Sam Rahman  

1 What made you start running initially ? I would say it was at school, winning the 50m dash as a little kid gave me a buzz that stuck. As a kid I was always out playing with my mates getting up to no good and being chased by people whose windows we smashed or running as part of knock down ginger. My dad was an influence too as I remember the marathons he did when I was about 9 or 10 years old.

2) Favourite Road Race and Why ? London marathon. Firstly the atmosphere on the train to Greenwich is great and once you get going the streets are lined with 1000s people cheering you on and there’s always a good few people that recognise you and cheer for you. The post marathon drinks at the Eva Hart is a lovely end to the day.

3) Why do you think you have never broken 2-50 for the Marathon but got close on so many occasions and what was the time you were aiming for ? I would say its either not being fit or injury free at the time of the marathon or overcooking the first half of the marathon, as an example is 2015 I did the London marathon got to half way is just over 1:23 then bonked the last 5 miles finishing the last half in over 1:29, finish time 2:52. I’m sure I was in 2:48-2:49 shape that day. In 2016 I did the Berlin marathon and thought I was well below 2:50 as my average pace was 6:27min/miles but as I entered the last stretch I realised I had more distance to run, did something like 26.5 miles.

4) What is a bedroom DJ ? When I was a teenager I had decks (record decks) in my bedroom and would mix the music like a wannabe DJ, music of choice of Drum & Bass or House & Garage.

5) Park Run PB and Favourite ? PB 17:27 Raphaels Park, favorite though, would probably be the old Valentines Park course mainly because of the memories of facing my running buddies Kevin Newell and Steve Philcox.

6) Where was The photo of you on the track with countless Colchester Harriers around you and what race was it and result ? That was the Essex Champs 5000 2019 in Braintree finished 5th in my heat 17:08.9. Hope to do that race again at some point.

7) Got any examples of your drawings to show us ? Here’s a drawing I did when I was 17/18 doing my A-levels. This is a guy is a 3rd world country getting some dental treatment.

8) Favourite episode from The Mandalorian and Star Trek ? The final episode in The Mandalorian when Luke Skywalker makes an entrance and kicks arse. For Star Trek it would be when they first meet the Borg…

9) Other sports you have done? At school I was into Javelin, got as far as representing Barking & Dagenham at country sports games, cant remember my PB. I actually used to train at Cricklefields when I was 13-14 years old.

10) Greatest Current Rival athlete in the world of running ? I would always seem to have battles with the same people at the Essex champs races mostly Springfield Striders guys like Stuart Raven and James Smith.

11) A quick question for Sam You haven’t mentioned parkrun, Are you a believer? Do you do them? I’ve done a few park runs over the years, just Barking, Valentines, Rapaels and Mile End. I think they are good to do occasionally when there’s no races on, but I’m not keen on the idea of doing them every weekend.

12) Hi Sam great Who’s who.  You have a great relaxed style of running which is ideally suited to middle and long distances.  I was wondering if this was your original style when you started out or if you trained yourself to run this way. Not something I’ve ever thought about, Im sure my style has been refined over the years of doing track sessions week in week out.

13) What made you join Ilford AC ? And did you run for any other clubs ? I was with Dagenham 88 from about 2010-2012 which is where I met coach Robbo. I remember doing a track session with Ilford and thought it is more me, plus I went from one of the faster runners to slower runners which was good for me to develop.

14) How has having a coach benefited you? sometimes when I doubt myself I remember that I’ve done all the training and know that I have it in me to get the job done.

15) Do you supplement your running with any other form of exercise. Yes, when the pools are open I would swim twice a week, I also do some light weights, more recently I’ve been doing Team Thie circuits.

16) Do you have a healthy diet, and do you eat any specific foods that help your training. At the moment my diet isnt great, but when I’m racing I eat pretty well and the closer I get to a big race I clean my diet up.My guilty pleasures are beer and chocolate.

17) Are you a fan of gels, and if so what is your strategy (one before a race, and at set intervals? Just when you feel you need them?), Yes for 20mile races and marathons only, I only use High5 energy gels (orange flavour), for a marathon I would have one at 5m, 10m, 15m and 20m.

18) Six fantasy dinner guests, alive or dead and why? Natalie Portman (because she’s gorgeous), Donald Trump (funny guy says it how it is), Leonardo De Vinci (love to know how his brain works), Eliud Kipchoge (to get running tips) and Yoda (to learn the ways of the force)

19) Favourite ever Olympic moment? Mo winning the 5000/10000 at the 2012 games.

20) If you could attend this years Olympics what event would you most look forward to being at? I guess the 100m as its the blue ribbon event of every olympic games.

21) Did you ever play football, and have you a favourite team? no never really played foot, having a mess about on a sunday morning with my mates while drinking beer doesn’t really count. When asked what time I support I say West Ham, but only because most of my mates support them and they are the largest club to where I live.

22) What made you start running in the first instance and did you do any other sports seriously before ? I’ve ran for as long as I can remember, but what got me more into racing was when I was about 25-26 I did a sponsored 10k run around the Tower of London while running I realised I was overtaking almost everyone and thought I might be good at this so then moved onto the Great North run in 2009 which I did just wearing speedos…

23) What is your employment and how do you fit your training around it? I’m a sales manager for a large freight forwarding company in Tilbury managing 5 people, as its more office based I’m almost always able to get a run in before and after work, my Mrs is pretty relaxed about me being out all the time running.

24) After the pandemic if you could have a ticket for any gig – Who would you go and see? I would probably go V festival with my mates and get out of my head for a couple of days.

25) In a basketball shootout of 20 shots who do you think would win out of Anna Crawley and Andy Catton? I would say Anna

26) Have you ever done a race that has been going so badly that you considered feigning an injury? Yes I a few marathons, 2013 London marathon I blew up at 16m and was walking by 18m, I was looking at every train station thinking I could just slip off and go home, but I then remember I needed my personal belongings which were in the truck at the finish line.