How He Trained: Steve Ovett

Steve Ovett started running as a sprinter, long jumper and high jumper. By the age of 15, he had recorded a 49.8 for 400m. The following is from Ovett's training partner for over 10 years.

Steve Ovett: Personal Records

200m-21.7

400m-47.0r/ 47.5

800-1:44.09

1500-3:30.77

5000m-13:20.06

"The winter prior to the Moscow Olympics (1980) we ran an average of 100 miles/week (160km) for over 20 weeks, with some weeks at 110-120 miles/week. Steve wanted this winter to be the best he could manage - he wanted 'to frighten the life out of people' with his fitness level. Brighton is a very hilly town and this made our training even harder as most of our runs included some very tough hill climbs."

Typical Winter Week:

Sunday- AM 10 miles 57-60 min. PM 10 miles 54-55 min.

Monday- AM 5 mi 35 min. PM 10 miles fast/steady 52-53 min.

Tuesday-10 mi. road inc. hard 4 x 300 and 4 x 400 on hills

Wednesday- AM 10 miles 58-60 min. PM 10M + technique (read: plyo)

Thursday- AM 5 mi 35 min. PM 10 mi 55-58 min.

Friday-AM 5 mi 35 min. PM 5 min 35 min

Saturday- AM 5 mi 35 min PM- Workout- 6 x 1000m with 30-60s recovers in park (note: switched parks for hill difficulty level)

Spring Week:

Sunday- AM 10 miles easy 60-65 min. PM 4 mi + 5 x 3 x 200m (27-28) with 30s and 3 min recoveries.

Monday- AM 5 miles 35 min. PM- 5 x 300 (avg 37.4) with 2 minutes rec.

Tuesday-AM 5 miles 35 min. PM- PARK. 6 X 700M loop with hills first half, large downhill to finish at 90% effort with 2 min rec. + 10 x 100m strides.

Wednesday-AM 5 miles PM- Technique work high knees etc. 5 x 150m (16-17) walk recovery. + 10 x 100m (11/13) change pace. + 4 x 60m standing start with 3 minutes recovery.

Thursday- AM- weights PM- PARK. workout. 6 x 30 seconds 90%, 10 min jog, 8 x 15s with walk recovery, focusing on good form.

Friday-AM 5 mi 35 min. PM 5 miles + 4 x 5x 100m (14-15) 30 seconds recovery decreasing to 5 seconds.

Saturday- AM PARK. 6 x 1000m with 30-60 seconds rec. PM 5 miles + 6 x 100m strides

Summer/ Competition Week:

Sunday- AM 10 miles easy 65 min. PM strides on grass. 10 x 100m (13-14)

Monday- 4 x 400m change pace. 200m at 28-29 then 23-24 with 5 minutrs recovery.

Tuesday- AM 5 miles 35 min. PM strides, 6 x 100m relaxed

Wednesday- rest

Thurs- Travel. Light day.

Friday- 30 minutes + strides

Saturday- Bislett Games- equalled WR.

As you can see, Ovett is similar to Ryun in big winter weeks with big tapers. Ovett won the Moscow Olympics in 1:45 (54-51) and finished 3rd in 1500m. Enjoy.

thank you. where did you find this?

I am from Brighton and it is a great place to train, hilly parks and a beachfront, good weather. In Preston Park there is a statue of Ovett that gets abused regularly by hooligans.

Ovett ran 1:52 age 15 for 800 and did put in a lot of miles once he was about 20-21.

Gavin Thompson from EMU is from the same area

Ovett was THE MAN. The most talented distance runner Britain has ever had. And many believe he never got near his potential!

Some good stuff on Ovett can be found here:

The brilliant teenage record holder

www.sporting-heroes.net/athletics-heroes/displayhero.asp?HeroID=468

The late 1970s and European triumph

www.sporting-heroes.net/athletics-heroes/displayhero.asp?HeroID=469

Olympic 800m Champion in Moscow

www.sporting-heroes.net/athletics-heroes/displayhero.asp?HeroID=470

The ups and downs of the1980s

www.sporting-heroes.net/athletics-heroes/displayhero.asp?HeroID=471

And an especially good review of his career can be found here:

www.atleticaleggera.com/ovette.htm

:)

bazza wrote:

and an especially good review of his career can be found here:

http://www.atleticaleggera.com/ovette.htm

:)

Ahh, Monaco 1972, I remember it all so well:

"Lasse Viren (Fin)

she is the only successful athlete to gain the medal of gold in the 5.000 and 10.000 meters in the two Olympic Games (Monaco and Montreal).

Its acute more impressive came from the 10.000 carried out meters to Monaco where, been involved in one fallen shortly before half contest, precious meters lost.

Without of mind and to lose to the panic it went back with gradual engagement and it knew imporsi in the end thanks to its long usual sprint, crowning the enterprise with a world-wide record of 27:38.35."

WTF is he saying!!!!

Ovett was class......

just found a copy of ovetts book- found it in an old second hand shop for £1 ($1.50)- bargin!!! Good read- would have liked for information on his training- but the BMC some years ago did publish the info in this thread. The best thing about the book is it shows all his races up till 1984. There are some intreseting things that stand out like the famous 65min half-marathon win two weeks before a world class 1500m run! another is just after the moscow olympics his next race was a 13:27 5km (remember he is Olympic 800 champ!) in this race he got out dipped by john Treacy. Then three days later he was running another 5km! again in around 13:27ish. Still how many distance runners could do that and go on to run fast times over the shorter distances. he also often ran 100m and 200s in club races and could run 47scs 400m relays almost every week!! I think what is clear is that he had amazing range and both natural speed and endurance and was an animal in training. From the book and his career, it is one thing to have the talent but the real success comes from training very, very hard! oh and not being afraid to race- any distance!

I've got a couple of books by Harry Wilson, who was Ovett's coach. The Saturday 1000s of the spring week are really what most Americans might call "cruise intervals" at a threshold pace. And I would guess that the 700s on the Tuesdays of the spring week are more of an aerobic hilly fartlek. The only real intervals are the Sunday 200s and the Monday 300s, and the Sunday 200s aren't real intense by the standards of Ovett's ability.

Very interesting.

Put an "*" by that gold medal as the good ole USA was boycotting Moscow in 1980.

"Put an "*" by that gold medal as the good ole USA was boycotting Moscow in 1980."

I have always wondered that as well. Malmo, Hodgie, Jtupper, etc, any thought on how Don Paige would have fared vs. Coe and Ovett? Rodgers and Sandoval in marathon?

Brian

I don't know about you miler, but I think that site is loaded with the greatest unintentional hilarity I've seen in quite a while.

Rod Milburn (USA)

"It had its period of gold from the ' 71 to the ' 73 where the nickname was earned of " hot rod ". In that three years, although exposed continually to the competition it endured alone 2 defeats obtaining 28 consecutive victories.

In the ' 72 to Monaco it gained the medal of gold with the new record of the world in 13.24 and in the 73 it was cronometrato manually more times to 13.1.

Equipped of an optimal ransom he was fast much on the plan and above all in the action of the attack leg."

It was different back then, the '70's. Mowie Wowie, blotter acid and the cronometrato.

The immortal Sebastian Coe receives the reverence he deserves: )

Amongst the greats of the last few years, nobody has had a bigger collection of world records as him.

Between 1979 and 1982 he has won eight records on distances comprised between 800m and one mile.

Thanks to the great amount of publicity in the media, he has become one of the most famous undiscussed athlet in his field, maybe only second to Steve Ovett, his rival and .......

Paige in '80 ? Not a prayer. Never did anything internationally. Just like most Villanova guys from that era, too big of an indoor season, and run out of gas by the summer.

Yeah, Paige really ran out of gas that year he won the NCAA OUTDOOR 800 and 1500 with about a half-hour's rest.

Yeah, but Paige was burned out after the NCAA's. He should have won the AAU 800 but was too fried. He may have medaled in the 800 in Moscow. I think he would have been toasted in the 1500. Too bad his feet were so fragile. He'd start building to a great peak ... then get hurt.

bhagwan-

http://www.britishmilersclub.com/bmcnews/spring1999.pdf

Yet another mile- If you are talking about the BMC site, the article was not written by the BMC. It was written by Matt Patterson is mentioned all throughout Ovett's book.

Paige did just nip Coe at the end of '80 in an 800(Viareggio) but I don't think he was quite up to Coe and Ovett at their best. Bronze sounds probable.

Interesting stuff. Thanks for posting it!.

But as for Ovett being "The Man", I'd have to disagree with that one. I'd still take Coe anyday.

Someone posted a great quote about Ovett a while back. Something about his daughter not knowing how famous he was or something. I can't remember exactly what it was but it was hilarious and it made me like him a whole lot more. Can anyone remember what it was?