1500m -Pac-10 Track Champs

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© 2008 The Runner's Tribe, all rights reserved.

The nineteen eighties decade was a rich one for middle distance running. In Britain the likes of Cram, Coe and Ovett dominated, whilst in Africa, Said Aoutia was the man. Down under, there was one man who had a stranglehold over Australian 1500m and mile running for most of the eighties, his name, Michael Hillardt. Mike won eight Australian titles for 1500m and two for the 800m. He also was the victor at the 1985 World Indoor Athletics Championships 1500m which was the highlight of his career. He also was a semi-finalist at the 1984 LA Olympics and placed 7th at the 1987 World Championships over 1500m. He finished his career with personal bests of 3:33.39 for the 1500m (2nd on all time Australian list), 3:51.82 for the mile, 2:17.49 for 1000m and 1:45.74 for the 800m.

We were fortunate enough to catch up with Mike to reminisce on his career itself, his training methods, as well as anything else that came up.

RunnersTribe: Mike, thanks for your time. To start things off, what are you up to these days?

Michael Hillardt: No problem at all. I am involved with a few different areas of interest. I help manage a commercial property company with my Father, I am an ambassador for Arthritis Queensland, I am the head coach for cross country and track and field at St Aidan's Girls School in Queensland and I'm deputy chairman of Athletics Queensland, among other things.

RT: You have quite a collection of Australian titles for the 1500m and 800m, do you have one or two standout highlights from your career?

MH: I guess winning the 1985 World Indoor Championship 1500m would have to be classed as my biggest highlight. Finishing 7th at the 1987 World Championships 1500m would also have to be up there (Steve Cram finished 8th).

RT: Do you have any regrets?

MH: In terms of times, I would have really liked to have broken 1:45.00 for the 800m, I just feel that my personal best of 1:45.74 could have been a little faster. For the mile I would have loved to break 3:50.00, compared to my 3:51.82.

I think if I had my time over again I would have seen a sports psychologist more often from a young age. I started seeing one at 26 and it really helped. However, I think seeing one from 20 would have been even more beneficial. It is an area that I think a lot of athletes don't utilise as much as they should, athletes spend all this time and energy with their training but many of them neglect the mental aspect, this is a big mistake.

RT: What year did you retire and why?

MH: I got injured in 1988 and had to withdraw from the Olympic team which was obviously a major disappointment for me. I got hit with an Achilles tendon problem and just kept breaking down. I had surgery in 1988 and kept trying to come back but I just wasn't able too. I was stubborn and refused to give in to it and pushed on until 1991 when it became obvious that it was my time when a kid of about 12 beat me in some cross country race. I had an extremely enjoyable career, it was time to move on.

 Vancover 1984. Beating John Walker in a Canadian Record 3.52.34

RT: Apart from that unfortunate career ending Achilles injury did you suffer from other injuries throughout your career?

MH: Not really, my body seemed quite resistant to the standard injuries that most runners succumb to. I had a few stress fractures as a junior but none as a senior, I had some plantar fasciitis at one stage but it resolved soon enough and it didn't affect my training much. However, I did get sick quite often. A lot of the time when I went out socialising I would end up picking up some bug and spending 3-4 days away from training trying to recover. But I had no serious medical problems, just a lot of little bugs. I think that sometimes a few days off can be a blessing in disguise.

RT: Tell us about your work for Arthritis Queensland

MH: I am an ambassador for Arthritis Queensland. I was affected at a personal level as my Mother was a sufferer. I met Bob Unger (Chief Executive Officer for Arthritis Queensland) and one thing led to another. Bob Unger has put together a brief summary of my involvement with the organisation.

'Mike Hillardt has been a proud supporter of the Arthritis Queensland for more than 3 years. He became an ambassador after seeing how his mother struggled with the condition. Last year, Arthritis Queensland spent over $1,400,000.00 providing services to Queenslanders with musculoskeletal conditions, 97% of this had to be found from the Queensland community. In 2007 there were nearly 750,000 Queenslanders with arthritis, or 18% of the population. Contrary to popular belief, arthritis is not a condition suffered exclusively by the elderly. In fact, 62% of arthritis sufferers are under 65'.

'Children can also be affected by arthritis. Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA) affects 1 in 1000 children. Arthritis Queensland maintains a juvenile arthritis support program, which includes education for children, parents and teachers about JIA and attending clinics with the only Paediatric Rheumatologist in Queensland. We also sponsor children attending Camp Footloose, a special camp for children with JIA'.

To view Arthritis Queensland's website, to donate or to volunteer, Click here

RT: What sort of involvement have you had with the sport since your retirement in 1991?

MH: I have been on the selector's panel since 2001 and I have coached and mentored various runners. They include Dane Frey, Julian Marsh and Youcef Abdi. I also assisted Roy Rankin with his coaching for a while a couple of years back. Now I am the head coach for cross country and track and field with St Aidan's Girls School in Queensland, which I thoroughly enjoy.

 Sydney, 1984. Mike leading Steve Ovett. Mike ran an Australian record of 3:34.19 in this race

RT: There isn't much literature around regarding your coach, Norm Osborne, and his training methods. Can you tell us about both Norm's methods as well as a bit about your favorite sessions?

MH: Norm was a great coach. I moved from Brisbane to Melbourne specifically to train with Norm, it was a very wise decision. The major change Norm made to my program was that he increased the intensity of my reps. For example, instead of doing a lot of 800m reps in around 2:13, he dropped the number of reps but got me to do them all in around 2:00 or faster. This single change helped produce some big personal bests shortly after switching to Norm.

Norm's training was traditional in many ways, he had a high emphasis on the correct amount of mileage but he also never neglected the pure quality sessions that are needed to race with the best. I ran around 100km/week during the summer months and around 150km/week during the winter months. I have dug up some of my old training diaries for you: (See end of interview for detailed training diaries)

RT: Thanks so much for all the great info Mike, and all the best

MH: Thanks

1985 in season training 22nd July to 3rd Sep

- 22/7/1985: am: 21 minutes. Pm: 20 minutes with 5 run throughs at the end.
- 23/7/1985: am: 17 minute jog. Pm: Race mile in Edinburgh. 3:56.4. 3rd place. (Splits 58, 1:58, 2:59)
- 24/7/1985: am: 40 minutes. Pm: Rest, travel.
- 25/7/1985: am: 20 minutes. Pm: Track. 2 sets of 3 by 300m (walk 100m rec between reps/5 min rec between sets). Average 41.5secs
- 26/7/1985: am: Rest. Pm: 20 minutes easy
- 27/7/1985: am: 20 minutes easy. Pm: Rabbit for Oslo Dream Mile in which Steve Cram broke the world record. (Splits 56, 1:53, 2:52)
- 28/7/1985: am: 40 minutes. Pm: Rest
- 29/7/1985: am: Rest Pm: Track. 600m, 400m, 200m. 83.7, 52.4, 24.3.
- 30/7/1985: am: 30minutes easy. Pm: Track. 2 sets of 5 by 200m. 25.8, 26.1, 25.5, 25.8, 25.9, 24.9, 25.1, 25.3, 25.5, 25.7
- 31/7/1985: am: 30 minutes Pm: 32m minute run and 6 run throughs
- 1/8/1985: am: Rest. Pm: 42 minutes and 6 by 100m run throughs and 2 by 50m fast.
- 2/8/1985: am: 30minutes with last 10 minutes hard. Pm: Rest, travel.
- 3/8/1985: am: Rest. Pm: 30 minutes and 6 run throughs
- 4/8/1985: am: Race warm up routine. Pm: Race 800m in Budapest. 1:46.34. 4th. (400m split of 51)
- 5/8/1985: am: 32 minutes. Pm: 100m and 150m run throughs
- 6/8/1985: am: Rest. Pm: 23 minutes easy
- 7/8/1985: am: 30 minutes easy. Pm: 30 minutes easy
- 8/8/1985: am: 23 minutes and 6 run throughs. Pm: Rest
- 9/8/1985: am: Race warm up routine. Pm: Race, Mile in Gateshead. 3:57.16. 1st. (Splits: 57, 1:56, 2:58. Didn't feel too good.
- 10/8/1985: am: Rest. Pm: 20 minutes easy, felt tired.
- 11/8/1985: am: Rest Pm: 30m minute run
- 12/8/1985: am: 30 minute, travel. Pm: 40 minutes with the last 10 minutes at a solid pace. Then 3 by 150m fast with 1/2 a mile jog recovery.
- 13/8/1985: am: 31 minute run. Pm: Track session. 400m, 300m, 200m (all with 5 mins recovery) 53.1, 39.7, 25.2
- 14/8/1985: am: Rest. Pm: Time trials: 800m in 1:47 (split 52). I hour later 1200m in 2:52 (splits 58 and 1:58)
- 15/8/1985: am: 60 min run. Pm: 25 minutes easy
- 16/8/1985: am: 30 minutes easy. Pm: 20minutes then 600m, 400m, 200m (8 minutes rec).Times: 80.7, 50.2, 22.9
- 17/8/1985: am: 30 minutes. Pm: 53 minutes = 10 miles
- 18/8/1985: am: 30 minutes easy. Pm: 3 by 300m (41 secs), 3 by 200m (25,26,25), 3 by 100m.
- 19/8/1985: am: Rest. Pm: 20 minutes
- 20/9/1985: am: Rest, travel. Pm: 25 minutes with 4 run throughs
- 21/9/1985: am: 15minutes easy. Pm: Race, Zurich Mile. 3:52.21. (Splits: 58. 1:54, 2:54) 3rd.
- 22/9/1985: am: 26 minutes. Pm: Travel
- 23/9/1985: am: 22minutes Pm: Race 1500m, Berlin. 3:33.39. (Splits: 57.2, 1:54.1, 2:51.4) 4th
- 24/9/1985: am: Rest, travel. Pm: 35minutes
- 25/9/1985: am: Rest. Pm: Race 1500m, Colonge. 3:36.9 (Splits 56, 1:53). 6th
- 26/8/1985: am: Rest. Pm: 40 minutes
- 27/8/1985: am: Rest. Pm: 20 minutes easy and 5 run throughs with 2 by 50m run throughs off the bends fast
- 28/8/1985: am: 17 minutes easy. Pm: Race mile in Koblenz. 3:51.82. Splits of 56.1 400m, 1:54.4 800m, 2:53.7 1200m, 3:38.76 1500m.
- 29/8/1985: am: Rest. Pm: 21 minutes easy
- 30/8/1985: am: 22 minutes easy. Pm: race 2000m in Brussels. 5:05.9
- 31/8/1985: am: 31 minute easyt. Pm: Rest
- 01/9/1985: am: Rest. Pm: Rest
- 02/9/1985: am: Rest. Pm: Rest
- 03/9/1985: am: Rest. Pm: Rest
 

1986 pre season/build up phase training. 26th April to 18th May

- 26/4/1986: am: 42 minute run. Pm: 42 minute run
- 27/4/1986: am: 75 minute run - 14 miles. Pm: 20 minute run
- 28/4/1986: am: 36 minutes. Pm: 65 minute run with a fast last 20 minutes
- 29/4/1986: am: 22 minutes and weights. Pm: 50 minute run and tan (Melbourne) session (3.8km) in 11:06
- 30/4/1986: am: 38 minute run and 6 by short fast hill. Pm: 50 minutes with a hard 20 minute surge
- 1/5/1986: am: Weights. Pm: Track: 5 by 600m with 90 secs recovery. (Times: 92, 91, 91, 91, 90). 17 min warm down jog.
- 2/5/1986: am: 34 minutes. Pm: 50 minute run
- 3/5/1986: am: 23 minutes Pm: 4 mile race at Sandown in 17:45
- 4/5/1986: am: 1 hr 40 minutes (15 miles)
- 5/5/1986: am: 38 minutes Pm: 66m minute run
- 6/5/1986: am: 20 minute run and weights. Pm: 20 minutes easy, 11 minutes hard, 29 minutes easy.
- 7/5/1986: am: 38 minute run Pm: 45 minute run and 6 hill reps
- 8/5/1986: am: 33 minute run. Pm: Track: 1000m (2:31), 800m (2:00), 600m (89.5), 400m (57.1), 3 by 200m (27,27,25) (3 min jog recovery for all)
- 9/5/1986: am: 20 minute run and weights Pm: 33 minute run
- 10/5/1986: am: 61 minutes. Pm: 33 minute run
- 11/5/1986: am: 72 minute run Pm: 29 minute run
- * 96 miles for the week
- 12/5/1986: am: 38 minute run. Pm: 62 minute run
- 13/5/1986: am: 21 minutes and weights. Pm: 21 minute run and tan (Melbourne) session (3.8km) in 10:52. Then 21 minute warm down run
- 14/5/1986: am: 33 minutes. Pm: 3 mile warm up run. Track. 10 by 400m (200m jog rec in 55 secs). Ave 60-61 seconds.
- 15/5/1986: am: Rest. Coming down with a head cold. Pm: 15 minute jog and weights
- 16/5/1986: am: 23 minute run. Pm: Rest
- 17/5/1986: am: Rest Pm: Rest
- 18/5/1986: am: 38 minute run. Pm: Rest
- * 54 miles for the week
 

1986 pre season/build up phase training. 30th May to 8th June

- 30/5/1986: am: Weights. Pm: 41 minute run.
- 31/5/1986: am: 34 minutes. Pm: 10km race at Ballarat. 29:17.
- 1/6/1986: am: 70 minutes Pm: 24 minutes easy
- * 94 miles for the week
- 2/6/1986: am: 50 minutes (8 miles). Pm: 23 min warm up jog. Track: 6 by 400m (57,57,57,57,58,57) with 200m jog recovery in 70 secs. Then 4 by 150m fast with walk back recovery
- 3/6/1986: am: 20 minute run and weights. Pm: Track: 4 by (600m fast, 200m jog, 200m fast). Times: 89/26. 87/26. 89/26. 87/25.
- 4/6/1986: am: 44 minute run Pm: 43 minute run, 5 by long hill reps and 5 by short hill reps.
- 5/6/1986: am: 25 minute run and 6 by 120m reps. Pm: 23 minute warm up run then 6 by 300m (with 4 1/2 min rec) in 39,38,39,39,39,38.
- 6/6/1986: am: 20 minute run and Weights. Pm: 32 minute run.
- 7/6/1986: am: 21 minutes. Pm: 1200m and 600m time trials with 15 minutes recovery. 2:56 (Splits: 54, 1:53) and 80.3 (Splits: 26,53)
- 8/6/1986: am: 50 minutes Pm: 31 minute run
 

Other sessions of note - All below sessions done during the lead up to big races

- Track Session: 4 by 400m (10 to 11 minutes recovery). Times: 49.1, 49.2, 49.5, 49.9
- Track Session: 3 by 800m (8 minutes recovery). Times: 1:56, 1:53, 1:51
- Track Session: 3 by 1000m (4 minutes recovery). Times: 2:37, 2:34, 2:32. Then 6 by 200m avering 26 seconds. (4 minutes recovery)
- Track Session: 4 by 400m (5 minutes recovery). Times: (averaged 51.2)
 

3:33 1500m man, Mark Fountain, is one of Australia’s fastest ever 1500m runners. Currently based in Arkansas, in the USA, Mark has had an impressive career which culminated in him winning a bronze medal at the 2006 Commonwealth Games 1500m in Melbourne. Although not as well known, Mark has a better personal best than Craig Mottram over 1500m. We catch up with Mark as he prepares for his assault on a Beijing qualifying standard.

Profile:

- 1500m: 3:33.68. 3rd fastest Australian of all time.

 - 1 Mile: 3:53.24. 4th fastest Australian of all time.

 - 1 Mile Indoors 3:54.77. Australian record

 - 1000m indoor 2.20.3 Australian record

 - 3rd place, 2006 Commonwealth Games, Melbourne.

RunnersTribe: Mark, thanks for agreeing to this interview. You got injured last year racing in Monte Carlo and the Osaka World Championships and consequently needed surgery. What happened and are you now over this set-back?

MF: Yes. Last year was a pretty rough year for me injury wise. I had two hernia operations in May after having a lot of trouble with my stomach for a few months. That was injury number one. Injury number two was a bit more sinister. I had been having a fair amount of trouble with my groin for quite some time and then I fell in a 1500m race in Monte Carlo with 200m to go. I landed heavily on my left knee in the fall and, to cut a long story short, I ended up cracking my pubic bone. I finally got a right diagnosis from Tim Barbour and the Australian Medical staff in Osaka. My performance in Osaka was very disappointing, but that’s life. I certainly wouldn’t go into such a competition with an injury ever again. I started back training on January 1st and after a slow start, I feel I am right on track now and ready to race well and pain free again.

RT: How is the training in Arkansas going? Obviously you are hoping to run an A-qualifier by June 23rd, what races to you have lined up over the next few months ?

MF: Training has been going really well. My coach had me training pretty much on my own for about 4 months just doing lots of 8-10mile steady-state runs and 4-6mile fartlek type sessions. I have only been on the track 5 times now since Osaka, but feel I am a lot stronger than I have ever been. My coach and I decided to hold off on working on my speed until later in the season as my main goal is to peak for the Games. I am confident I can get the A-qualifier while still holding off on the speed and saving it until the latter part of the season. I have races lines up at the Adidas classic in LA next weekend and at the Reebok Classic in New York two weeks following.

RT: You are originally from Victoria, Australia. How important was your move to North America? Do you feel you could have achieved the same things if you had remained based in Australia?

MF: The move to Arkansas was the best move I have ever made, both personally (I married Erica Sigmont who was at university over here) and for my running…..ironically enough I guess I have Said Aouita (former Moroccan world record holder and controversial former head coach of Australia’s distance program) and Athletics Australia to thank for that. My coach over here is truly remarkable and I owe all my current success to him. I have been very fortunate to have great coaches from an early age. Tom Kelly took care of me from the age of 12 till I was 18 and then Bruce Scriven and now John McDonnell. Whilst they are all great coaches, John really knows how to get the best out of me….I think he often knows how I feel more so than I do. That enables him to either push me or take it easy on me. I also have great training partners Alistair Cragg from Ireland, Josephat Boit from Kenya, Dan Lincoln and Seth Summerside from USA also there is a handful of 3.40 1500m runners at the University. The group make’s runs easy and training sessions competitive.

RT: A lot has been discussed over the years about the inefficiencies of Athletics Australia and the need for changes, particularly with their selection process. Are there any areas in particular that you think need improving in order to make the system more beneficial for the athletes?

MF: I think being in the southern hemisphere we are at a huge disadvantage right off the bat. Our trials are about 4-5months earlier than most countries in the world and the majority of our athletes are forced to peak too soon in order to qualify for the big meet, resulting in a lot of our athletes being burnt out by the time the Championships roll around. If you look at the Sydney Olympics which was probably our most successful the trials were only one month before the Games. I think the best solution would be to push our season back two months and have the trials in May or June and not February. We have the weather in Australia to make it possible, and this would have our athletes at their peak at the most important time.

RT: Altitude tents seem to be a hot topic at the moment in colleges throughout North America. You yourself use one. How have you found it? Have you noticed much benefit and doesn’t it make it a little hard to get a good night’s sleep?

MF: I actually purchased a CAT hypoxic tent in April of this year and have been sleeping around 11000 feet. Although I have only been sleeping in it for about 6 weeks, I do think they work. I feel I can recover in a shorter amount of time between repeats. My wife and I also have asthma, and we have both had improvements with that. Some people say that it is harder to get a good nights sleep, but we have not had that problem at all…if anything, we have had a deeper nights rest. I think people adapt to altitude conditions differently, but I can already feel like the tent has been a benefit to me.

RT: Can you talk me through a typical week of training during your winter and summer training phases?

MF:

Winter
Monday: am 5miles pm 10miles steady in 49-50min
Tuesday: am 5miles pm 10miles and weights
Wednesday: am 5miles pm 12miles
Thursday: am 5miles pm fartlek 4-6miles of repeats from 30-90sec
Friday am 5miles pm 10miles and weights
Saturday am 14miles
Sunday pm 5-8miles very easy and weights
Total 90-95miles

Summer
Monday am 5miles pm track longer repeats or a ladder ie 1600-1200-800-600-500-400-300-200
Tuesday am 5miles pm 8miles and weights
Wednesday am 5miles pm 10miles
Thursday am 5miles pm track quicker repeats ie 8x400s (90sec/rec) in 56.5
Friday pm 10miles and weights
Saturday am 12miles
Sunday 5-8miles and weights
In track season I generally do 6-8x100m strides after most runs
Total 80-85miles

RT:Do you lift weights?

MF: Yes I do. It is more of a circuit actually. It consists of:

4way hip 3 x 10 each leg
Squats 3x10 each leg
Lunge 3x10 each leg
Leg ext 3x10 each leg
Hamstring curl 3x10 each leg
Back 2x50
Abs x 500
Arm running x 100 (sometimes dumbbell exercises as well)
I do the 100 sit ups as a recovery between the main leg exercises. All leg exercises are done as singles (I do this to try and maintain an equal balance between both legs). The circuit is more designed for general maintenance and injury prevention rather than weight gain.

RT:Do you have any track sessions which stand out as being your favorite or most worthwhile?

MF:In season my favorite session is an 800m down. Its an 800-600-400-300-200 and may have a 500 as well if coach is being nasty. We start in around 1.50-51 and work down. Also the 8x400s are a good indicator to me, along with an 8-10mile steady state.

RT:How about pure speed development, what sort of speed training do you incorporate into you training?

MF:I am pretty fortunate to have pretty good natural speed so I try not to work on that area all that much. I feel I am better off training other areas such as lactic tolerance or endurance. I have a theory that I could train all year working on my speed and improve my 200m time by about .50sec but if I trained more toward a 10km I could improve by almost 1minute….there is a lot more to gain from longer work than pure speed. I won’t ever do anything shorter than 200m repeats and I only get to do 200s a few days before a race for turnover.

RT:You are sponsored by Adidas and thus are a full time athlete. Do you think you could reach similar heights if you had to balance training with a regular job?

MF:I am very fortunate to have Adidas as my sponsor. I find that I really do better when I can rest during the day between training sessions. For me ,working throughout the day would be detrimental to my running. However, I think it differs from athlete to athlete. Some athletes like to have full days to take their mind of training, but having Adidas support me, I have the opportunity to give everything towards training, and resting between…while also having time to hang out at the local coffee shop!

RT: Mark, thanks for the interview, all the best for your Olympic qualifying campaign. We hope to see you line up in Beijing.

 MF:Thanks very much and best of luck with the website….I am already a fan of the video section!!!

© 2008 The Runner's Tribe, all rights reserved.