The Road to Toro – Mockenhaupt’s fresh from victory and ready for a challenge

With only one month to go until the SPAR European Cross Country Championships in Toro (Spain), we continue with our series of interviews with the main stars of the competition’s history.

Next on the hot seat is Germany’s 2005 European Cross Country Championship second place finisher and 2007 Cologne Marathon Champion Sabrina Mockenhaupt…

„If I recover from my first marathon in Cologne, I’m very confident to perform well in Toro“
Sabrina Mockenhaupt

In 2005 you finished second at the European Cross Country Championships in Tilburg. Do you still remember this race and can you tell us what it felt like to be on that podium?

Of course! It was one of my greatest achievements and I am very happy about it. I entered the competition without any expectations and only during the race I realised that I had a good chance to finish on the podium. I was in very good shape that day so I just kept on running.

You managed to win this year’s Cross Championships in Germany for the fourth time. Can we expect to see you in Toro as well?

I do consider running in Toro, after all cross country has always been a successful challenge for me. The Spaniards are probably going to send Marta Dominguez to the competition; she is one great athlete and a tough counterpart amongst all the other top athletes who will start in Toro. The bottom line is that my participation and performance in Toro depends on my continued recovery from the Cologne marathon, but I am really confident.

You are running successfully both on track and cross country. What kind of surface do you actually prefer?

I don’t have any preferences. I like to run on track, the asphalt, cross… Running is my life; I like it on whatever surface!

In Munich you achieved your best result at a SPAR European Cup finishing second in the 5,000m. Unfortunately you did not reach the given qualification standard for the World Championships in Osaka. Are you still happy about your achievement or rather disappointed that the performance was not sufficient for the qualification standard?

I am very happy about the second place at the European Cup, especially as I have not been very lucky so far this year. I am in very good shape, but frequently had to run under bad circumstances, where it was tough to achieve the qualification standard A for the world championships in Osaka. Nevertheless, during the SPAR European Cup in Munich a good ranking was more important to me than the time. I was running for the team, not for myself.

How important is the participation in Osaka for you?

After a lot of back and forth I made up my mind and decided not to travel to Osaka. I was trying to achieve qualification standard A which I only missed by two seconds in Oslo. I could have participated with the B standard, but that is not what I want. I decided to prepare really well for my first Marathon in Cologne instead.

As you know, many of the long-distance runners who dared to run the Marathon experienced a tough time in Osaka. What are your chances and do you have a formula for success for this distance?

That is exactly why I wanted to train hard and prepare well for my first Marathon. I do respect this tough discipline a lot, but I am not afraid of it. In the height of Saint Moritz where I am based at the moment I can prepare very well for my intended races.

What was your aim in Cologne?

First of all I want to run a good Marathon and I really wanted to achieve the qualification time for the Olympic Games in Beijing next year – both of which I did!

In your opinion, is there still a great difference between African and European athletes, or do you think that the runners from the sunnier continent are beatable?

Definitely, there is still a gap between African and European runners, but last year’s European Championships showed that Europe has great talents and that we are approaching the Africans step by step. Speaking for myself I can only say that I feel great, I am in very good shape and I still have not reached my peak.

Considering your training, isn’t it going to be tough focusing equally on the long-distance track events and on the Marathon? Will you have to change your training-strategy in order to adapt to the Marathon?

Indeed, it is going to be a big adjustment because I have to rest a lot as I am tired all the time. But Saint Moritz is the right location for my training. The regional height makes it tough, but it is very calm so I get to rest, which is very important. Of course, I had to change the way I used to train, mainly by focusing more on longer distances (30km runs) than on speed.

Finally, what are your thoughts on the current situation of long-distance running?

Unfortunately, it is still fairly poor, there is a need for stronger competition and there are not many fresh faced newcomers on the horizon.

Source/Courtesy
European Athletics (EAA)
https://www.european-athletics.org/
EAA