MATT LONG ARGUES THAT THERE IS A LESSON FOR ALL RUNNERS IN THE SENTIMENTS OF JOSH KERR.
After his recent marvellous double of a world mile record in London plus a Commonwealth Games gold medal, it may surprise some of you, intent on heading to the Alexander stadium in Birmingham, to realise that the man of the moment, Josh Kerr will not be competing in the forthcoming European Championships. Disappointing for us as fans but understandable if you are wearing a coaching hat perhaps. With characteristic candour, he reportedly told The Telegraph recently that he was quote-unquote, “F—ing exhausted!” The 28 year old Scot articulated that, “You can’t hold that peak for long. I’m not someone that can do it all. I have to pick and choose. I had to drop one of them and Europeans just ended up being that” (Wilson, 2026).
The lessons of history
There is historical precedent in the context of the above. Exactly 40 summers ago and 42 miles away from Kerr’s recent success in Glasgow, those of a certain age will recall that the Commonwealth Games took place in Edinburgh. Back in the day, it was another 6ft2 inch blond who majestically strode home to effect a middle distance double over 800m and 1500m at the Meadowbank stadium and he looked simply irresistible on Saturday 2nd August 1986, in taking that metric mile gold. Just 26 days later he was over in Stuttgart for the European championships in a two-lap race unforgettably described by the esteemed journalist Neil Wilson as ‘like three Spitfires coming out of the Sun,’ with reference to the iconic image of Sebastian Coe, Tom McKean and the ‘Jarrow Arrow’ himself tearing round the final bend and down the home straight. Take a closer look at that iconic picture online and you will see why Cram came out on the wrong end of that three-way split, his head rolling noticeably and form visibly deteriorating as Coe took gold with Cram floundering and picking up only a bronze. He who was seemingly invincible three weeks earlier had an alarming air of vulnerability about him.
Kerr wasn’t born until 11 years after that race back in 1986 and its whilst it’s stretching the bounds of plausibility to suggest that something which happened 40 years ago has consciously informed his decision to withdraw from the 2026 version of our continental championships, the lessons from the kind of scenario encountered by the undoubtedly great Cram would not have been lost on his coaching team led by the respected Danny Mackey.
So let’s look at the sports science around why we as athletes can only hold a peak or what’s proverbially called a ‘purple patch’ for so long and why some of us may be risking flying too close to the Sun.
Flying close to the Sun
Kerr’s recent admission to The Guardian that, “I think we are flying a little close to the sun at the moment”. Is a subliminal invocation of the tragic Greek mythology of the young and naïve Icarus, who in ignoring the warnings of his father, flew too high and close to the searing heat of the Sun and ended in plunging catastrophically into the sea when the wax on his artificial wings melted due to the intensity of the heat.
What the 2023 World 1500m champion is alluding to is his need to ‘back off’ due to the kind of cumulative fatigue which will be leading inevitably to cellular breakdown and muscular tearing. After scaling the twin peaks of a world record and major championship title within days of each other, Kerr will have a level of depletion in his glycogen stores. His endocrine system will not be working optimally and the so-called ‘stress hormone’ of cortisone will remain at an unhealthily high level. Correlated with these physiological changes are the slowing down of muscle protein synthesis, the lowering of testosterone and the decline in the production of red blood cells which are vital for the body to oxygenise those muscles. After a disturbed night’s sleep, at present Josh may find himself waking up with an elevated heart rate and when he goes on those training runs the same pace he could sustain just a couple of weeks ago might begin to feel a little harder on a rate of perceived exertion scale. Have you ever felt like this? If so like Josh himself, you may need to respect the deload.
Deloading
By having a deload period of a week or two, after a period of high intensity training and racing, like Josh himself, you will find that healthy physiological adaptations begin to occur. Tissues begin to repair, glycogen stores get replenished and the central nervous system resets, all of which alleviate mood, motivation and generic psychological well-being. Like Josh, your deload period could include a healthy mixture of passive (rest) and more active recovery in terms of both weight bearing work (say walking) and non-weight bearing work (for example cycling). With regards to the latter, what is important is that the exercise is light and aerobic and conducted at level of intensity where you could in theory chat to someone without too much difficulty.
By respecting the deload process and by not becoming an ‘Running Icarus’ and flying too close to the Sun, like Josh you can be back racing and whilst not targeting a World 1500m record like the man himself, can certainly be attacking that personal best in a few short weeks.
Self-Reflect on the following questions:
- How might I be in danger of ‘flying too close to the Sun’ as Josh frames it?
- When do I take my deload periods and how frequently?
- What are the physiological and psychological warning signs that I need a deload period?
References
Ingle, S. (2026) Josh Kerr: ‘What has running taught me about life? If you are determined enough, you can 100% do it”. The Guardian. 3rd August. https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/aug/03/josh-kerr-2026-commonwealth-games-one-mile-gold-athletics
Wilson, J. (2026) Josh Kerr interview: I’m not finished yet after 15 days that changed my life. The Telegraph. 3rd August. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/athletics/2026/08/03/josh-kerr-interview-15-days-changed-life-mile-gold-record/
Wilson, J. (2026) Josh Kerr interview: I’m not finished yet after 15 days that changed my life. The Telegraph. 3rd August. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/athletics/2026/08/03/josh-kerr-interview-15-days-changed-life-mile-gold-record/
Who is Dr Matt Long?
England Team Manager and Coach
Coach to 3 World Champions
Loughborough Elite Endurance coach
2013 Winner of British Milers Cub Award for Outstanding Coach Education Research
2025 ‘Lifetime Services’ to Athletics Award from England Athletics