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Legend: Basil Heatley won Olympic marathon silver and (inset) set a world marathon record
MARK SHEARMAN
IN AN EFFORT to rediscover the recipe for British marathon success, Athletics Weekly recently gathered a handful of legends for a special lunch. We stirred them gently and turned up the heat with a few pointed questions and left them to simmer for an hour. The result? A spicy dish, full of flavour, but with some surprisingly simple ingredients at its core.
“People talk about planning today, but I did nothing,” said Basil Heatley, the Olympic silver medallist and former world recordholder for the marathon. “I just got out and I ran and I enjoyed it.