Dave Shaw
8 Dec 2023
We sit down with Chris, a RunRhaw original, to discuss the upcoming Malaga running festival
Q. You're racing the malaga half marathon, whats your expectations going into it?
To finish! My training has been non existent recently, and consistently inconsistent for the full year, so i am not going in with any high expectations. In some ways though, thats quite a good place to be, it means i can hopefully enjoy it!
Q. Have you raced abroad before? Are you going to do anything different to cope in the heat?
I've never raced abroad but i always run whilst on holiday, so i have a bit of an idea what to expect! Obviously plenty of fluid to keep rehydrated, i might take a small bottle with me in a race belt - I wouldn't normally as i'd rely on the water stations. but it's maybe an idea to best prepare like that. I'll also need to slow the pace down a little bit, although that won't be hard given my fitness level at the moment!
Q. What are you looking forward to the most?
Finishing......I'm genuinly worried that Dave will finish the full marathon before i finish the half! No, on a serious note, i'm looking forward to the experience in a different country with some heat at this time of year! Will be a pleasant change from the minus conditions we are experiencing here! And of course, a few beers afterwards!
Q. You've adopted a no training approach and focussed fully on the taper for this - are you confident you'll beat your time for the Glasgow half?
Ha ha, yes my training has been pretty poor in the run up to this! This years Glasgow GSR was 1hr 48. I think it is unlikely that i will beat that (insert "not with that attitude" joke here), but will see what happens. Gold result for me at the moment will be under 1hr 48, Silver will be under 1hr 50 and Bronze will be anything under 1hr 55. Either way i'll enjoy it!
Q. On a scale of 1-10 - how many beers are you going to have in malaga the day before the race?
In Malaga, i'll probably have just 1 or 2. But on the flight there, 4 or 5 and in Glasgow airport before we leave, another 4 or 5 🤣, but they dont count cause they're in a different country.
Best of luck Chris, hope you and the rest of the Run Rhaw team get on well and enjoy the weekend!