TOKYO STORY

Stablemate Sven Burkard charged through his 15^th 26.2 mile-outing in a little town called Tokyo. The 50-something football fanatic (Eintracht Frankfurt) clocked a sublime 3:15:21 in the cool, calm Japanese capital.

Business analyst Burkard sent across a detailed JPG of his standings. Not like us to stereotype, but it does seem somehow distinctly German.

The Stable News’ Sashimi-scoffing Scotsman, Ally “the Chin” Smith, was on hand to hear how it went:

“Konnichiwa, Sven. How did it go?”

“I started conservatively and tried to stay calm and run at 7:2X pace, as discussed with The Stablemaster. This went pretty well, although it was very crowded at the start. And shortly after the halfway point (at ~14.52 miles), I was hit on the left hand by another athlete.”

“Bummer.”

“He managed to stop my watch. It took me a while to realise what had happened and then a few more moments to think about what to do (apart from keep running, lol). Almost three minutes after the impact, I (re)started my programmed marathon session. Of course, this meant I no longer had an exact idea of my average pace, so I based my calculations on the clock time when I crossed the start line (I remembered it was around 9:12:XX).

One thing was particularly remarkable and makes me a bit proud: I remained calm (!) and in control throughout the whole situation!”

“Not ideal, but kudos to you for keeping composed under duress. Go on.”

“The food intake every 30 minutes went smoothly, and so, for the first time in a marathon, I had a ‘second wind’ (I hope this expression is understandable and not too German) at 30-35km. 

“Ha-ha, I think most of us understand a ‘second wind’—it’s the best!”

“This second wind allowed me to pass the 3:20 pacer, who had earlier passed me at km 25. I didn’t see him again and ran the 3:15 I was aiming for. 

That said, I was hoping for a time just under 3:15 and thought I’d managed to have a negative split. This time, it was just over 3:15. I lacked the necessary details from the watch to make it happen.

Anyway, it was one of the better races, with controlled execution.”

“You achieved your aim, Sven; that’s what matters. Gut gemacht! What’s next?”

“New York City Marathon, where I’ll be aiming for my Marathon Majors sixth star! (Just before the orange man will unfortunately take over the American business again.)”

“A sixth star with the star-spangled banner backdrop. See you then, Sven!”

The Stablemaster, tired of tanning himself in the Mauritian sun, was back in rainy Ireland getting his 10,000 steps in: 

“Ahhh, I love a good walk in the rain … But only once or twice a year … I’ll be back to warmer climes soon enough … After that, I might pop over to NYC for some shopping and cheer Sven on to his sixth star! … A fabulously controlled canter from Sven in the Far East.”