Excerpts from talk with Aleksandr Sorokin

 Aleksandr Sorokin is a Lithuanian ultramarathoner holding the current world records for the distances covered in 24hours [309.4kms], in 12hours [177.4kms] and fastest time for 100miles [10:51:39]. He ran at a stunning 4:03/km pace for 12hours at the Spartanion 12hr race in Tel Aviv, Israel, last week, taking down his own previous records for 12hr and 100mi.

Check out his Wiki page here for more (link here)

Thanks to Sunil, some of us had the privilege to chat with the legend this Friday. Some excerpts from the chat here:

How did you get into running 24hr events?

I moved from half marathon to 100k, to overcome the life habits that he had picked up when he gave up exercise at 24yrs till he was 32yrs old.

Have you quit any race?

At the beginning it was challenging, run hard in the first half and suffer the second half. But I never quit the distance.

How are your second half more faster now? What have you done differently now?

No special secret – it comes with experience. It is more distributed power, more slower in the first half and it comes with experience

Training and Nutrition: Is there a big difference between 100k and 24h if any at all.

Not much difference in preparation. I have to keep a diet since I have a tendency to put on weight. The training week doesn’t differ much between 12 and 24hr. Peak weekly mileage is about 200k to 300k, with 40k to 50k as long runs and with 2 or 3 tempo runs. There is no run beyond 50k distance in training.

You like to eat colas and chips during the run. In training, do you do the same?

No special diet or food preference in training, chocolate bar and any drink for long runs, anything works. No special sport food or ingredients.

On coaches: Up to 2019 I didn’t have a coach and also had a job. In 2019, I turned professional and have a coach now. In 2017, I won Spartathlon without a coach, I would work on training plans and experiment with speed runs – speed and duration. {all you want to know of Spartathon - link here} Spartathlon was the turning point. Before that there was a world championship which didn’t go well. At the world championship I tried to run with a uniform running and it didn’t work. For Spartathlon, I reverted to an old tactic - to run as fast as he could in the first half and get a good lead, this tactic worked. From there I started believing in myself.

2019 world champion in Albi 279k, could have been more if there were less runners?

Yes. But I was happy with the results, because it was one of the best in the history of the event

In less than 2 years, you have gone up by 30km in 24hr race to 309km, breaking the 22 year world record.

Due to pandemic, work closed down and he had more time to focus on running and then also had a coach. Improved 12h run with specific training coach brought about – could do up to 2 to 3 training per day, coach tweaked the blends and made it more optimal.

Do you cross-train?

I do gym with weights and swimming and winter cross country skiing

What are your new goals, now that you have world records in 12h, 100mi and 24hrs in your name?

New goals: Primary focus is 24h to improve that record.

Do you plan to enter trail races?

Not into trail running prefer flat surfaces, may sign up for a 8hr trail run in the future.

What is your nutrition during run?

Prefer to eat as little as possible (only water) to stress the body to produce energy from reserves. During a run I take about 400k calories/hr - 200k per half hour. Sandwiches, banana or oranges or some drinks in the first part of the run. Hydration depends on the temperature - half liter per hour for the race.

Do you feel lack of motivation during these runs?

Night part in the 24h run is the tough part, it’s a wave you feel better and then feel bad, its about patience and waiting for the good phase. Try to be positive, think about his wife who support him, understand that it will be ok and just finish the run

You have some fun videos on Instagram w.r.t gym workouts?

Just teasing around and funny video is a way to entertain himself. Usually 2 or 3 sessions per day – run + weight training + recovery run in the evening. Speed runs max 2 times a week

What’s your favorite distance?

Favorite distance is from sofa to fridge!

How do you recovery from these runs?

Sleep is very important, sauna and physiotherapist who gives good massages.

How do you celebrate after a record-breaking run?

Just relief and no specific celebration

Key Learnings for me and couple of closing observation from my side:

There is no silver bullet to getting better – you got to put in the hard work. Sorokin’s humility reflects in every single aspect of his running – nutrition, training and racing. More legs to you, Sorokin!