An exclusive Q&A with the runner after she took 22 minutes and 31 seconds off her 26.2 mile best at the TCS London Marathon
There’s no doubt that this year’s TCS London Marathon produced a myriad of unique and sensational stories. From Sabastian Sawe and Tigist Assefa dominating on the streets of the capital to the likes of Alex Yee and Eilish McColgan making their 26.2 mile debuts, the 45th edition of the event will not be forgotten in a hurry.
In hot conditions, those in the elite field starred. However, there were also some pretty remarkable tales in the mass participation element of the race, with one in particular standing out.
Lucy Jones, who clocked 2:52:54 in London last year, took an incredible 22 minutes and 31 seconds off that time 12 months on. Her mark of 2:30:23 was the third quickest by a British female athlete in the event, with only Eilish McColgan (2:24:25) and Rose Harvey (2:25:01) going faster [Phily Bowden ran 2:30:28].
The Brit was also part of the PUMA Project3 initiative and, running in the PUMA Fast-R NITRO Elite 3 shoes, took home $9000 as the quickest female in the project in London.
Now, a few weeks on from her run, Jones talks through that magical day in the capital, what it was like to balance a full-time job with training and why she dreams of becoming a professional athlete in the future.
How did it feel to run 2:30:23 at this year’s London Marathon?
I honestly couldn’t believe it. I knew that I was maybe in shape for a 2:34 or 2:35 run – maybe slightly quicker on a good day – but to go out and run 2:30 was unbelievable. It’s something that I’d dreamt about since I was very little.
I had a broad idea of what I thought I could manage pace wise and I set off quite steadily. After around two to three miles it was what I expected and I felt really good. So I sort of trusted myself from thereon in and I actually went through 10 miles a little bit quicker than what I had anticipated.
I just kind of told myself ‘okay let’s get to 20 miles and we’ll re-evaluate the situation’. Around the 17/18 mile mark, I was really confident and started to get a lot of love from the crowd. I started to see people that I knew and I was just really enjoying it. I was confident the wheels wouldn’t fall off!
I didn’t look at my watch much in the last five or six miles as I just wanted to send it as hard as I could. I’d only trained for up to 22 miles, and also never ran it at race pace, so that was a bit of an unknown period for me. I was nervous how it would feel but I got through it in the end.
I’ll be honest, I don’t know what I felt crossing the line. I just absolutely loved it and I burst into tears as soon as I completed the race. I couldn’t stop the tears and was just so proud of myself. I always knew that there was a performance like that there. It was just about having the confidence and everything clicked into place perfectly.
I believe it’s a place where I deserve to be and I’m capable of going quicker. My body was able to cope with the training block well so if I was given more of a chance to train like a professional, then there’s hopefully a good chunk to take off time wise.
You’ve got a full-time account management job, so what was the balance with training like ahead of London?
Yeah obviously it’s tough but I think that you get used to it as you get into a rhythm. I think it can be done and I don’t think anyone should be put off by training if you are in a full-time job. I think there are days where you have to be more lenient with yourself and and really understand your body to sort of minimise, I suppose, injury and illness. I work at a desk so I like to get a release when I’m training.
I work from 9am till 6pm Monday to Friday – in office three days a week – and then just fit in my training sessions around that. Monday and Wednesday would be easy run days, so anywhere between eight and ten miles or maybe slightly less.
Then it’s gym on both those days as well. Tuesday would be a track session and I’ve made a conscious effort of keeping the speed work in there on top of that. I really love training with my group at Herne Hill Harriers so that track session is really important. Thursday I maybe do a medium long run or a longer session. Friday is a rest day and then Saturday or Sunday is a long run.
What are your plans for the rest of the year now? Are you aiming to do a Valencia/Berlin/Chicago in the Autumn?
I actually don’t think I’ll do another marathon in 2025 as I’ve still got, I hope, so much potential on the track. I’ve got some lofty goals this summer and I’d really like to improve my personal bests across the board. I’d like to lower my 5000m time to something like 15:30 and would I may even dip my toes in some 800ms and 1500ms. I don’t want to label myself as a marathon runner yet but if they opportunity came around in the short-term, I’d definitely give it another crack.
I think it’s important for my personal growth to race across many distances right now and I think it keeps everything really exciting and fun. You’re not then so fixated on a certain time if you’re constantly racing the same distance and it becomes quite monotonous and dense.
I would absolutely die to compete in some kind of major championships in the long-term and I hope I just continue the trajectory that I’m on now. I just love running however so it’s not the be-all and end-all.
How did the PUMA Project 3 initiative come about and do you dream of being a full-time professional?
I just applied online in around December or January when they released the applications. I saw the likes of Becky Briggs and a couple of other athletes advertising it on their Instagram story and it stated that the opportunity was for the London Marathon. I was like ‘well I’m running London anyway, so I’ve got nothing to lose’. I put a fairly speculative application in and then one morning I received an email saying I got accepted.
It was amazing as we got kit and I got a lot of confidence from a brand backing you a little bit. Being part of the initiative definitely gave me something to aim for and with time-based bonuses. I was like ‘bloody hell, get your legs moving’ in the last few miles!
I wanted to give myself as much opportunity as possible to be noticed in hopefully securing a full- time contract. This was one of those situations where if you dug a little bit harder, it might put you on the map, so I wanted to do myself justice in London.
The prospect of being backed by a brand full-time is literally the ultimate dream and I think it’s something I’ve thought about since I was literally nine or ten years old. I’d snap your hand off for a small or part-time contract right now!
For example, I went to train in Font Romeu a bit ahead of the London Marathon and to spend longer at altitude blocks, which you’d get with the backing and funding of a brand, would be really helpful. I got a taster of the professional environment and it was great.
To finish off, are there any athletes you look up to in the sport right now, in regards to training/attitude/mechanics?
I suppose it goes with running the marathon twice now but I closely follow Calli Hauger-Thackery’s journey. She embodies kind of how I feel I suppose and she’s a very gritty athlete. She gets her head down and she’s a brilliant marathon runner.
But she’s also incredibly lethal over the short stuff and is very open about racing across the board. I just look at Calli and think she’s very inspiring. I’d love to follow suit.
