Alex Yee has provided a fascinating glimpse behind the scenes of his London Marathon preparations as he battled with excitement, uncertainty and a desperate desire to deliver a performance to be proud of in his hometown race.
The World and Olympic triathlon champion fulfilled a childhood dream back in April when he took to the capital’s streets for his first ever competitive race at 26.2 miles – and thrilled spectators with a stunning 14th-place finish in 2:11:08.
Having taken time out of his regular triathlon calendar to prepare for the event, Yee was rewarded with a performance which once again proved not only his brilliance, but his adaptability.
In the weeks following London, Alex has since revealed that his marathon joy has been somewhat tempered by a ‘small acute overload injury’ – which he picked up during the race.
But while he continues his recovery, the most decorated triathlete in Olympic history has now released the final part of a terrific YouTube VLOG series, charting his preparations for what he freely admits was a ‘surreal and scary’ experience.
The video – which is embedded at the bottom of this article – shows Yee attending a number of pre-event press conferences as well as putting in some last-minute training with his coach Adam Elliott.
BTS with Alex Yee for a ‘surreal’ experience
“It feels like I’ve taken a wrong turn somewhere, it’s pretty surreal. It has been a bucket-list event for me to do this and I didn’t think it would be as an elite runner, so I’m really pleased,” he says.
“I’m just trying to take in as much as I can because I’ve stepped in here amongst some of my idols and people I’ve looked up to, so it’s really exciting to be in that situation.
“It’s probably the first time where I’ve not had all the answers to everything, which is a bit scary, but exciting at the same time. You don’t do many press conferences outside Buckingham Palace, so It makes you realise the scale of what this is.
“That’s really exciting, but also at the same time, there’s a little bit of nerves kicking in. I want to race to the best of my ability, but make sure I live in the moment and enjoy the experience. I never know if I’ll be able to race London again, so make sure I make the most of it.”
Being able to keep his emotions in check on the day was always going to be one of the key challenges for Yee, who was cheered on by family, friends and fellow triathlete girlfriend Olivia Mathias.
“My home track is only 3K away from the start-line, which is pretty special, and to be sharing the start line with so many people that I know and to have so many people that I know watching a race which is in my hometown, is very special indeed.
“I’m trying to keep those emotions in as much as possible, but I think definitely after the race, I’ll realise the magnitude of what this all means. There’s been a decent amount of hard work and thought and preparation gone into this and I guess I’ve been waiting a lot of my life to be able to step onto the streets of London.
“I think the main thing for me is embracing nerves, I think it shows that you care about something, shows you work towards something. I always try and take 30 seconds to myself on a start line, just to appreciate how far I’ve come, appreciate the hard work I’ve put into it, but also focus on the here and now. To be present and to think about the next footsteps that are in front of me and not think too much about how far it is going to be, but to appreciate the journey.
“So I’m going to frame that as excitement and stand on that start line with a smile on my face, and hopefully be ready to race. I’ve done race days hundreds of times, but this one, of course, is slightly different. I’m just trying to go through that flow and get to the finish line with the best possible place I can to deliver. But I believe I can deliver.”
Alex more nervous than ever
And Mathias admits that she had never seen her boyfriend quite so ill at ease before a race as he was in the build-up to the London Marathon.
“He’s overthinking if he’s done enough or if he’s done the right thing and I’ve never really heard him question that before with the triathlon. I haven’t seen him this nervous or anxious before a race,” she said.
“So many people in the UK grow up watching the London Marathon and so many people have stories of neighbours doing it and friends and family, mums and dads and so I think with the London Marathon everyone has their own piece to the story of it, and now we can add Alex’s story to that.
“I think he feels a bit like he’s stepping into the unknown, but without doing one, I guess you can’t really get rid of that feeling.”
And for his coach, there was the opportunity to see just how the training would impact on his ability to run the extra distance.
“I suppose I’m probably where Alex is… a bit nervous, but excited as well,” he said. “I genuinely think this project has been about exploring what Alex can do, taking some training principles that we probably haven’t worked on for a number of years and getting stuck into running.
“I think there’s a level of nervousness going into any race, but also a level of excitement to see what he can do in those bits that you can’t train for, in the last 10, 12K, see how the legs are, see whether what we’ve done, does transfer into a decent marathon, and I think that’ll be quite exciting.”
Of course, at the end of it all, Yee could rightfully boast that his dream of running his home marathon was a huge success.
Whether it was enough to entice him back for more, remains to be seen.
