When we spoke to Martin Fuksa before his marathon debut, he talked about the door beyond the 34th kilometre, one he had never opened before. The Olympic champion in sprint canoeing had a clear goal: to run the Vodafone Prague Marathon in under three hours, while not pushing himself completely to the limit, as just a few days later he was due to compete at the World Cup in Szeged.
On Sunday, on the streets of Prague, he showed that even a challenge outside his main discipline can be handled with complete control. He achieved his sub-three-hour goal and, as he says himself, the marathon went exactly as he had planned.
Question: Martin, a great time and a goal achieved under three hours. How did the race feel?
I achieved my goal, I got under three hours, and the race felt really good. Exactly as I had planned. I’m happy that I managed it, in a way, without too much trouble. I hoped I was physically prepared well enough to run the marathon without having to go completely to the limit. On the other hand, I had never run more than 34 kilometres in my life, so I didn’t know what would be waiting behind that door after the 30th kilometre. And I have to say, it was great. From start to finish, I felt really good.
I ran the first half with David Luu and his pacer Kája Sasynová, who set the pace for us, so I didn’t have to look at my watch too much and could just follow her. After that, it was up to me. I monitored every kilometre, held the pace, and in the last nine kilometres I even managed to speed up slightly. I didn’t underestimate nutrition or training, the spectators were great, and I’m glad that this is the experience I’ll associate with my first marathon.
Question: Was there any section of the course that really did not suit you, and on the other hand, any section you particularly enjoyed?
I have to say that all 42 kilometres suited me. Maybe towards the end there was one part where my calves were starting to tighten a bit, so running down a slight hill wasn’t completely ideal, but otherwise everything was fine. And what did I enjoy? The start was great. Running across Charles Bridge and through the centre of Prague in general was incredible. I really enjoyed it. The fans, the crowd of runners, the atmosphere. All of it was great.
Question: What was the biggest difference between the marathon and the races on the water that you are used to?
The biggest difference is, of course, the duration of the performance. My main discipline lasts around four minutes, or actually under four minutes. The marathon took roughly two hours and fifty minutes longer, so that is a pretty significant difference. In canoeing, we do train volume as well, but on the water we are still usually out there for maybe an hour and a half. In any case, I’m glad that the volume preparation I did over the autumn and winter helped me.
The way you race is different too. In my main event, I go as hard as I can from the start and then try to finish even stronger. Here, I was running at around 80 percent, always keeping something in reserve, and then lifted it to maybe 90 percent at the end. A nice long run.
Question: What were the reactions around you to your final time?
Absolutely amazing. I really didn’t expect that running a marathon and managing it under three hours could have such an impact. I was honestly surprised. You can see that running is very popular, that people follow it closely and really experience it with you. I received great feedback both from the people closest to me, whom I may have even motivated to try something like this themselves, and from the wider public. I’m happy it had that kind of response.
Question: When we spoke before the race, you said: “I would of course like to run by feel and keep an eye on the time with my goal in mind. On the other hand, with so many people running, I think there will be enough runners around me that it would be silly not to tuck in behind someone for a while. But I don’t want to overthink the tactics.” How did it actually play out during the race?
I think it was exactly as I said before the race. The evening before the marathon, we met David Luu and agreed that I could join him and his pacer. We ran together until halfway, and thanks to them, the first half went by really quickly. It helped me settle into the race well, and in the end it was actually even better than I had planned.
Question: You are now fully focused on preparing for Szeged. Did you manage to recover well?
I tried to start recovering immediately after the race. After the finish, I replenished all the nutrients, then at the hotel I had a cold bath, and in the evening I went for a massage. The very next day, I was already back training in the canoe. Of course, I can still feel my legs and they are a little sore, but it doesn’t limit me in any way. I hope that when I race my first World Cup start on Friday and go full gas, it won’t hold me back.
At the same time, I’m so happy with how it went and that I managed to do it that I have a lot of endorphins. I believe they will help me too. I’ll try to give it my maximum.
Question: And finally, the obvious question… will we see you again next year?
To be honest, I can’t say what I’ll feel like doing in a year. I achieved my goal of going under three hours. Under two hours is something I probably, actually definitely, will never manage in my life. On the other hand, I’m thinking that maybe under 2:50 could work one day, so perhaps I’ll be tempted and run again. But I can’t say that I’ll be on the start line of the Prague Marathon next year. Maybe yes. Or maybe at another RunCzech race.
I would also like to add a big thank you to the RunCzech organisation for allowing me to start from the elite wave, to be in the backstage area, and to see, experience and be inspired by the whole event. Thank you for the experience, and I believe it was not the last time.
