Training & race talk with James ‘Bolo’ Gurr

James Gurr is Australia’s latest emerging 800m Olympic hopeful. With a 1:46 PR to his name, and an undefeated start to 2012 thus far, we caught up with James for a one-on-one Q and A.

RT: James, awesome start to the season. You seem stronger this year. Talk us through your training regime during winter 2011?

JG: Thanks very much. Yes I do feel much stronger this year. Myself and my coach, Penny Gillies, have worked very hard through the winter in ensuring that we leave no stone unturned. We have made changes to my training as well as my diet and the results have so far spoken for themselves. Most of the changes have been focused on increasing my aerobic capacity and my lactic tolerance. Penny and I even made a trip down to the AIS to get further insight into our training by attending a clinic with Dutch coach Honore Hoedt, who has trained 2 European champions (Bram Som and Arnoud Okken) as well as Olympian Robert Lathouwers. Getting insight from Honore helped Penny and I adjust our training accordingly.

RT: What did a typical week of training during the winter base phase look like from a day to day perspective?

JG: Monday – Long Run/Bike and Gym, the long runs usually go for between 45-60 mins.

Tuesday – PM Track Session at Olympic Park or Rotary

Wednesday – Same as Monday, I usually switch my gym circuit (I have one for Monday and one for Wednesday)

Thursday – PM Track Session at Olympic Park or Rotary

Friday – Day Off

Saturday – Alternates between a track session and hills at Macquarie Hospital, fondly known as the “Funny Farm.” There are a variety of different places around the hospital grounds where sessions can be done. Varying from circuits to straight hill runs.

Sunday – Usually takes place at Rotary, a grass 400m track. It’s good to keep as much of the winter work on the grass, especially the longer sessions. Often do repeat 1km runs at a steady pace to concentrate on the aerobic, not the anaerobic.

RT: Much gym work? If so what sort of exercises do you live by?

JG: I do gym work twice a week. Most of it consists of intense circuit work. The circuits are done 2-3 times through. There is no heavy lifting, but lighter, more explosive work. There is also a lot of emphasis on core work, which while tedious and often painful is ultimately necessary. I do a block of core work after my circuits are complete.

RT: Are you big into nutrition? Do you have a post-race or session recovery routine?

JG: While I wouldn’t necessarily call myself a stickler, I have made some changes in my diet this season, once again alluding to leaving no stone unturned. For an 800m runner I have always been a little big so I placed a lot of emphasis on losing weight this year, which required some changes in the diet as well as the training. I was 72-73kg last season but I have lowered my weight to 70kg this season.

Post training I usually do a 10 minute jog to cool down, followed by a lot of stretching. In the past I have been a little slack on the warm down, so I have been much more vigilant in the little things such as the warm down.

RT: That Olympic A qualifier.  Confident?

JG: Yes very confident. I’ve opened up so much faster than I ever have in past years and I know that I have a lot of room for improvement as my races thus far have come after some hard weeks of training, so I haven’t really raced with fresh legs yet. Also my races have more or less been solo efforts as a lot of the big guns haven’t raced yet, running solo is a hard thing to do. Most athletes who are chasing a standard believe that they can attain it, or at least try to convince themselves it is attainable, but this year has gone so well that it’s kind of hit me to the point where I think “Wow, this is actually happening, I can actually get this qualifier.” Last year I knew the chances of hitting the standard for World Champs was slim, possible but slim. This year I knew I am in infinitely better shape so logically I am confident I can hit the time.

RT: Your most respected Aussie rivals?

JG: Where do I start?? The depth in the men’s 800m is often overlooked, but Australian 800m running is full of great runners. The first to come to mind would have to be Lachlan Renshaw. He is a very tough athlete (as we saw in the World Uni Games final), and he has been so consistent over the last 4 years. He will be a hard man to beat. James Kaan of course is an athlete I have a great deal of respect for. He knows how to pull off the win, he showed that in the National final last year and he is always dangerous. Jeff Riseley I am not as familiar with, I have only raced him once, but he had such an ultra impressive season last year, getting down to 1:44.6, that it’s impossible not to respect him. The young guns have been impressive too, Alex Rowe and Jordy Williamsz specifically. I think all of us should keep a close eye on them. Jordy has been very impressive so far, and Rowe is coming back from injury but he’s already shown what he can do. Unfortunately Tristan Garrett is out for the domestic season and Nick Bromley of course has come back this year. They are 2 guys I’m hoping to compete with again soon.

RT: How do you think you can beat these big rivals? You have been strong from the front thus far this season, should we expect more front running come the pointy end of the season?

JG: I don’t think there is any one way to beat these guys as they can be dangerous off both a slow and fast pace. I often like a fast pace, that way it comes down to who is the best, not necessarily the man who is in the right spot at the right time, hence why I have often led races, yet some of my best times have comes from sitting mid pack, sometimes even at the back. That being said I don’t mind it slow either, since my basic speed is certainly up there with the best coming from a 400m background. Really I just like to keep myself in a spot where I can cover any moves. I’m equally happy leading or sitting.

RT: Do you have a day job at the moment or is it all about the running right now?

JG: I work multiple jobs but I revolve it around my training. I work primarily as a casual teacher both in primary and high school. I am high school trained, but if the situation calls for primary then I have no problem, in fact I was a temp teacher for the entire 4th term at a primary school which was quite a challenge given that I deal with high school primarily. I also tutor high school students after school, usually year 12 students preparing for their final year. While I have to sacrifice full time teaching while running, the way I see it is that I can teach for the rest of my life, but I can’t run for the rest of my life, so I’m more than happy to put teaching on hold for the moment. I also work at EB Games, more so through the holidays, but the job is a blast and the people I work with there are great.

RT: On the off chance the A-quali is not achieved in Aussie this summer. Will you head to Europe? Do you have a company helping you financially to do such things?

JG: Haha, nicely phrased…”On the off chance.” Europe is a very realistic possibility. The last 2 years I have competed in Japan which has been great, I’m hoping I get to go back again this year. I have also considered America as an option, they have some very fast meets there and I know a lot of people there from college days so I have some options there. With the exception of my trips to Japan, in which Brian Roe and Maurie Plant have been excellent in helping me to get on the trips there, I have no one helping me financially as yet, which makes it tough, but I’m trying to rectify that. Fortunately, both my trips to Japan I have been helped by Kenji Ootake from Mizuno who has provided me with a vast supply of top of the line Mizuno gear. So while for the most part I’m saving up for overseas myself, there have been parties who have been very generous in helping me.

RT:  The Australian 800m title seems to get passed around a lot. If there was ever a year for you, is this it?

JG: Sure why not? With the exception of Riseley I have beaten all of the main contenders at one time or another. That’s what makes our event so exciting; we are all capable of beating one another. The past 2 years I have been capable of winning and I’m in better form this year so there’s no reason why I can’t make it my year. Granted, the boys won’t make things easy!!

RT:  Childhood hero?

JG: Athletically I would say Quincy Watts, the 1992 Olympic 400m champion. I was in the 3rd Grade when he won and watching him run was mesmerising. Never seen someone run a 43.7 (in the semi’s) easing up like that.

Non athletically I would say Formula One Driver Jean Alesi. In 1991 he drove one of the Ferrari’s and his number was #28. At that stage I had just started racing karts (Ironically I’ve won a national title in karts but not in Athletics) and I decided to be #28 because of Alesi. To this day #28 is STILL my lucky number!!