Meet the coach - Alex MacEwen

Alex and Garry Robertson are the leadendurance coaches at Edinburgh AC.

Interviewing Alex is a bit of coup! He's one of themost modest men I've ever met and he listens more than he talks so getting histhoughts down on paper has been a real treat. Alex has been an incrediblypositive influence on my running and continues to be. I have no idea how hesupports so many athletes with his listening ear and advice. I’m not an expertin coaching but I suspect he exhibits what textbooks and seminars try to bottleand explain – a combination of experience, expertise and genuine interest inothers. Take some time out to read this one - it's one of the best.

I did my first run some 55 years ago. Every yearour school did the interhouse cross country. No training or practice; just doit. In my second year, I learned pace judgement or in my case go slow and passfolk. In summer term we had a choice and after a couple of years I decided notto do athletics. I didn’t like any event, including what passed for middledistance. All that hanging about, lots of tricky skills to learn and zeroencouragement. I tried cricket but favoured volleyball. When I got toUniversity I ran for fitness in the local park as I played soccer for theintramural Geography society. It was only when I got my first full time jobthat I ran with a club in Middlesbrough. I moved to Edinburgh after a couple ofyears and was spotted running by Edinburgh AC (EAC) legend Bob Cockburn whohanded me a form in 1982. I have paid my subs every year since and competed onthe track, cross country, road, trail and hill for EAC. I still see Bob for asports massage.

It’s an interesting idea to ask which performanceI’m proud of as it allows you to think of more than personalbests. Is it to do with the best execution or that sense of achievement or whenyou got the most pleasure in performing and reflecting? Or it could be the thatrace when you most proud of the whole process of planning, training, gettingfeedback and then the doing. Over the years I can think of a few.

The races I’m most proud of includethe world masters hill running champs at Keswick in 2005 and more recently inBets y Coed 2015. I did specific training over a decent training block as I hadaccess to the route profiles. On both these days I ran well against somefantastic masters. I had that sense of commitment which is rare these days forme. And the atmosphere generated by the Italians, in particular on the hill,and during the prize giving was memorable They knew how to sing their anthem, moreinspiring than the piper on the hill.

London Marathon 2016 was special. I havedone 7 marathons, four under the 3-hour mark, including Scottish MarathonChamps. But the one I am most proud of is London 2016. I was proud of the moneyraised for Cancer Research for Andrew, the brother of my partner. I was proudof all the support and messages folk gave me. I still get a lump in throatrecalling the emotional surges during that weekend. I can still hear William(Mel Gibson) Wallace urging his warriors to “hold hold hold” as I was temptedto pick up the pace. I can still recall Brian Aitken who sent me a greatarticle on Alastair Hutton winning London in 1990 telling me to “do somedamage”. I can still feel my own inner voice urging me with 5 km to go toembrace the famed “Pinto Surge “. And lastly the family photos of me handing mymedal to Andrew.

Then there are those races where you mentally stepbeyond your comfort zone and well into your trained zone, you step intothat flow of commitment and it works. It also gives you confidence to do itagain. Some call it in the zone. I can think of on the track a 3km race atCoatbridge, on the road I would single out the Lochaber 10 mile road race andon trails, the Huncote Christmas Hash. I didn’t have a watch at any of these, Iwas just immersed in the competition and flowing.

I think for me coaching has been more than aprogression from running. It’s been a lot broader than that. At schoolI helped with warmups, circuits and drills for our rugby teams. At work part ofmy job was teaching staff new skills. I helped set up track sessions if thesenior coach was away at club committee meetings. When I retrained at postgraduatelevel in physical education and coaching process at Heriot Watt University in1996, I went onto UKA Level 3 and became a tutor for the likes of UKA,sportsScotland and Edinburgh University. I was then leading and assessing CPD(continuing professional development) for PE staff and teachers, novicecoaches, sports leaders and Duke of Edinburgh teachers. I hope I picked up alot over the years. I have been coaching in some form or other for a few yearsnow!

I took this path for a number of reasons. At schoolas captain, I had a sense of responsibility and, without knowing it, anopportunity to learn. At work I combined an MBA (Master of BusinessAdministration) with responsibility to develop staff. I picked up knowledgeabout mind-set and coaching as opposed to watching and learning. I also saw andremembered some poor coaching/teaching/training from staff and fellow managers.At EAC when assisting and listening to the cool down chat I sensed there wasmore than just “dae the session”.

Like the influences, motivations and lessons fromthis rambling path, I think my philosophy changes. Indeed, Ithink I have more attitudes than a rounded philosophical underpinning. Whetherit’s a class, group or squad, a pupil, parents or an adult athlete in front ofme, my approach is not only to make them achieve but at a pace, method androute that suits them. However, behind that I have to have the knowledge orcontent to impart. And throughout I try to listen, reflect and pick up on theirquestions.

There are a number of things that motivate me. Whendealing with children in PE or Sports Leadership, mums wanting to lead physicalactivity in play schemes, seniors chasing selection or making teams or veteransand rookies looking to stay fit and improve; if I just get some of thefollowing responses, I realise why I do it.Getting the feedback at end ofsessions. Whether it’s just a thank you or ‘what do you think?’ or ‘I amthinking of doing this, any tips?!’. Seeing folk improve and achieve theirgoals. Seeing children acquire a new skill and enjoy the session. Trying to getacross that it’s a long road, a lifestyle and long-term thing rather than justa term or an 8-week block. The buzz of engagement, that sense that they areinvolved and enjoying it. With teachers commenting at end of CPD “I l learnedmore in that session than all the years at teacher training”. Watching over aperiod of time the improvements in performance and handling the sessions. Withchildren its years later saying, “Hi Mr MacEwen” or “Sir you taughtme, it was great, it was fun”. Indeed, some of them come back asrookie coaches. Behind all of this is a sense of enjoying it and wanting tomotivate them, set achievable goals and use the feedback to learn and set upnext session or class.

A bit of politics now: it’s along-term thing and sadly for last ten years that extracurricular andmainstream support for sport has been cut back. Maybe now a renaissance? Onother hand in Scotland folk worry that the current shutdown in competition andreal face to face coaching will have a huge detrimental impact.

If I had to coach a famous athletea snap reply would be Lasse Viren. He was an icon for me a competitor, greatstyle, got up when he fell, 4 Olympic golds, peaked and still runs. But then hewas an icon perhaps with his failings and not somebody I wanted to coach.

There is no single athlete. Honestly, I have gotmore out of the many folk over the years that I have helped. Some have reachedthe dizzy heights of a Scottish medal. I have got a lot from all these peopleincluding those that still did their own thing. It’s not about the fame, it’sabout trying to get them to be their best.

Sometimes I do wonder how I am here as I had noreal mentor, decision to do this, career path or influencer. Norevelation on my meandering path. I can think over many years of a number ofpeople who have made me think: ‘I want to be like that’ or ‘that was goodadvice and well-pitched’, particularly when commenting on a poor session by me.At school it was a geography teacher. At university it was an eccentriclecturer who encouraged reading, thinking, questioning. Early on at work it wasa couple of senior colleagues who took time to encourage me to step back andthink and another who advocated, ‘know your material’. Over the last 20 yearsit’s been a few senior teachers and headteachers. In the governing body it’sthe tutors that know their material, and can give inspirational engagement,getting participants to shape their learning. Throughout there is a commonquality to these folk: it was their ability to communicate well and not wingit!

Then believe it or not there is good sourcematerial that you can read and see in pictures!

I have no real favourite books. Lookingat my shelves there are too many. Some still get dipped into. Some helped meyears back. There are the technical ones from Stamfl (Running) in 1955,Temple (Cross Country and Road Running) 1980, Dick 1980, Watson 1983 andFriel 2015. There are the diary ones by say Hoffman 2017, Ritchie 2016 andMcGregor 2010. There are generic ones on coaching style, leadership andteaching PE to children. The fun ones on hill running (Chilton 2013) and theones that make you cynical (McKay 1996, Caesar 2015). I dip into them all butin these days of virtual running, I go back to books on trail running (Allison2012) or mountain running (Smith 1985) so as I can ‘armchair run’, dream,motivate! Armchair running can raise the imagination but not your cadence!

Is there a word for this idea of losing yourrunning mojo? Mojo tappio? Perte mojo? Guess not! Theanswer is yes.

Mojo loss is different to overtraining syndrome. Ithink mojo loss is a medium-term thing. It’s more than a short term reaction toa poor race whether in the sense of performance or commitment. Overtraining mayinclude this feeling, but I think mojo loss exists outwith being overtrained.Putting aside how it fits with mental health as depression, I think mostrunners get it.

When I've lost my running mojo, some things thatwork for me are:

Fartlek - unstructured unplanned, you just want todo it and who cares if you blow up, get tired, stay out too long, overdo it.

Run in the hills, listen, feel, smell, imagine.Even in a Scottish summer, feel the sun on your back and hear the peewits. Inthe winter take on the elements.

Make that intellectual transition from performancemeasurement to joy of doing your running. It’s that run with no expectationsand a mix of physical pleasure, flow over the ground and feeling lighter. Thereare some great lines in Cliff Temple’s first book and in Robert Crais’detective books that capture that mix. It’s that scene in Thirty Nine Stepswhere Richard Hannay is free running in the hills and the scene opens up inboth the 1935 and 1978 versions.

Don’t set a target race and structure a trainingblock. Go to a race if feeling good. There will be a return to entry on theday, low key runs, over some arbitrary distance.

Go somewhere where you are not known, even stay ina local hotel, rock up and pull on your club vest. Oh, to be able to do thatnow!

My most common queries and questions from runners? Take yourpick of overuse niggles and pains: calf, IT, Achilles, hamstring, knee,plantar, lower back. What is it and how can I make it disappear overnight?! Orhow can I get faster, run a PB or complete the blessed marathon? And I am happyto try and answer them all. Then some time later see if they are listening anddoing!

I have a few anecdotes!

Why did the runner cross the road? To get the bendin his/her favour.

My old coach who replied when I asked, “any tacticsClaude?” answered with a twinkle “get to the front and stay there!”.

Martin Ferguson EAC (15.35 5km and 30. 48 10 km)and an absolute metronome for pace. I was agonising over EAC team selectionmany years ago for the Edinburgh to Glasgow road relay. “Alex , the team willpick itself”. And its advice that I use every year at the cross-country relays.I still hear Fergie.

Adrian Weatherhead EAC (1.51 800m, 3.57 mile andsub 30.00 10 km) in his London voice and I paraphrase "you have to beprepared to die". Adrian competed for Scotland and GB on track and crosscountry. He still runs.

I was running in the Carnethy Hill race with thelate great Robin Morris. Climbing Allermuir, a voice from the heather, it wasMark Johnstone, another person whom has done a lot for the sport.” Alex,your climbing looks great……. But slow!”.

Standing in light snow in Scottish road relaychamps on long leg 2 for EAC C team, who is waiting but Steve Ovett running inScotland for Annan in 1990. Off I went, running steady, trying to control thepace etc etc. Who goes by pretty damned early but Steve. I rationalised that asan Olympian, he should. So back to my task. And as we stood in the showerqueue, he took his turn and did the runner chat. He ran 29 something, thefastest of the day, me a bit over 36 minutes.

And lastly a bit of controversy. Outlining a tracksession at Meadowbank, it was a random distance, unknown length and recovery sisusession. It was to develop mental strength. I was saying the runners neededcommitment. One of the women quick as a flash and smiling: “well that rules theguys out then”. She went on to be one of the physios attached to Olympic Team!

You won't find Alex on social media. When we're outof lockdown and return to the new 'normal' you will find him on the Meadowscoaching sessions quite a few nights every week.

Karla Borland