Susan Partridge has a simple approach to this weekend’s Virgin Money London Marathon - she’s going to ‘run as fast as she can’.
Partridge is one of four British woman looking to secure the Olympic selection standard, a match race within a race that throws all the rules out the window.
Sonia Samuels and Alyson Dixon have already achieved the Olympic qualifying time of 2:31:00 but Partridge and fellow Scot Freya Ross are optimistic that target is in their sights.
But only the first two Brits across the line on Sunday - with the time - will fulfil the selection criteria for Rio.
Partridge is coached by former London winner Steve Jones and boasts a personal best of
2:30:46, run over the same course three years ago.
And she knows pre-planned tactics won't count for much in a straight shoot-out for selection.
“I think splits and specific game plans are not really Steve’s thing,” she said.
“It’s just run as fast as you can, race and respond to other people. If you think you can do it, go for it, if you need to hold back you need to hold back.
“If you asked him to set specific times, specific split times, the first thing he’d asked would be, ‘How do you know you can’t go faster? How do you know that’s the time you want to go?’
"You have to be able to just have the confidence and be brave. If you’re feeling it then go for it.
“I’m an experienced athlete and I still get it wrong. I might do on Sunday, but I think now I’ve got a fair idea of when to go for it and when not to. Even making a decision that I know might be a bit of a risk, but deciding to take it anyway.”
Samuels ran 2:28.04 in Berlin last year, carving three minutes off her personal best to rank top of last year’s national standings.
And she’s feeling confident after months of warm weather training in Kenya, the United States and Alicante.
“If you’re building on each marathon and you’re getting stronger, then improvements are there to be made,” she said.
“It’s gone really well off the back of Berlin. It’s nice to build on the two marathons last year and continue to get stronger.”
Sportsbeat 2016