The European/Commonwealth 10,000m Champion, Olympic 10,000 m Bronze medal winner and former world 3000m/two thousand record holder about why technology in running should embrace
Brendan Foster, who founded The Great Run Company, has welcomed new technologies within athletics and emphasizes that the emphasis should be on competition and not on breaking records.
In an exclusive interview with Tim Hutching part of our brand new Legends series, the former World 3000m and two miles record holder explained that “records are there to be broken” and that super cover “go further and promote the sport”.
Foster, who is well placed to judge the issue, since he founded the Great North Run in 1981, added that there were more variables to break records on the way to the track.
“My thing is, I think it’s fantastic that we beg new shoes and technologies,” he said. “They continue and promote the sport. They walk faster and so on Figh. At the end of the day we ran on Tartan tracks, Roger Bannister ran on Ash Tracks and the Crapy Ash Tracks ran for that.
“It is the Streetd life and at the end of the day are records to be broken. They are broken over time and that is [technology] Makes no difference on occasions. I remember george Mills looked at Jakob ignitions and I couldn’t tell you what time they ran.
“You could have a storm force blowing behind you in the marathon and you can still break the world record. You can be great, and if they don’t break the record, you’ve won the race.
“It is intrinsic competition and it is about the best person on the day. The courses, shoes, turns, wind and rain and the uphill and downhills are all irrelevant.”
In the episode, Foster also remembers his World 3000M record on his home job in Gateeshead in 1974 one of the three most satisfying races of the career of the 77-year-old.
Famous Foster, who had already broken the world in Crystal Palace for two thousand records, stated in advance in Crystal Palace, which laid a new surface as Gateeshead – to replace the axis track – he would try to break Emiel Puttemans’ World 3000m record of 7: 37. From 1972.
Foster, not only, for tens of thousands of partisan fans, better than that time, but he took two seconds more and clocked 7: 35.2 in Gateshead. Brit’s world record was so good that it took four years, when Henry Rono 7: 32.1 in Oslo ran in 1978.
“I remember that I said” I hear that the council is going to build a new song and if you do it, I will come there and breaks the world record, “he said Hutchings. “I kept training and I still had the back of my head that I had tolded that I would break the world record. It was a stupid thing to do!
“Fortunately I was running well and Mike Baxter, who was an old training mine [I’d break the world record] But you remember it forever. It was a good figure of 7: 37.6. I remember thinking ‘Christ’. It was one of my best Raes physical and the story behind it was probably more interest in the current race. “
Click here to view the full interview with Tim Hutchings with Brendan Foster
