Even Sifan Hassan admits that running the three longest track events at a single Olympics is a “crazy thing.”
The Dutch runner – who three years ago ran the 1,500m, 5,000m and 10,000 metres at the Tokyo Games and picked up three medals including two golds — is running the 5,000m, 10,000m and marathon in Paris. Between the three events and the qualifying round of the 5,000m, that amounts to 62.2km of racing over 10 days.
Hassan started her attempt Aug. 2 in the 5,000m heats and raced in the finals three days later to take bronze. Next up is the women’s 10,000 metres on Friday, followed 36 hours later by the women’s marathon.
It’s a feat many, including a former Canadian Olympian who attempted two long-distance events at the 2016 Games, are watching with incredulous admiration, wondering whether a person’s body can handle such a pummelling — and compete with the world’s fastest women for a medal.
Attempting the triple is “ambitious and arduous” said Trent Stellingwerff, senior advisor for research and development with Canadian Sport Institute Pacific, though it’s more feasible for a world-class athlete like Hassan who likely did not need to run at 100 per cent effort in the 5,000m heats to secure a spot in the final (Hassan is a multiple-time Olympic and World Athletics gold medalist in races between 1,500 metres and 10,000 metres and holds six European records.)
Still, Hassan, 31, has posted subpar results this season by her standards and the wear-and-tear caused by running hard over so many events will make the attempt challenging.
The feat is unique compared to weight-supported sports like swimming, in which athletes such as Canada’s Summer McIntosh often compete in four or more events over a week. In mid-season training, swimmers and cyclists will sometimes train up to 30 hours a week. Distance runners, by comparison, will run between 10 to 12 hours per week, Stellingwerff said, even despite the aid of carbon-plated and thick-soled shoes.
Three to five times a runner’s body weight is transferred through their legs each stride, causing large amounts of accumulated strain. For Hassan, who weighs about 50 kilograms, at least 150 kilograms are being sent through her legs each step as she marches through all 62.2 kilometres of her Olympic program.
“Doing triples or quadruples for swimmers is still a huge deal, but it’s workable. That’s why Michael Phelps could have 12 swims in his Olympic program, because it just doesn’t beat your muscles up like it does in running-based sports,” Stellingwerff said.
Hassan isn’t shy about her doubts. After her 5,000m bronze she called the attempt her “crazy thing.” Sunday’s marathon was even on her mind as she was running Monday’s 5,000m final, she said.
“When I’m doing this race, I always think about the marathon. I think if this pace is in the marathon, can I hold this pace?” she said.
The marathon on Sunday will ultimately reveal the fatigue three Olympic track races has wrought on Hassan’s body, Stellingwerff said.
“I hope it works out OK for her, but I also worry a little bit that there’s going to be a compounded fatigue effect that really builds,” Stellingwerff said.
One person who can provide a glimpse of insight into Hassan’s experience is former Canadian marathon record-holder Lanni Marchant, the long-distance runner who doubled the 10,000 metres and marathon at the 2016 Rio Olympics. While she didn’t medal, Marchant ran her second-fastest 10K and finished 25th in the marathon as the top Canadian and with a time par to her previous results, especially under the hot Rio sun.
Marchant was and remains clear about her approach to the double: She didn’t restrain herself in the 10,000 metres ahead of the marathon, which came less than two days after the track race. Suggestions that she conservatively ran the 10K were “an insult to my character,” she said.
“I’m just gritty,” Marchant said.
Preparing for the Olympic double required simulations during her training block. At that year’s Ottawa Race Weekend, one of Canada’s biggest running blowouts held every May, she ran the 10-kilometre race, finishing top Canadian, and just 46 hours later followed it by racing 30 kilometres of the marathon.
As she stepped off the course of the 10K to speak with media, she was already consuming carbohydrates and electrolytes to aid her recovery. During weekly training, the day after her long runs would often include a challenging speed workout to get her body accustomed to running on tired legs. (Hassan said Monday that she’s spent the year focused on her diet to compensate the stress of training for all three events.)
The morning of the Olympic marathon felt like any other race morning, Marchant said, despite being 36 hours removed from the 10,000 metres.
“All things considered, I got the best version of Lanni for both events.”
With that experience in hand, Marchant is also convinced Hassan’s superlative talent is an aid few athletes can rest on.
“If you take her and another athlete that’s world class (and) likely to podium in the same event … for them to finish on the podium, they’re squeezing more out of that lemon than what she’s doing to do each individual event,” she said.
“She’s so talented across the board. It’s really not going to drain her the same way it would drain another athlete.”
With the journey already underway, Hassan — who frequently discusses her doubts, even after historic performances — continues to cite a mix of fear and gratitude for the ability to attempt such a feat.
“I always think, ‘Why the hell (do) I do this to myself?’ But I’m excited for the Olympic Games. It’s a big challenge,” she said after the 5,000-metre heats last week.
“I wanted to push myself. If you want something, it’s possible.”