Leading athletics photographer Jiro Mochizuki has produced an album of exclusive pictures, of the life and career of his friend Haile Gebrselassie. Here, Mochizuki’s tells the story behind some of his favourites from Haile Gebrselassie: Emperor of Long Distance.
He’s known as Professor Marathon for his phenomenal all-around knowledge of the 26.2-mile distance, so SPIKES had to find out more about Sean Hartnett: writer, photographer, course mapper, technical expert and tactical guru; and his longstanding love affair with the iconic event.
Hugh Brasher is in his first year of sole responsibility as race director of the Virgin London Marathon. We chat to Hugh, whose father Chris was a co-founder of the race, about his expectations for this Sunday’s mammoth event.
Dubbed ‘Professor Marathon’ by Ethiopian distance running icon Haile Gebrselassie, Sean Hartnett is the go-to-guy for all things marathoning. The American tactical and technical analyst offers us nine reasons why Olympic track champion Mo Farah will be a big hit when he makes his marathon debut in London next year.
To mark his 40th birthday, long-distance great Haile Gebrselassie picks out his favourite moments from a glittering athletics career. Read about his accidental marathon debut, his ultimate frival Paul Tergat and his five favourite races.
Just one week after tragedy in Boston, millions around the world are expected to tune in to see a truly great festival of human endeavour. SPIKES previews the most incredible elite field ever.
Wouldn’t it be great to see just how far certain athletes would go if they dedicated themselves to a different event? SPIKES picks five athletes that we’d love to see unleash their talents on another discipline…
Heartbreak Hill, a milestone in gender equality, more than a century of history and the most major of Majors: the Boston Marathon has it all. Read the SPIKES guide to the one of our sport’s greatest races.
Our weekend in numbers round-up sees Ashton Eaton getting even better, a world’s best in the 100m hurdles shuttle relay, Tyson Gay losing to his sister, US 400m hurdler Kori Carter looking scarily good, big news marathon and an unbeatable race walker.
![The Unknown Runner movie: director Q&A
The Unknown Runner follows the story of Kenya’s Geoffrey Kipsang on the long road to his marathon debut. SPIKES speaks exclusively to Dutch director Boudewijn De Kemp, to find out what the film can teach us about the most successful nation of distance runners on the planet.
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How did you get involved in the project?
I’m a director with roots in advertising but I’m also an avid runner. I really enjoy running at a recreational level and competing in road races, just for fun. My interest was triggered by the fact that the top African runners seemed to come out of nowhere. I had seen a piece about Jos Hermens [the founder of Global Sports Communications, one of the world’s biggest athletics management agencies] talking about training camps in Africa, and this started an idea brewing in my head. I thought, wouldn’t it be interesting to see the background story of an African runner? I called the film The Unknown Runner because they [the African athletes] are almost faceless. They are achieving amazing things but don’t get the recognition. I thought, we should follow a talented runner through to his marathon debut and show his background story.
How did Geoffrey come to be the central character in the film?
I went to Global Sports Communication and said I would like to follow an athlete towards his international marathon debut. They provided me with a few names but, to me, Geoffrey was the interesting one.
Why was his story worth telling?
His story was typical of many other Kenyan runners who come to Europe to win. They grow up and have little else to do besides farming. It is a harsh life. Athletics provides them an escape route from this life.
What were the biggest challenges you faced?
The biggest challenge was the modesty of the Kenyan people. In their eyes Geoffrey hasn’t achieved anything. Of course, he is a great talent but it is unusual in Kenya to film somebody who isn’t that well known. I think Geoffrey was a bit embarrassed to be filmed. For us in the west this would be a normal concept but in Kenya they asked, “why aren’t you filming Eliud Kipchoge [the 2003 world 5000m champion], or an athlete who has won more?” In the end it all worked out perfectly. We didn’t interfere. We were a fly on the wall, which is always what we said we should be.
Do you have a personal highlight from the project?
Yes. I met another athlete in the camp who was a Ugandan. He chatted to us in the camp and helped us settle in with the other athletes. That athlete was Stephen Kiprotich, who went on to win the Olympic marathon title in London. I recall watching the race and going crazy. It was great that we had got to know him.
Who will the film appeal to?
It isn’t just a sports documentary. It is much bigger than that and it will appeal to runners worldwide. We also focus on the general development of athletics in Kenya. For instance, we also take a look at Geoffrey’s coach, Patrick Sang, the Olympic 1992 steeplechase silver medalist who was one of the first generation of Kenyan runners who made some money. After retirement he helped build the camp with Jos. The sport has seen a lot of change in Kenyan over the past 30 years. When Patrick used to train he did so covertly by night or very early in the morning, because people saw running as something only for dumb people. Attitudes have changed to the extent that the top Kenyan runners are now regarded as national heroes.
When is the film due to be released?
We are still in the post-production phase and we still need some funds before it is released. I would expect it to be [released] in the second quarter of this year. Of course, we would like to go in the cinemas but documentaries are a hard market for that. If Geoffrey is running in London. for instance. we can release the film a week prior to the London Marathon. The other route is through the app and as a DVD to watch on the iPad.
Find out more about the film at theunknownrunner.com or watch the trailer below.](http://25.media.tumblr.com/076083cddc5d0ea9aaeaff6a3a30da1b/tumblr_mgzm1gkNLy1rhgd4yo1_400.png)
The Unknown Runner movie: director Q&A
The Unknown Runner follows the story of Kenya’s Geoffrey Kipsang on the long road to his marathon debut. SPIKES speaks exclusively to Dutch director Boudewijn De Kemp, to find out what the film can teach us about the most successful nation of distance runners on the planet.
Cross-country ace Fionnuala Britton talks exclusively to SPIKES about being in the form of her life, marathons and her plans for taking her success on the snow to the track…
After Jess Coulson sang herself to under-23 Eurocross gold last week it got SPIKES thinking: always a dangerous prospect. We’ve picked out ten tunes you didn’t even know were about athletics. Or at least we like to think they were. Take it away, Jay…
10. Jay-Z – Run This Town
It seems pretty obvious to us that Jay, Rhianna and Kanye got together on this track in tribute to their pal Diddy, who ran the New York Marathon.
