon stride.
Wanjiru: The Japanese experience was very good. I went there for six years when I was 15. The biggest problem I had in Japan was about the training. It was very different and difficult. My stride is Japanese style from the distance training. To prepare for the Olympics I chose to train in Kenya because it was very hot in Japan at that time.
Hartnett: What are your memories of Beijing?
Wanjiru: It was very tough you know because it was very hot and Gharib was very strong. I studied about Gharib and knew that he had a strong finish. So I used the tactic of pushing at 37K in Beijing.
I remember being so happy to enter the stadium with the lead, away from Gharib. I remember the final 400 on the track. That is a very special memory.
Now I think about the world record. It was important to get the gold medal last year. Now it is how to prepare for the world record. There is pressure from other people to win, so I train, and train.
Hartnett: Now that you have returned to Kenya, you mentioned that Paul Tergat who took the marathon world record in 2003 has become a mentor.
Wanjiru: Yes, Paul tells me how to focus, how to run well and keep the mind focused. I am very happy with my results, and I am still young and I have a good chance to run for many years.
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