RATHER than running away from her own athletics mortality, Susan Partridge admits she has little choice but to embrace the sight of the end of the road. Life, work, everything, the Oban-born veteran admits, has at times continued in her absence in a parallel universe. “I have goals I’d like to meet rather than being the 35-year-old who won’t commit to things because she has other priorities,” she proclaims. But first, the Great Britain internationalist has one last vital cause to champion.
Today’s Chicago Marathon, she hopes, can unlock the door to the 2016 Olympic Games, the lone major event yet to be ticked off on her running bucket list. Two hours and 31 minutes is the magical mark required to be considered for the British team for Rio. Quicker, in reality, may be required for selection. The course where her coach, Steve Jones, set his world record 31 years ago is renowned for its speed. It is an opportunity to go for broke and let the chips fall as they may.
Yet Partridge will line up with uncertainty on her mind. “It’s not been a brilliant year for me,” she attests. “I’ve not been running particularly well.” Her mind has not been wholly attuned to the task at hand. “Maybe it was because the Commonwealth Games were so big for me that it was hard to care about anything else until the Olympics were coming round and that became the focus. I had to decide what my aim was.” Only now, when results matter once again, has the impetus of old returned.
Tenth at the 2013 world championships in Moscow and sixth a summer later in Glasgow, Partridge has shown a sense of occasion despite fitting in her training and competitive schedule around completing a Ph.D. in Leeds that centres around prosthetic limbs. She is currently on track to receive a doctorate tag in the New Year. “But,” she adds, “I could ask for an extension if I’m going to the Olympics.”
In recent months, she has taken leave to spend additional time working beside Jones at his base in Colorado. Holiday rations have been all but exhausted. The ends, still, justify the means, more so should Brazil beckon.
“I’d love to run so fast in Chicago that there’s no doubt about them picking me,” Partridge confirms. “But I want a sub-2.30 before the end of my career. I won’t get too caught up in it because a lot of the marathons I’ve done have been at championships where it’s been hot or the course has been windy. It takes away the opportunity to just go for a fast time.
“But I wouldn’t have it any other way. If I had to choose quick times or championship positions, I’d take the championships. Personal bests are nice. But running is about racing and positions and who you finish in front of.”
Two British women, Sonia Samuels and Alyson Dixon, landed the required standard in Berlin two weeks ago. With the three-person squad unconfirmed until April, the waiting game is far from done. “As much as it would be nice not to do a spring marathon, a lot of us will have to do it anyway,” Partridge adds. “But getting the qualifier in the autumn would give me a lot of confidence and I’d have that option not to do London.”
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