Veckans löpare: Löpningen är min bästa vän

Möt löparen Rubin McRae, fd nya zeeländsk landslagslöpare som sedan många år tillbaka lockar fram det bästa ur svenska löpare, som coach och personlig tränare. När det gäller egen löpning drömmer han om att återigen bli snabbare på 400 och 800 meter. Rubin har svarat på engelska, vi har valt att inte översätta och hoppas att du känner dig bekväm med att läsa hans svar på engelska.

Vem är du?
– Rubin McRae, 47 years young, Wife Lisa, and two kids Elliot 8, and Anton 6. Work as running coach and sales at Urban Tribes.


Hur länge har du löptränat? Vad fick dig att börja.
– I have pretty much run my whole life. My dad was an excellent runner and he had a scrap book with all of his times and achievements. Inspired me to start and never stop. Started training seriously when I was 13 years old.


Vilken löpträning gör dig lyckligast? Beskriv varför.
–I love the feeling of hard training, with that pace slightly harder than threshold but still feel strong and can feel like you can continue. I live near Ursvik and so lately more and more training is in the forest, which I also love.

Vad vill du bli bättre på i din löpning/träning?
– As we get older we tend shy away (me also) from top end speed training. I would love to feel that I could run faster again over 400m, & 800m without feeling like I will injure myself.

Vem är din förebild inom löpning och varför?
Swedish
• Mustafa Mohammed because he is showing that even though he is getting older he can adapt his training and still improve.
• Anders Szalkai  because he is one of the leading coaches in Sweden with a great attention to training program detail and can see that he has a genuine love for the sport beyond the financial side, which I like to think is a lot like myself.

International
• Nick Willis (New Zealand) – the great New Zealand runner of all time in my eyes and was on the road to his 5th consequtive Olympics. Amazing guy with also a love for the sport.
• Eluid Kipchoge – arguably the greatest runner on the planet but also inspiration beyond the running in his private life and what he stands for.

The above four are incredible athletes, with love for the sport that shows even when they are not running.

Vad uppskattar du mest hos en träningskompis?
– Someone that can push me, but also understand when I am having a bad day. Someone who I can relax with and enjoy running for as long as I am out.

Vilken löparpryl klarar du dig inte utan?
– My garmin watch

Vad äter du helst innan ett långpass?
– Something light and not too heavy. Gluten free hard bread with cheese – but sometimes I like to not eat anything to see if the body can deal with the stress of not being feed for the hours before.

Vilket ord representerar bäst det du känner för löpning?
– Best friend – Something that makes you feel strong, happy, weak, and sad – but ultimately something that has been the greatest lifelong companion of my life.

Vilket mantra tar du till när det är tufft på träning/tävling?
– Bad days are needed to make the good days feel better – also – comfort zones are where dreams go to die.

Vilken är den bästa effekten som löpningen har haft på dig?
– Travel the world, and meet some of the greatest people along the way. Even now being able to make a living with running.

Vilket var ditt senaste lopp – och hur gick det?
– A company race we organized called “Fakk Corona 10km” It was a good day and ran just over 36minutes which was a little surprise as I have to do a work run of about 12km before this race. So very happy.

Vilket är ditt nästa lopp?
– A Half Ironman is my next race in Vichy France – but next running race I am really aiming for is the Mallorca Marathon on the 11th of October 2020 with some of my best friends. We are traveling with what we hope will be 45 people.

Hur påverkar coronapandemin din löpning?
– Work wise the Corona virus has cut our training by 75%. However, this means more personal running for me. So I would say I am in the best shape I have been in for years.I hope that the races I have planned happen, but if not, it’s ok as I can work on my weaknesses and be better prepared for when we can race again.

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