A soldier from the Royal Gibraltar Regiment tasted success once again, this time winning the Gibraltar half marathon. Corporal Arnold Rogers won last weekend’s race with a time of 1:12:23.

Cpl Rogers recalls how it all came about: “I first started running back in 2010 as a means to get fit to join the Army. Once I got into the Army I carried on running more as a hobby and to pass the time. At the time I was single and living in the block. Often on my own at the weekends, I would head out on long runs across Salisbury Plains to keep me occupied. This grew into something I became passionate about. Although I was not racing at the time, I was training fairly consistently and I think it was this training early on that would set me up well later on.

“In 2013 I had a change in career and decided to transfer to the Royal Gibraltar Regiment. The warm Mediterranean climate and a more stable work routine meant that my training level sky rocketed. The long summer days meant that I could train in the morning with the Regiment and then again after work. Gradually I got fitter and fitter but at this point still had not done any racing.

“In 2015 I decided it was time to test this level of fitness and enter into a local race. The small but dedicated community of runners within Gibraltar has a range of abilities including a handful of international athletes. Little did I know at the time that one day I would be part of that team of elite runners. The race I chose was a local league race which was part of a winter road running league that takes place yearly in Gibraltar. A collection of about 50 runners stood on the start line of what was a 4 km road race. When the gun went off I put in a huge pace to try and stay with the front group and to my amazement it worked. Not only did I keep up with the group but I outpaced them and pushed into an early lead. This gave me a huge boost in confidence and adrenaline and, as the race progressed, I was able to further extend this lead. I crossed the line in 1^st place and a good distance ahead of 2^nd place. This win motivated me to pursue a more professional approach to running.

“From that day on I continued racing locally in Gibraltar and across the border in Spain, building and developing as a runner. In 2016 I entered the Army and Inter Service Half Marathon Championships in Fleet, my first major race. I finished 7^th overall and 2^nd place within the Army championships. This would be my entry into Army athletics and would gain me the famous black and red jersey. By this stage I had taken on a more professional training regime, training twice per day and running sometimes up to 100 miles per week. This made me stronger and faster, gradually chipping away at my half marathon PB to the 01:11:15 that I hold today.

“In 2017 this 71-minute PB got me selected to run my 1^st international event for Gibraltar (the 2017 Island Games in Gotland, Sweden). Unfortunately I was injured upon my arrival in Gotland and, although I started the race, I had to pull out around half way through. The trip wasn’t a total failure for me though as it opened my eyes to a new level of competition and left me hungry for more. Upon my return from Gotland and once I had recovered from my injuries, it was back to training and preparing myself for the Gibraltar winter league and the Malaga marathon.

“Training for these went very well with a number of podium finishes in local races including a 1^st place victory at an 800-strong race in Gibraltar’s neighbouring town of La Linea in Spain. The Gibraltar road running league also started relatively well and saw high finishes in the opening races in 2017. This was something that would continue in the 2018 races and subsequently build enough points to secure a league win and the Gibraltar King of the Road title, following a 10 km round the rock race.

“Sunday 18^th February would see the annual half marathon take place on the streets of Gibraltar. Although this is only a relatively small local race it played an extremely important role in my running schedule. Having pulled out of a half marathon the month earlier in Seville due to injury, this race would be my testing grounds for selection for the IAAF world half marathon championships in Valencia in March.

“The race started well. I pushed hard from the gun into an early lead and immediately found myself running on my own. This solidarity made the race very difficult psychologically and would make it very hard for me to maintain a PB breaking pace. Fortunately I felt great in the latter stages bringing the pace back and crossing the line in 1^st place with a time of 01:12:23. Thankfully this also proved enough to secure my place on Gibraltar’s National Team for the IAAF World Half Marathon championships in Valencia, a race that will see me toe to toe on the start line with some of the world best distance runners.”

Training

He continued: “My training is pretty intense and can at times be compared to that of a professional distance runner. When I am training for an event such as a major marathon or an international fixture I have a set plan laid out. Normally the plan will be between 12 and 16 weeks and consist of a range of training techniques including strength training, flexibility and build up or tune up races. A typical week could see anything from 60-100 miles, building to the higher miles as the program progresses. The hard workouts or sessions that are specific to the event are normally 2-3 times in this training week and the remainder of the miles are made up of easy running. As the mileage gets higher it’s crucial that I stick to the correct training paces, even if it feels slow, in order to stay injury free.

“I also focus a lot on core strength and stability. Building strength in the core helps you maintain good form and is the part of the body that fatigues first in longer races. I believe in lifting heavy weights to build a level of strength that helps protect me and keep me injury free. Weighing only 53kg means I am squatting and deadlifting weights no more than 90kg. All of this training is tied together with plenty of stretching, foam rolling and the occasional sports massage.”