World champion Alex Yee to tackle his first London Marathon

Olympic triathlon champion Alex Yee’s decision to run this year’s London Marathon might have caught the multisport world by surprise, but not only does it make perfect sense, it gives a number of reasons to be intrigued — not just for Yee’s performance, but for our own efforts at this hallowed and fiendishly difficult distance.

Firstly, Yee’s decision comes from the heart. Born and bred in south-east London, a member of Kent Athletics Club and having run the mini marathon as a junior, it’s a race that captures his imagination. 

I recall Yee’s disappointment at a Super League Triathlon race (now Supertri) in the Docklands shortly after his Tokyo Olympic medal success, when he spoke about the importance of racing in his home city. After a subpar performance, he felt he’d let down home fans. No one felt let down, but his reaction showed what it meant to him.

Timing also fits. It’s at the start of the season in a post-Olympic year, and depending on what he decides to do afterwards, he’s not compromised in defending his triathlon world title. 

There has been interest from the T100 Triathlon World Tour, but while non-drafting over the 100km distance could come later in the summer, he’s declined to be contracted for a minimum number of events alongside fellow Paris medallists Hayden Wilde and Leo Bergere.

Yee has always shown loyalty to Supertri too, so with its autumn series, he’s keeping many options open.

If the motivation makes sense, the intrigue is what sort of marathon time Yee can put down in the peak of his endurance career, and, significantly, on triathlon training, as he keeps a steady volume of swimming and biking in the programme.

This is where we’ll see perhaps the best test case yet of how ‘cross-training’ for elite marathoning works. There are examples of low mileage marathoners who’ve achieved noteworthy results.

Stephanie Davis won the British trials to qualify for the Tokyo marathon where she was the highest placed Brit on little more than 55 miles a week, supplemented by swimming and elliptical aerobic work. 

There are also a few triathletes who have made the crossover to marathon running, the most high profile recent case being Gwen Jorgensen, who won triathlon gold in Rio 2016 before switching to running – although a 2:36:23 marathon best was short of her ambitions. 

Yet Yee is a different case. He’ll be only 27 years old when the race starts on Sunday, 27 April, and, provided he comes through training unscathed, will look to make good on the potential that saw him run 27:51.94 to win the British 10km title six-and-a-half years ago 

Coach Adam Elliott has guided the Loughborough-based athlete to individual Olympic silver and gold, as well as mixed team relay gold and bronze, and last year a first World Triathlon title.

Elliott says they’ll be plenty of learnings as training progresses, but confirms Yee should be running up to 80 miles a week – “really low for marathon runner, high for a triathlete” – but is unlikely to go into the 100-plus territory.

There are coaching experts who believe that a cross-training approach can work for marathon running. There are others who look at the evidence and claim that a truly world-class time has never been run by an athlete on low mileage. Whatever Yee achieves won’t end that debate, but will certainly add useful insight into the approaches that could work.

Even as marathons go, London is a tricky race to get right. A fast first half often sees runners fall away through the Docklands section, but the risks will only make the sense of achievement greater should Yee deliver. “If the planets align, I’d love to run in the ballpark of 2:07 to 2:10,” he says.

A sub 2:08 time would place him in the all-time top five British marathon runners. Only Mo Farah and, last year, Emile Cairess, have run under 2:07 in the capital. Anything around that mark would be hailed as a success, but plaudits are due for giving it a crack in the first place. 

Here at 220 we wish Alex all the best of luck the race and will be talking to him soon about how it’s all progressing. Watch this space!