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The Saint: What a Difference Four Years Makes!
by Cindy King
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28-year old Ben St Lawrence qualified for the upcoming Commonwealth Games 5000m by winning the national 5000m title in Perth last month. Trailing behind leader Collis Birmigham by 150m at the bell lap, 'The Saint' used his trademark fast finish to pass Birmingham with 80m to go. A previous World Cross Country and Ekiden representative, he was ecstatic to be able to add Commonwealth Games rep to his growing running resume.
St Lawrence was a talented junior, but did not run during his 'party years', and started training seriously again in 2006 when he joined Sean Williams' SWEAT training squad in Sydney. Working full-time can be a challenge to elite level running, but St Lawrence has been able to combine the two by setting up a much organised lifestyle - he shares a flat with two runners, lives right next to Centennial Park where he does the majority of his training, and often runs to and/or from work. The Runner's Tribe caught up with him as he was embarking on a nine-week training and racing ‘holiday’ in the USA and Europe.
RT: Well done on winning the national title and making the 5,000m team for the Commonwealth Games! What are your plans leading up to Dehli?
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Ben: Thanks! It is great to have won a national title and to be confirmed as a member of the Australian team. My plans leading up to Delhi aren't set in stone yet; I will need to sit down and work out the best plan of attack with my coach Sean Williams and manager Nic Bideau. At the moment I am training at altitude in Laguna (California, USA) and will race for the first time in Europe in May and July to get some much needed international experience, before heading back home to prepare for the Commonwealth Games. There may well be some more training and racing stints closer to the Games, and I know that there will be some expectations from Athletics Australia with regards to travel and race preparation, so that will need to be taken into account. In terms of my training, I will keep doing what seems to be working well and hopefully continue to improve in the lead-up to the games.RT: Whom do you consider your main competition for Dehli? What are your goals for the games?
Ben: There's a long time between now and Delhi, so my goal-setting and analysis of the competition have a fair way to go. I know that Kenya will probably send some solid runners, as will Tanzania. Others that come to mind off the top of my head include: Great Britain (Mo Farah and Neil Gamester), New Zealand (Adrian Blincoe), Canada (Simon Bairu) and both of the other Aussies (Collis and Dave). The 5000 is quite a strong event in the Commonwealth at the moment, so it will be my goal to make the final and then anything could happen!
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RT: Tell us about your training leading up to the nationals. What is a typical week for you?
Ben: My training leading up to the National Champs was very consistent over a number of months, with some great sessions that indicated I was in really good shape, as well as those days when everything seemed hard, the niggles were hurting and things didn't seem to be going so well. The key for me was to ride these waves and stay focused with the knowledge that when given a small amount of rest as part of a planned taper, my body will usually come good in time for a competition, despite often not feeling like it will. Leading up to the Nationals, we (Sean and I) just tweaked the sessions to ensure that I was prepared not only for a fast race, but also for a slower race with a fast kick-down. We knew that Collis, McNeil and I all already had the A qualifier so the race might be slow and tactical with a fast finish, so we incorporated some changes of pace and faster finishes into my weekly interval sessions.
A typical week for me would be as follows:
Mon: 40 in the morning, 60 at night (followed by some strides). Gym + Massage.
Tue: 40 in the morning, interval session at night- such as 3k, 2k, 1k, 600,
Wed: 40 in the morning, 60-75 at night, or just one run of 90 minutes. Gym.
Thu: 40 in the morning, session at night- such as 6km of fartlek with float recovery.
Fri: One or two 40 minute runs with strides. Gym.
Sat: Threshold Run or long reps in the morning (6:45am) and a 40 minute run in the evening.
Sun: Long run of 2 hours, sometimes quite fast.
Ben taking on Mark Tucker, Burnie Ten, 2009
RT: In your Runnerstribe live interview after your win at nationals, you mentioned that in 2006 you watched the 5,000m from the stands 'hung over and about 20 kilograms overweight'. Can you tell us how you have made such a huge transition in four years?
Ben: To answer this question alone I could be writing all day, so I will try to give an abridged version. Initially the changes were all lifestyle related; such as fixing up my diet, sleeping habits, alcohol consumption, living arrangements, employment etc. The hardest part of this was breaking old habits and changing the social situations that I put myself in. I had spent all my time at University and shortly afterwards deeply entrenched in the party lifestyle, and it took a lot of trying and failing before I successfully transitioned to what could pass for a "healthy" lifestyle. I was laughed at by quite a few mates when I said that I wasn't having a drink because I was "in training". Once my close friends and family realised that I was serious about the whole running thing, they've been really supportive.
Once this healthier lifestyle was in place I just started running, progressively increasing the time spent running and the speed of my runs. I did this for a number of months, through all the aches, pains and doubts that occur when you start putting your body through regular training.
RT: Who is your biggest inspiration, if you have one?
Video Interview - Australian Championships 2010
Once this healthier lifestyle was in place I just started running, progressively increasing the time spent running and the speed of my runs. I did this for a number of months, through all the aches, pains and doubts that occur when you start putting your body through regular training.
I joined Sean Williams' squad at the end of 2006. Sean was recommended to me by Dean Degan and Caleb Wegener whom I had been running with on a few occasions. I think I was just under 75 kg when I joined Sean's squad, so I had already lost a few kg (I'm 65kg now). After I'd been running with Sean for a while, I started to really feel like a runner and continued to progressively increase the amount of training I was doing. I really liked the structured and social aspect of running with a squad, which definitely helped me to stay consistent with training. Sometime during 2007 I started adding in a few second daily runs each week and continued to shed weight and improve my fitness. That year I surprised myself with a silver medal at the National Cross Country Champs and a 7:55 3000m to win the NSW title. I was also selected for the Chiba Ekiden Relay which was a great developmental experience. These performances really showed me that the hard work was paying off and motivated me to keep training harder in an effort to improve further. I guess I have progressed so far through consistent, progressive training. In the past 3 years I have probably only missed a couple of days.
RT: We understand that you flat with another elite runner, Tim Rowe. How does that affect your training?
Ben: Living with Timmy (and Adam Laughlan-Bowlby) has really helped me to have a laugh and train at the same time. Timmy is a really talented runner and I don't think we've seen him go anywhere near his potential yet. The living habits of a distance runner are quite unique, so living in an environment where that is the norm is really helpful. Having a good mate living with you who is also doing all the same training really makes it easier to get up at 6:30 on a Sat/Sun morning, or drag myself out for a recovery run when the motivation may be lacking. We also live right next to Centennial Park in Sydney where we do most of our training, so that makes things easier.
RT: How hard do you find it to combine full time work and training?
Ben: The time and energy demands of hard 160km weeks and all the additional training and treatment definitely make it difficult to also work effectively in a full-time job (and vice versa). There are days when I arrive at a session feeling very lethargic and tired from a long day at work and there are also days when I hit a mid-afternoon slump at work and have to resort to strong coffee to get me through. To save time and energy I do a lot of my running on the way to and from work, I do my gym sessions at lunch-time and luckily my 
manager at ING Australia (Richard High) is flexible with the structure of my weekly hours, as well as the need to take time off to travel to races. My role as Health and Wellbeing Consultant gives me access to an onsite gym and change-rooms which makes everything quite time-efficient. I'm fairly good at balancing work and training; the things that tend to suffer are housework, cooking (cereal for dinner), socialising and the ability to listen attentively to any conversation that lasts longer than about 30 seconds.
manager at ING Australia (Richard High) is flexible with the structure of my weekly hours, as well as the need to take time off to travel to races. My role as Health and Wellbeing Consultant gives me access to an onsite gym and change-rooms which makes everything quite time-efficient. I'm fairly good at balancing work and training; the things that tend to suffer are housework, cooking (cereal for dinner), socialising and the ability to listen attentively to any conversation that lasts longer than about 30 seconds.RT: The last 1500m of your 5000m race was quicker than the winning time at nationals for the open men’s 1500m - any plans to race this distance in the future?
Ben: Our race at Nationals was quite slow for the first 3k, with a fast final 5 laps. I know that the 1500m was also quite slow to start, with a fast last 800m, so me running a faster final 1500m than they ran isn't quite so impressive. Having said that, I would love to race some 1500m races to see how I would fare against the 1500 specialists. I nominated to race the 1500 at the Sydney Track Classic, but hadn't run any prior to that so wasn't given a spot. Collis Birmingham has shown that you can run very well over distances from the 1500 all the way through to 15km.
2010 Australian Championships 5000m Final
RT: Who is your biggest inspiration, if you have one?
Ben: I don't have a particular person that really inspires me, I'm inspired by many people both past and present, particularly anyone who has chased their dream. I get a lot of inspiration by reading autobiographies.
RT: What is your favourite pair of New Balance shoes, and how many different pairs of New Balances do you currently wear in a week?
Ben: My favourite New Balance Shoe at the moment is the 905 lightweight trainers; I also wear the RC 769 Flats for all my sessions. I have run all of my track PBs in the 1000 series spikes. I think that the assistance that New Balance offers with their Development Squad as well as their support of Runners Tribe is a great initiative and definitely helping to keep Australia's running on the right track.
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15 comments to "The Saint: What a Difference Four Years Makes!"
Hi Ben
Well done!! I am very proud of you, you have kept your dream to compete at Commonwealth Games--a long way from our Pitt Park training days. Go Ben
go we will all be cheering you on ,Love Judy
I believe I met benny when I was on my gap year, during his 'party years'.I specifically remember a conversation we had about him not knowing what to do. Whether to take his running more seriously, or carry on travelling and living the student lifestyle. I told him to take his running seriously, so not only am I taking 85% of the credit but am making a point that ben is a huge inspiration to everyone, he set his goal, and went all out to achieve it. Awesome guy and congratulations!looking forward to seeing him in london soon x
Hi Benny,
Great read!!! All the best in your preparation for the Commonwealth Games. It is an honour to run in your company in Sean's squad and you and Timmy are a great inspiration to Jordan!!! Look forward to seeing your appearnce in India and know that you will be up there in the main bunch ready to kick their ass in the run for home!!!
Hey Benny!!!
I too met Benny at uni and kept up with him in the 'party' stakes. After years being out of contact I was excited to discover he had emersed himself in running (and doing damn fine at it!!) as he always had so much raw talent. He would kill it as Uni games, even 'hungover and overweight'. I myself have lived a similar journey and this year I began to embrace the world and start training again. I completed my first half marathon last week and have plans to continue training and dedicate myself to improving my lifestyle, fitness and outlook. Absolute inspiration Benny. Love it!!! Well done on making the Aussie team!!! Cheers kido.
Great to read some of your history Ben - it's an amazing story - I have been watching and trying to emulate your technique for years. It's been an honour and pleasure to run with you for the past 4 years and I am delighted to see you progress towards your rightful place in the running world. Go get 'em Benny!
Hey Saint
What a story and a determination for success. Great inspiration mate. Always a pleasure meeting you and training with you (of course I am always at the back of the pack :-)). Good luck in the upcoming race this week and of course good luck in your preparation for the big race in Delhi, I am sure you will do us all proud and make Australia proud of its son "The Saint". Cheers
Great story... Benny... question - one of my "friends" already weighs less than 65kg and is still in his party years... is there still a chance for this unnamed person?
Hey Benny. Great reading your interview. I still think it's unreal that you were watching the '06 games when CT and I were there too with Deano only to meet you a few months later and to watch you snowball since. We love seeing such a great bloke as yourself doing so well. Your guts and passion are very inspiring and the banter and comraderie at training etc is priceless. There should be a book written on the things that come out of our mouths (including coach Seanie's) - pre, during and post "red lining" it! Keep giving it everything you've got. We're behind you every step of the way and for many of us a long way behind you every step of the way, but exuberantly we get to celebrate together after the finish line! Massive hugs and good luck over the next few weeks. G xoxoxox
Hey Ben - just wanted to wish you all the best with your races in Europe and your training for the Cth games. I've somehow managed to keep up to date on your running feats via the good ol' blue mtns gossip train plus I work with a guy who is in the same running squad as you. I think your achievements are amazing and I hope you continue to strive towards your goals (and have a bit of fun with it all on the way).
Take care and all the best. Liz.
Great Stuff Benny,
Huge inspiration to us all - i'm hoping for a Hawaii Tri one day! I often remember seeing you running post thursday uni bar nights! How you did it nobody knows?
Good luck Ben. It must of been awesome to beat Collis by such a big margin. It has been great training with you for the past year. You inspire and motivate many in our squad. I hope your preparations for the Commonwealth games go well. I'm sure your in shape for some great races
Frank
Congrats Benny on everything you've achieved in the last four years. You're barely recognisable in the pre-running photo!! It's a real credit to yourself that you manage to remain so humble and supportive of other runners regardless of their ability. You're a great role model for any athlete and deserve all the success. I'll be recruiting heaps of people to the Saint fan club in the lead up to Delhi!! Good luck in the upcoming races!
All the best Benny, hoping that you run well overseas. I'll be definitely staying up to watch your race. Look forward to running with you when you return.
Go hard mate
Hope your hard training pays off and you achieve what you want to achieve! Goodluck.
Hi Benny
All the best of luck in the coming months. Your story is amazing and an inspiration to many - Go hard!