Dom Scott is no stranger to the pain cave. She famously collapsed during the World Cross-Country Championships a few years ago, and has been competing in the cauldron of Olympic and world-class 10 000m events for years.
But few would have predicted how well she would do in only her second half marathon.
On a chilly Houston morning in January, Scott-Efurd ran an incredible 67 minutes 32 seconds on her way to third place at the Houston Half Marathon. Only Elana Meyer has ever run faster, with her 66:44 from 1999.
But how did she manage to pull off such a great result, in only her second competitive 21.1km?
FOCUS IS EVERYTHING
When I ran my first half marathon at the Great North Run, it was at the end of the track season, and was just for a little fun. But this event... I really trained for it. You realise how important mileage and aerobic workouts are when you run the longer distances, Scott-Efurd says.
In the build-up to the race, both Scott-Efurd and her coach Joe Boshard began to realise - based on her training workouts - that she was capable of a competitive time.
THE LONG RUN
This story is from the March/April 2022 edition of Runner's World SA.
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This story is from the March/April 2022 edition of Runner's World SA.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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