Mark Le Gassick
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What's your full embarrassing name? |
Mark Christopher Le Gassick. |
Married, or are you young, free and single and like to mingle? |
My girlfriend is Lucinda Jane Simmons who also runs for SGRAC. |
Where do you live? |
Fareham. |
Do you work or stay at home? |
I’m the Reviews Editor for the Health A-Z on NHS Choices (www.nhs.uk). |
How long have you been a member at Stubbington? |
I joined SGRAC in October 2002. |
Can you remember your first race? |
The Today’s Runner XC at Tweseldown, north Hampshire. I wore football boots because I didn’t have any off-road running shoes! |
How often do you bother to go training? |
Running: 3-4 times a week, swimming: twice a week, stretching and conditioning: twice a week, gym sessions: twice a week, cycling: as and when I can fit it in! |
What is your favourite training run? |
Grass fartlek, hill sessions (Titchfield rollers), and interval sessions on the road, track, or treadmill. |
What was your best ever race? |
The Stubbington Green 10k in 2006 (31.49), closely followed by the Eastleigh 10k in 2009 (31.55). |
And what was your worst or most embarrassing race? |
The Wessex XC at Newbury in 2002 - I missed the exit to the finish and ran an extra lap! |
Do you have a pre-race ritual? |
A full rest day the day before a race and two pre-race warm-ups - one slow and one fast. |
What is the best piece of gear you have bought? |
Elastic laces are a must-have for training and racing - I have them in four pairs of shoes! |
Worst piece of gear? |
1,000 Mile ‘Blister-Free’ socks - they were fine until they gave me blisters! |
Why do you run when you could be sat at home watching East Enders? |
With two full-time jobs I don’t have much time to watch TV but when I do it’s definitely not soaps (thank goodness for the iPlayer!) |
What does she/he who must be obeyed think about your running? |
Luckily, Lucy is also a runner so she knows how important it is for me to spend time training in order to achieve my objectives. |
What is the one piece of advice you would give to any new runner? |
Train hard and focus single-mindedly on achieving your most important goals, but don’t over-train, always listen to your body, and never run with an injury. |
