Alex Yee will not be taking up marathon running full time any time soon after going through the pain barrier on his historic debut at the distance in London on Sunday.
But the World and Olympic triathlon champion says running the iconic London Marathon on Sunday was one of the best experiences of his life.
Yee, who started out in running before switching to triathlon, finished 14th in the men’s elite race in a time of 2:11:08 – just outside the 2:07-2:10 he was looking for.
Yee felt ‘lot of pain’
The 27-year-old Brit admits he had “a lot more dark moments” than he did during his Olympic triumph in Paris last year, and was in “a lot of pain”.
But in an Instagram post after the race, he wrote: “2:11:08 London Marathon! One of the best moments of my life. I didn’t hit my goal but I had the best time doing it. London you really hit different ❤️.”
Yee, who admitted London was a leap into the unknown for him, also said thank you to fellow British triathlete Hugo Milner for pacing him through 30km as he pushed on to finish as the second-fastest Brit behind Mahamed Mahamed, who finished ninth.
Yee’s time was the fastest ever recorded by an Olympic triathlete in a marathon – but it certainly took its toll.
Perfect opportunity
Speaking to the BBC, Yee said: “Definitely a lot more dark moments, I’d say, than Paris.
“Once I got to 32, 33k there’s a lot of pain there. My legs are cramping and I just had to keep fighting through that.
“My legs have never been this sore. Physically they are quite similar but my legs have never felt like this in my whole life. It’s a new experience definitely.
“An amazing experience. But it was hard at the end. Emotions about time will come afterwards, but the main thing for me today was to enjoy it, do something unknown and embrace it. I did that to my best of my ability.
Alex sticking to triathlon
“This is bigger than running. It’s an amazing day and I wanted to be a part of it. This was the perfect opportunity.”
Yee confirmed that his switch to marathon running this year would “definitely not” be a permanent one as he plans to try and defend his Olympic title in Los Angeles in 2028.
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