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| 2017 Cayman Islands Marathon - 1st Place Overall |
Tell us a little about yourself not necessarily related to running: age, where born, education, area you live in, etc…..
Born in Cardiff, Wales in 1966 - just turned 52. Moved to Virginia Beach, VA in 2001.
What is your profession?
Front-end web developer for Taylor Communications. Also dabble a bit with web site creation/maintenance as a bit of a side hobby.
How did you start running and what prompted you to do so?
Started running in high school in the early 80s, inspired by my rugby coach and mainly to stay fit for playing football (soccer) and rugby. Ran my first half marathon in ‘83, and have been hooked ever since.
How long have you been running?
See above - probably about 37 years. Most of the early days for fun and fitness, but since moving to the USA I’ve stepped up the training effort in an attempt to be more competitive.
Did you participate in any other sports over the years?
I’ve enjoyed many sports over the years - football (soccer), rugby, triathlon, squash (similar to racquetball), badminton, snooker, darts, cricket.
Did you run in grade school, High School or College?
No, didn’t really have an organized running program in high school. Rugby and football were the main sports. Running was more of a side sport for fun and fitness.
So we get an idea of where you have been with running can you share your PR’s for: 5K, 10K marathon and any other distance you may have run in the past.
- Mile - 4:57:25 (2015)
- 5K - 16:50 (2010)
- 8K - 28:12 (2010)
- 10K - 35:31 (2010)
- ½ Marathon - 1:17:55 (2013)
- Marathon - 2:45:22 (2011)
- 50K - 3:35:09 (2015)
- 50 Mile - 6:56:53 (2011)
- 100 Mile - 15:26:25 (2014)
- 24 Hour - 140.47 miles (2017)
You just did the North Downs Way 100 in the UK and got 3rd - the race for 3-5 looked pretty
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| 2017 Singletrack Maniac 50K |
The NDW100 was a wonderful event put on by Centurion Running. The course was challenging and weather conditions pretty tough for a UK event. I ran my own race for most of the day, but probably pushed too hard, too soon - I think my splits from 60 to 82 had me running faster than anyone else on the course at that time. I struggled from mile 82 to 95, but managed to get myself together and closed pretty quickly to snag 3rd place by just 39 seconds.
I have seen you that run the Cayman Islands Marathon – how often have you run it and what led to running that race?
2018 will be my 10th consecutive running of the Cayman Islands Marathon. It all started back in October 2008 when I took part in a 2 mile event on the island and was asked if I’d be running the marathon just a few weeks later. I couldn’t make it happen in 2008, but decided to give it a go the following year where I was lucky enough to pull off an unexpected win.
What is your most memorable race or races and share a little about at least one of them?
Winning the 2009 Cayman Islands Marathon was a truly memorable and totally unexpected race. Looking back it probably sparked a huge increase in self-confidence and motivated me to push harder and challenge myself in all kinds of events.
Earning a rare Western States “Montrail Cup” slot at the 2014 Rocky Raccoon 100 was also a very special moment, capped off by earning a sub-24 silver buckle at the 2014 Western States race itself.
The 2013 Leadville 100 was probably the toughest event I’ve encountered - the first half went well (reaching the 50 mile mark in just under 10 hours), but the second half was a bit of a disaster. Altitude and stomach issues tested me to the max, so it was a real victory just to reach the finish line in 27:16:17.
You run what looks like a lot of races a year – what is the secret to avoiding injuries as I am not sure I have seen you injured since I have watched you race.
I try to listen to my body as much as possible. I did push too hard in training and racing back in 2009 though, and ended up with a 2nd metatarsal stress fracture as a result. Most of my training miles nowadays are run at or below MAF which keeps the stress on the system down to a minimum.
What is your normal training routine?
Longish runs on the weekend with mainly easy miles (sometimes doubles) during the week. I don’t follow any set training plans, and tend to take each day as it comes - throwing in a few faster efforts as and when I feel like it.
What is your favorite distance to run and race?
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| 2016 Virginia 24-Hour Run/Walk for Cancer |
Probably the 100 mile distance. Pretty much the ultimate challenge.
What shoes do you run in and why do you like them?
Topo Athletic. Love the roomy toe box and that there's a shoe to suit all of my needs - ST-2 (0mm drop) for short, fast efforts, Fli-Lyte 2 and Magnifly 2 are both excellent daily trainers (3mm and 0mm drop) and the Ultrafly 2 is perfect for my longer training runs and races all the way up to 100 mile and 24-hour events. Out of the trail options, the 3mm drop MT-2 is my favorite, although I'm still quite fond of the original Runventure, now the Runventure 2 (0mm drop). - By the way Steve is a Topo Ambassador and if you would like to try any of the Topo shoes you can use the following code for 10% off - TOPOSPEIRS10 - Also Topo offers a 30 day risk free trial so you can try the shoes for 30 days and if they do not work out you can get a trade or refund
Do you have any long-range plans?
To keep having fun and challenge myself. Would love to run a faster 100 miler (sub-15 perhaps), but also keen to stay competitive in the shorter races.
What do you struggle with most with regards to running?
I don’t feel like I struggle with too much to be honest - motivation comes fairly easily, and I still really enjoy both training and racing. I guess reminding myself I’m on the wrong side of 50 is my biggest struggle, but as long as the miles are still enjoyable, I don’t see myself slowing down any time soon.
What do you see as a trend in running?
Longer and longer races. Seems as though extreme events are on the increase with 200 mile events, multi-day races and the like getting more popular every day. I’m definitely not interested in tackling a 200 miler, but am quite keen to try a timed 48-hour event one day before I get too old :)
If you had one, well maybe two or three, things to say those that are running to encourage them what would it be?
- Have fun
- Be consistent
- Set goals
Do you have a website or other social media site you would like to share?
- RunBulldogRun is my website
- Instagram - @SteveSpeirs
- Twitter - @BritishBulldog
- My Facebook
- RunBulldogRun on Facebook
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