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Youcef Abdi: A Connoisseur of Running
By Cindy King.jpg)
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At 32, Youcef Abdi is one of the veterans of Australian athletics. He first came to Australia in 1996 to run the 800m for Algeria at the World Junior Track and Field Championships, and in 2000 became an Australian citizen. 2002 saw him win a bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games in the 1500m, and a subsequent switch to the steeple paid off with a 6th place finish at the Beijing Olympics.
Youcef is known for his worldly running lifestyle, often training and competing overseas. He often travels with his own coffee-maker, which he definitely missed in 2008 when he was caught up in the Eldoret riots in Kenya, and had only rice to eat for a week. His wife, Alicia, is the niece of Rugby League commentator Phil Gould, so perhaps Youcef has picked up some tips from Phil on how to handle the aggressive world of European track racing.
Runnerstribe had the pleasure of catching up with him between training sessions and looking after his 6-month-old son, Leevi. He explains why he is happy with his season so far, but that the Commonwealth Games are only a ‘maybe’ on the radar.
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RT: At the 2008 Olympics, you ran a personal best of 8:16.36 to finish 6th in the 3000m steeplechase final. What have you been up to since then?
Youcef: In terms of running I was hoping for a better year in 2009. I wanted to run faster and perform better in the World Champs, but I had a couple of injuries. However, in September my son was born, which was exciting. It has been life-changing and now I am trying to get back into my regular routine and am looking forward to getting into the 2010 season.
RT: How has fatherhood affected your running?
Youcef: To be honest, not much. I was a bit worried because people said I was not going to get much sleep, but we were lucky because he was born in the off-season and so I was not training much anyway. Now he is sleeping through the night and has a good routine, so I work around this. I am a full-time athlete and a full-time dad. Neither pays well but the personal rewards and the enjoyment are huge!
RT: Who is coaching you?
Youcef: Nic Bideau, who is in Melbourne, is coaching me. We speak over the phone, and I get to see him and Falls Creek and when we are both in London. I don’t have training partners here in Sydney but at other times I get to train with guys like Birmingham, Gregson and Riseley.
.At 32, Youcef Abdi is one of the veterans of Australian athletics. He first came to Australia in 1996 to run the 800m for Algeria at the World Junior Track and Field Championships, and in 2000 became an Australian citizen. 2002 saw him win a bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games in the 1500m, and a subsequent switch to the steeple paid off with a 6th place finish at the Beijing Olympics.
Youcef is known for his worldly running lifestyle, often training and competing overseas. He often travels with his own coffee-maker, which he definitely missed in 2008 when he was caught up in the Eldoret riots in Kenya, and had only rice to eat for a week. His wife, Alicia, is the niece of Rugby League commentator Phil Gould, so perhaps Youcef has picked up some tips from Phil on how to handle the aggressive world of European track racing.
Runnerstribe had the pleasure of catching up with him between training sessions and looking after his 6-month-old son, Leevi. He explains why he is happy with his season so far, but that the Commonwealth Games are only a ‘maybe’ on the radar.
RT: At the 2008 Olympics, you ran a personal best of 8:16.36 to finish 6th in the 3000m steeplechase final. What have you been up to since then?
Youcef: In terms of running I was hoping for a better year in 2009. I wanted to run faster and perform better in the World Champs, but I had a couple of injuries. However, in September my son was born, which was exciting. It has been life-changing and now I am trying to get back into my regular routine and am looking forward to getting into the 2010 season.
RT: How has fatherhood affected your running?
Youcef: To be honest, not much. I was a bit worried because people said I was not going to get much sleep, but we were lucky because he was born in the off-season and so I was not training much anyway. Now he is sleeping through the night and has a good routine, so I work around this. I am a full-time athlete and a full-time dad. Neither pays well but the personal rewards and the enjoyment are huge!
RT: Who is coaching you?
Youcef: Nic Bideau, who is in Melbourne, is coaching me. We speak over the phone, and I get to see him and Falls Creek and when we are both in London. I don’t have training partners here in Sydney but at other times I get to train with guys like Birmingham, Gregson and Riseley.
RT: So what is a typical training week like for you?*
Youcef: I do three sessions a week. Tuesday is my biggest workout where I do 1km or 1 mile reps on the track or grass track. On Thursday I do a threshold run of 4-8km and Saturday I run hard or do hills. In between that, it is just regular running and 1-2 gym sessions per week. I’m not too concerned about mileage. I know that a lot of middle distance guys like to reach certain numbers, but I don’t care how much I run. It is probably 120-140 km/week. If I don’t get to 120 I don’t care and if I am tired then I back off. I learned this in Kenya. If it is raining then they sometimes don’t run for 3-4 days, and they manage to perform well.
RT: You have been on the international running scene since 1996 when you first came to Australia to compete for Algeria at the World Junior Track and Field Championships. What has been the secret to your long career? Have you had to change your training any as you have gotten older?*
Youcef: I have not really changed my training. As a junior I did a lot of training and I think that physically my body got really strong and when I got to the senior category I just managed my training and my seasons one after another. My biggest assets are patience and listening to my body. I know a lot of athletes are impatient and want performances to happen quickly but they really need to be more patient and believe that one day you will reach your goals.
The fact that I did not make the 2000 and the 2004 Olympics is a major reason why I have been competing for this long. I have always had a burning desire to be an Olympian – but I am still motivated to train for London!
Youcef: I do three sessions a week. Tuesday is my biggest workout where I do 1km or 1 mile reps on the track or grass track. On Thursday I do a threshold run of 4-8km and Saturday I run hard or do hills. In between that, it is just regular running and 1-2 gym sessions per week. I’m not too concerned about mileage. I know that a lot of middle distance guys like to reach certain numbers, but I don’t care how much I run. It is probably 120-140 km/week. If I don’t get to 120 I don’t care and if I am tired then I back off. I learned this in Kenya. If it is raining then they sometimes don’t run for 3-4 days, and they manage to perform well.
RT: You have been on the international running scene since 1996 when you first came to Australia to compete for Algeria at the World Junior Track and Field Championships. What has been the secret to your long career? Have you had to change your training any as you have gotten older?*
Youcef: I have not really changed my training. As a junior I did a lot of training and I think that physically my body got really strong and when I got to the senior category I just managed my training and my seasons one after another. My biggest assets are patience and listening to my body. I know a lot of athletes are impatient and want performances to happen quickly but they really need to be more patient and believe that one day you will reach your goals.
The fact that I did not make the 2000 and the 2004 Olympics is a major reason why I have been competing for this long. I have always had a burning desire to be an Olympian – but I am still motivated to train for London!
RT: What are your goals for this upcoming season?
Youcef: I want to break the national steeplechase record and I believe that I can run between 8:12-8:14 and finish top 12-15 in the world rankings. The Commonwealth Games are still in the diary for me, but they are a question mark. It is a long season, and you have to ask yourself it you want to be in India in October or on holidays in the south of France…. There is also a factor of funding. We have been told that we are not allowed to race in Europe in June and July, and that is the time that we as athletes can be earning money.
RT: Which brings up the question: as a full-time runner, how do you manage
to pay the bills?
Youcef: Luckily for me, running pays a little bit. It is not great, but for the past 2-3 years I have managed to live off my running. It is definitely not a tennis player or a golfer – type salary, but it is enough.
RT: Have you been pleased with your racing so far this year?*
Youcef: My training is designed more for Europe. I would have liked to have run faster here in Australia, but my fitness is good, my body is healthy, and I know that I am going to achieve my target of breaking the Australian record, so I am happy with how things are going. I never seem to race well in Australia, anyway! I will race at the Commonwealth Games Trials in Perth and then fly to France for 6 months on the 22nd of April.
RT: If you could do one thing to improve distance running in Australia,
what would it be?
Youcef: I would improve the funding to athletes. Australia is such a prosperous country, but our funding system is not good compared to some other countries. It is actually quite disappointing, to be honest. For example, a lot of distance runners go to Falls Creek to train, so why not have AA [Athletics Australia] pay for a house there? For the sprinters and the throwers, ask them what they need.
When athletes go over to Europe, you notice that they run well at first and then they run worse and worse because they don’t have a base, and are stressed about how they are going to get to places and get by. There would be a lot less stress if AA rented a couple of houses. Athletes need a good,
stable network.
RT: Anything else?
Youcef: I think that athletes need to have some encouragement from authorities – whether it is from AA or the Institutes. Athletics is such a hard sport, and if athletes do not feel that people believe in them then it is easy to lose them from the sport. Just do simple things. Acknowledge athletes for what they do and if they are not quite there at the times you want them to be running, and then give them faith that you are behind them.
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2 comments to "Youcef Abdi: A Connoisseur of Running"
Most Australian athletes say the same thing " we need more support " most of the money Athletics Australia gets seems to be eaten up in administration cost's. Eric Hollingsworth really needs to back to the grass roots level and listen to athletes like Youcef Abdi. His ideas are surprisingly simple and surely would be affordable.
Well done Youcef Australia is lucky to have.
Yosef is a very professional athlete, proving this with his results. Good to see RT doing an article on him and getting his advice on how to improve distance running in Australia, we do have the talent here, it is just need a matter of bring it out...