Scott Reardon – Post Australian Athletics Championships

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Category: Scott Reardon

Matt: First off, a huge congratulations on the two runs over the weekend, amazing effort.

Scott: Thanks was a good weekend and a great way to finish off the season

Matt: Couple of weeks before the Aussies you achieved something that most of us take for granted and that was the ability to actually walk up stairs for the first time since you had your accident?

Scott: There is only a few things that I have not been able to do since my accident, one of those things is walking up a flight of stairs foot over foot, I was super excited to get my Otto Bock Gemiun and wind back the clock 10 years .

Matt: Achieving something like that, did it transfer into your training and racing in regards to the confidence levels being up higher and thought process of you can achieve what you want?

Scott: I don’t think it did, I think that the way that I have been training and racing this year has been giving me the confidence to race well, My coach Iryna Dvoskina defiantly knows how to prepare all of her athletes in all aspects of the sport and that is where my confidence has come from. Although back to the leg this knee is opening up more possibilities in the gym and I look forward to working with my coach to see what is actually possible

Matt: Now to the racing, doing two big races both the 100m and the 200m with heats as well as the finals over a couple of days, how do you recover and refuel in between not only the heats and finals but the two different events?

Scott: Having four races over the three days is not something that we often do, so recovery is vital to be able to back up from race to race. I always make sure that I eat something within 30 min of a race to refuel, Ice baths for me work very well, making me feel fresher after I race, treatment from either a Physio or massage therapist to get the body as close to 100% as possible. I don’t really change my approach between the 100 and the 200, what I do seems to work for both.

Matt: Leading into the heats of the 100m which was your first event, you did have a fall clipping your back leg with your prosthetic leg recently when you raced; did that play on your mind at all?

Scott: For the 100 it didn’t at all, I have raced since it happened so I was confident that I would be fine. Falling is a part of running on one leg and i have fallen over around 10 times in my career maybe even more, I always learn from it then move on. I would be lying if it said it didn’t come into my head when I was about to run the 200, because I did it on the bend, but I put that out of my head with a plan to be in control but still be fast on the bend, after the heat I was fine didn’t even cross my mind.

Matt: When you are warming up before a race, what thoughts go through your head? Do you use mental imagery or positive affirmations to focus yourself?

Scott: At the moment, as soon as the running leg goes in I try to think about what I am working on, and make sure that I am doing it right from the beginning of my warm up, I try to concentrate on my process and my race and not worry about anyone else.

Matt: Do you prefer to stay calm or do you really try and amp/pump yourself up just before a race?

Scott: I prefer to stay calm, I know that when I leave the call room that the adrenaline from the competition will pump me up enough. I just try to stay relaxed and think about the process.

Matt: Take us through the 100m final where you picked up second and ran your second fastest time you have ever ran?

Scott: There is not to much that I remember about it actually, it was all a bit of a blur, It felt a little like a training run with no one around, From the start to around the 50m mark felt ok but I had a step where I got a little bit off balanced and would have lost a little time because of that, but I regathered myself and finished off. I didn’t think it was that fast because of the mistake that I made in the middle, I need to go back and have a look at the race to see how I actually executed the race.

Matt: Onto the 200m now where you again showed us how much potential you have by not only running a Pb of 26.38sec with your previous best of 27.7sec which is a huge jump and finished in 1st, ran the A Qualifier Time and moved up to 3rd in the world ranking?

Scott: My previous best of 27.7 was a pb that should not have stood for so long, it is no secret that I have underperformed in the 200 over the past 18 months, I was very confident that this PB would be lowered on the weekend. I was expecting a 26sec time but I was looking at a high 26. I was actually a little surprised that 26.38 came up in the results, I didn’t know how fast it felt as I hadn’t run a full 200 since august so I had no idea of time, all I knew was that it hurt!! I am looking forward to running another 200 to see how fast I can go!

Matt: If we did a search of your track bag after the race what would we find in it?

Scott: At a major championships it is like a bottomless bag. I always have clothes for hot cold, wet or dry conditions just in case. The main tool of the trade my running leg, spray to put my leg on, my spikes and a tape measure to set up my blocks. Equipment that I use for stretching, tennis ball, foot roller, back roller and a muscle mate. Food normally a Bar with carbs and protein and a banana. Ice bag in case I pull up sore. Allen keys and spanners to make sure that my leg is tight and won’t fall apart, A spare running knee! I don’t really know how I fit it all in!!

Matt: Where to from here for you?

Scott: Back into base and general preparation before we head to the gold coast in search of some warmer weather before heading to Wales then to the Paralympics. I am really looking forward to the training leading up the Paralympics!!

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