Name: Martin Watson

Occupation: Financial Services

Home Town: I grew up in the Lake District but have lived in Singapore since 2010

Questions

What is your running background?

I did a bit of cross country and fell running as a youth. After a decade or so focusing on other vices, I’ve been running again more regularly since moving to Asia.

When did you first start running Ultra marathons and why?

First ultra was 2017, I don’t know there was a particular reason other than I saw it advertised, it was local and figured it would be fun to see what I could do.

What are your personal key running achievements to date?

208km in the Southern Sydney 24hr track ultra

9:27 in a reasonably hilly Okinawa 100k road race

What was your hardest experience?

I’m always amazed by just how awful things can feel in the moment which just a few days later can seem like almost nothing! 

Hardest experiences for me are all similar in nature and seem to blend into one at this point; tail-end of a longer race here on the equator and trying to deal with sun, humidity, dehydration and cramps while trying to force another gel down.

When or where (at which events) are we most likely to see you?

I typically join some of the smaller events here in South-East Asia, be they trail or loop/track.

I’ve been fortunate to run a couple of track ultras in Australia and road ultras in Japan as well as some longer trail events around the Lakes when I get back to visit family.

What is your typical race strategy for an ultra?

Try to focus on the things I can control: eat, drink, take salt on schedule, spend as little time as possible at aid-stations and do my best to keep things comfortable for as far into the race as possible.

I’ve learned that no matter the specific issue I’m worried about pre-race, it’s always something else which will cause problems on the day. I think I’m getting a bit better at dealing with those unexpected challenges, or at least ignoring them until the next one comes along.

What does a typical training week look like?

I run about 10k, at a reasonably hard effort every day with slightly longer runs at the weekend when time permits;  I rarely cover more than 100km in a week, unless there’s a race.   

I know this is a long way from any sensible, recommended training strategy but it’s worked ok for me over many years to build consistency and doesn’t take up too much time.

With no mountains or hills to speak of in SG, most hill training is done in the fire-escape stairwell – that’s lots of  fun as you can imagine!

Tell us one interesting fact about you?

I’m a keen hand-tool woodworker – I find it to be a very complementary hobby to running; the injuries from one rarely seem to impact the other!

Have you taken part in the Spartathlon before?

No

How did you get on?

N/A

What tip would you pass on to those taking part for the first time?

N/A

What are you looking forward to at the Spartathlon race?

Meeting everyone, the challenge and hopefully finding my way to the finish line in time.

How will you prepare specifically for the Spartathlon race? 

Hoping (perhaps naively) that my lack of natural athletic ability will be at least somewhat offset by several years of heat training! 

Beyond that, I’m signed up for Lakeland 100 in July and will add a couple of other smaller local races to force myself into some longer training runs in the heat before the main event.

Will you be bringing any support crew to the race? (If so, please introduce them briefly)

No