A lap with… Jonny Mellor
It’s only a couple of days after the Virgin Money London Marathon and Jonny Mellor’s hamstrings are still a bit sore. “Not too bad, though,” he says. “Just the normal post-marathon soreness.”
Normal soreness, especially off the back of a great run, is a good thing. “If it goes badly it’s horrible,” he laughs. Fortunately, it didn’t go badly.
Mellor clocked 2:10:38 to finish as the first Briton and secure his second Olympic qualifying standard in 2020.
“The weather didn’t help on the day, but I enjoyed it,” he says. “I quite liked the monotony of ticking the laps off.
“The first 5km was a little bit slow. A few years ago I might have panicked, but with the experience of doing a few marathons, I didn’t, I stayed relaxed. When we got to halfway I felt good.
“Towards the end it wasn’t really about time, I was just focused on winning the British race.”
Mellor admits that, for him, there’s no such thing as a perfect marathon build-up. His key sessions had gone well though – comparable to those he did in the build-up to Seville Marathon in February where he clocked 2:10:03 – so he knew he was in good shape.
“I knew it was going to be different this year,” he says, “but Steve’s influence helped me focus on the positives, that it could be one of the fastest marathons I’d ever get to run because it’s a lapped course; that it was really, really flat; and that it would be easy to keep an eye on splits.”
Mellor, a Liverpool Harrier, has been working with coach Steve Vernon since 2013 and has been running professionally for the New Balance team for the last five years.
“I feel really privileged to be in that position,” he says. “I’m really fortunate to be running for such a good brand and under the guidance of Steve and Pete (former GB marathon runner Pete Riley, senior marketing manager at New Balance). We have a really good set-up and a great mix of people on the team. We have a good laugh, but we train hard which is exactly what I like to do.”
While the professional set-up has undoubtedly benefited Mellor, he credits his progress in the marathon to experience, as well as having a greater understanding of the event and how his body responds to the distance.
As a former track runner, he admits he was very naïve when he made his marathon debut.
“I think Steve would probably agree and say that, at that time, he was new to coaching the marathon distance, too. We didn’t really have the same understanding we have now when it comes to fuelling and that for me has been the biggest change.
“I’d run 2:12 twice (Berlin 2017 and 2019) but both times I was maybe on for a faster time, then in the closing stages of the race I blew up a bit and tired and slowed.
“I’ve done a lot of marathons now but I’m still learning about it. Getting that (fuelling) right has allowed me to finish races feeling strong.”
The Olympic trials in March look set to be the next big target but Mellor has a strong hand when it comes to selection.
“I’ve run well inside the standard twice and I’ve proved I can win in a British race,” he says.
Q. If you could choose someone – past or present – to run a lap with, who would it be?
A. Geoff Smith
“He’s a fellow Liverpool Harrier and holds all the club records from 5000m up to marathon. The only one I’ve managed to get so far is his 3000m record but he is someone I’ve always looked up to and he set the standards at Liverpool. He’s also very entertaining to be around! Geoff won Boston Marathon in 1984 and 1985.”
» This interview was first published in the November edition of AW magazine, which is available to order online in print here and read digitally here
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