Even during the ‘rest period’ nine months before the London Olympics, Alistair and Jonny worked relentlessly on their fitness.
Still in 2011 In October I went on a media trip to the Barcelona triathlon, with a small group of journalists and PR people traveling with the Brownlee brothers, Alistair and Jonny, less than a year before the London Olympics.
I remember getting up tired for the early morning flight, and as soon as we arrived and checked into our hotel, I went to Las Ramblas for lunch and drinks. It was a “travel day” after all, so I didn’t I was feeling less than tender and surely I should lighten up?
As it turned out, this was also the day I learned the difference between a recreational club-level athlete like myself and a world-class triathlete destined for Olympic gold.
Alistair Brownlee (Getty)
The Brownleys had been out at an event until around midnight the previous night, but still got up at 4-5am for an early morning swim before rushing to Leeds-Bradford Airport for their flight to Barcelona.They also packed their bikes in bike boxes , but I don’t recall them having much help from anyone packing and organizing it all. Instead, they just moved along, carrying all their gear.
Returning to the hotel, they headed straight out onto the roads of Catalonia for about two to three hours.
Then, as if that wasn’t enough, I saw Alistair and John returning to our hotel at 6pm, dripping with sweat as they squeezed in a 40 minute run before going for a quick shower and change of clothes before the Garmin.Evening event where they were happy to interact and talk with journalists like me.
However, here’s the thing. They were apparently in an end-of-season “rest period” before properly resuming their winter preparations a few days later.
So if that’s what they did during the easy week when they were traveling all day, I could only imagine what they were up to in one of their actual training camps.
At the Barcelona triathlon, they were both content to just watch, but they also trained that day before flying home to continue their work.
Now 36, Alistair has hung up his racing shoes, goggles and bike, although I can’t imagine he’ll stop swimming-running-cycling entirely.
Triathlon is traditionally not a part AWs coverage, but the Brownlees have spent so much of their careers running events that we can’t ignore them.
Among other things, they often appear in our results section after cross-country races (Alistair represented Britain at Euro Cross) or knocked-out races, especially over the festive period.
AW’s 2006 coverage of English schools
Alistair first appeared on our pages in 2006. in March when he won the English Schools title (pictured above) just seconds ahead of Ricky Stephenson.
While Alistair’s career was going strong, incidentally, the talented Stevenson beat Mo Farah in a televised run in Edinburgh in 2010, but later. ended up in prison!
Furthermore, Alistair’s running ability was at its peak, finishing 3rd in the UK 10,000m behind Farah and Chris Thompson in 2013. Games in Glasgow, although in the end he stuck to his profession.
You can read more about the brilliant Alistair Brownlie and his decision to retire here.
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