This is not just about the race. The invite, the GB selection, the being part of a team means it’s much more.
We (Jon and I and Team GB) arrived in Doha after a 7hour flight and a few movies watched. It was late with Doha being 3hrs in front of the UK but walking into the room was such an experience I spent ages playing with all the gadgets. The room was iPad controlled and one could choose what colour one wanted the room lights. We opted for blue- as you do!
It also controlled the curtains which I managed to break whilst opening and closing them (repeatedly)- opps! The bed was enormous- especially for a small person like me!
There are 4 girls in the team (Emily Gelder, Jo Zakrzewski, Ellie Greenwood and I- as per the photo L to R) and 4 men (Steve Way, Paul Giblin, Paul Martelletti & Craig Holgate) and 39 countries putting in teams so about 200people in the mix.
Team GB
The most amount of competitors ever and so the competition should be exceptional.
Nervous now…!
A yellow room this morning I think as I sit here and drink a fresh coffee.
Breakfast was a buffet so the obvious threat was to eat too much which is what I did! Afterwards I needed a leg stretch so Jon and I headed over to the Mall which was practically next door. It had clouds painted on the ceiling and a canal with Venetian gondola in the middle- bizarre!
Lunch was also a buffet….oh dear once again temptation got the better of me.
I needed to sleep it off. What a life!
I went to collect my number which they couldn’t find- is this an omen?
As it got dark we met with some local runners and plenty of others from the visiting countries. It gave us all an idea of what it would be like to start at 6pm- race time. The plan was to go for a run which was nice…make some room for dinner!
The Torch hotel looked incredible all lit up from a distance and you could see the different coloured lights on in the rooms.
Dinner, team meeting and then bed.
Thursday more of the same except our outing today was a trip to the 19th floor for a dip in the swimming pool. The view was immense spanning from North to South where you could see the desert end and Doha begin. The pool temperature was bath-like and the sun shone luxuriously.
Race day was a day of resting and eating. Waiting all day wasn’t as bad as I had anticipated. I was in good shape after a long year of racing and so knew I had turned up on the start line with nothing more I could have done. I didn’t like the waiting but it certainly focused ones mind. One last shot of coffee (thank you House of Coffee Hectic Hamster) and I put the GB vest and shorts on for the first time. It felt sooooooo good! I wore SCOTT Palani shoes and had no problems at all. I taped my feet with ROCKTAPE to prevent blisters which also proved successful.
The start felt relatively quiet with no real loud music or major tannoy action but everyone was keen to get going.
20 laps of a 5km loop.
I started at the pace I thought I could sustain. The first 5 laps went by pretty swiftly and then I started to run a little more on my own which never helps to move the race on but I remained consistent. Because of the nature of the course and its switchbacks I could always see my team mates and that was really good to watch progress giving verbal and visual support.
Food was provided by Jon, my husband and fantastic supporter, at the official table. It’s amazing how little time you have a to grab the food and drink as you run past but Jon made sure I never missed a thing. I had water at most opportunities. I ate something every hour alternating with AMSPORT gels. It seemed to work and my stomach held up reasonably well.
At lap 13 I was still over taking ladies who had gone off too fast which is always good for morale and motivation. Perhaps, in hindsight, laps 12 and 13 were too fast as I got carried away with overtaking because come lap 15 I felt awful and slowed. My feet ached the paving slabs were taking their harsh toll. I could see Irina (Russian) and Meghan (American) possibly catching me back up and so I really tried to focus and push. Irina eventually did and we ran together for a lap and a half which rejuvenated my pace. She indicated I should push on and so I did. I had just under 2 laps to go and push I did. I was 3minutes off third and reduced this gap to a minute but it was too late. Third was taken by fellow team mate Jo Zakrzewski (great run).
With Ellie Greenwood taking first and Jo in third I came in 4th insuring Team GB won Gold. It was a fantastic experience magnified by winning Gold.
Eleanor (Team Manager), Jo, Ellie and I post race
1st- GB; 2nd- USA; 3rd- Japan
My splits
| Laps | Times |
| 1 | 22.17 |
| 2 | 22.12 |
| 3 | 22.07 |
| 4 | 21.58 |
| 5 | 22.04 |
| 6 | 21.57 |
| 7 | 21.54 |
| 8 | 22.08 |
| 9 | 22.09 |
| 10 | 22.57 |
| 11 | 21.43 |
| 12 | 21.41 |
| 13 | 22.40 |
| 14 | 22.48 |
| 15 | 23.22 |
| 16 | 23.39 |
| 17 | 23.22 |
| 18 | 22.54 |
| 19 | 22.32 |
| 20 | 22.29 |
A big thank you goes to British Athletics for giving me this opportunity, Jon my husband for supporting me throughout, my sponsors (Scott Running, Rocktape, AMSPORT, House of Coffee Hectic Hamster, Bounce Balls), Ben Cowling at the Hampshire Ageas Bowl for such great sports massage, our family who look after Rufus when we’re travelling to races, Chichester University and Dr Dave Wilkinson for the acclimation work and all my friends who write the nicest messages to me on cards, texts, and Facebook. THANK YOU.
Jo Meek 