The life and times of Sue Rust

Heathsiders will know Sue Rust in several guises: as our hugely inspirational cross-country captain; as our star cross-country runner and regular track stalwart until hit by injury a few years back and as a volunteer in just about every aspect of the club’s range including the committee, as the club’s former communication officer, and so much more.

A typical memory example: seeing Sue, then the club’s top woman cross-country runner, on the start line of a Met League event, ignoring her own need to get into the zone so that she could calm down and encourage a lesser, younger runner who was agitated.

Sue grew up in the United States and Germany, with an American father and French mother (she has both passports) and completed her MA at Edinburgh. Now aged 41, she he has worked as a financial journalist for 12 years (currently for Investment & Pensions Europe).

Her early running ambitions focused on the marathon but unlike most of us she shortened her range as she improved. She joined Heathside in February 2009 and within a year was running 4:44 for the 1500.

Sue now lives in Dorking with her boyfriend, Juan, but remains an active Heathsider – or as active as Covid-19 will allow.

How did you get into running?

I see there being two stages. In the first, I basically stole my sister’s idea to do a half-marathon (or marathon, whichever it was). I remember her one Christmas many years ago telling us beloved family members that she wanted to run a (half-)marathon, and me jumping in with “Oooh, me, too”. And if memory serves me correctly, I actually actioned this idea pronto, and all unfolded smoothly (by the way, she’s has since gone on to do Challenge Roth, Iron Man South Africa, and the 70.3 World Champs in Australia). I did Hastings half-marathon, and then London marathon. The year after I trained for Edinburgh marathon, but then I didn’t want to wait that long, so I signed up for an earlier marathon, which ended up being Halstead, in Essex. This was in 2007, when I was living in Brighton. Up until that point I had only run as a means of keeping fit, either for other sports or just to keep the pounds off, and I may never have run much more than 30 minutes before then (disclaimer: my memory may be playing tricks on me).

The second bit was when I moved to north London, in autumn 2008. I began to do some running on Parkland Walk and in Finsbury Park, and wanted to know more about using the gym at the track, which was advertised on a board on the wall to the entry to the track (don’t think it’s there anymore). I turned up at the track one day and was told by the caretaker -- Alistair, I think his name was, who was employed by Haringey council (white afro and beard, does my memory serve me correctly?) -- that it was free to use if you were a member of Heathside. I don’t know if it was that same day, but he introduced me to John Flahive, I joined in a Tuesday evening session and well, that was that.  

Were you involved in any other sports?

When I moved to London my plan had been to try to keep playing basketball, but for pretty dull reasons I won’t go into that didn’t happen. By then I hadn’t been playing loads anyway, but probably until after undergrad, basketball was my thing. I wouldn’t say it was my life, but … actually, who am I kidding, when I was a teenager living in Germany it probably was. Most of my friends were from basketball and I loved it. Point guard. Before moving to Germany, when I lived in the States, basketball was on a rotation with other sports, like football (soccer) and softball, but in Germany I became mono-sport :-). That’s also to do with the fact that in Germany sport happens mainly outside of school, in clubs.

What do you recall about your first-ever race? 

The first race I can remember was when we were living in the States. I would have been in second or third grade (8-10 years old, I think), as this was in the days of good ol’ Burnt Hill Road School. It must have been a school sports day, or something like that. I have no idea how far this running race would have been (1km? 2km?), but all I can remember is this girl Missy and my shock/panic at seeing her with me/near me at the front of the race and deciding that that wasn’t to be tolerated or something like that, and off I went. I hasten to add that this memory fills me with dismay/disbelief/despair more than anything -- so competitive already, so young? Really? Geez.  

Which was the best race you ran as a senior, and why?

The 1500m race in the Southern Championships at Crystal Palace in 2010, but only because it’s where I ran my PB in that distance (4:44.07). It was a big one, mind. I can’t report any clever tactical manoeuvring from that race as everyone else was way too fast for me. We ran in a big pack for at least one lap, and I remember thinking how cool it felt, like I was in a race on TV. Either that or I was telling myself to run as if I was in a race on TV. And then everyone took off and I just ran as fast as I could, I think trying to avoid being last.

Other than that, any cross-country race where I ended up beating Katie Meredith would have been a good one :-) (Hi Katie!). This was several years ago when Katie was running for Highgate and we tended to end up near each other in the Met League races.  

A race where I probably learned something important was in the Middlesex track & field champs in 2010, which would have been my first proper season of track racing. It was in the 1500m, either with some 400m or 800m to go and we were coming down the home straight when Zac (Heathside young athlete coach Zac, for those of you who don’t know him) shouted ‘Close the gap’ from the stands. I did and ended up winning. I don’t know if I would have spotted the gap opening up between the girl I’d been hiding behind and the front group without Zac shouting, but since then I’m a keen shouter of ‘Close the gap’ myself.

You’ve had injury problems for a while. How did they set you back and have you recovered? 

Several years ago I injured my Achilles after making the dumb decision to run the steeplechase in a track meet despite no other athlete racing it. Anyways, an Achilles tweak ensued that has bothered me ever since, but in hindsight for that summer at least I’m kinda glad the injury happened, because it got me into cycling and swimming. I took rehab and cross-training fairly seriously for that injury and some other ones that followed, but more recently I haven’t been as diligent. At the moment the Achilles is acting up again so I have to moderate my running. 

Also, in recent years I've also been somewhat hamstrung, on and off, by spells of anxiety. It had been fairly familiar territory for me from episodes in childhood and adolescence, but a few years ago I had a pretty bad period and the reality of it was that running was not really something that fit the bill. Not because running was the source of my anxiety (sport has always been good to me), but because at times my body just didn't feel stable enough to hold me up (it was, but it didn't feel that way), and when it was like that what I needed to do was calm my nervous system by lying down or maybe going for a gentle walk among trees, not belt out intervals while gasping for breath.

What do you enjoy about being cross-country captain (and what, if anything, is the downside?)

As much as I fear sounding ungracious I admit I don’t enjoy being captain very much if I feel my own running isn’t going that well, because I don’t feel like a captain. However, I do like the opportunity to write rallying-cry e-mails that I’m not sure anyone really needs, and being captain has probably been good for me at a time when I may (only maybe!) otherwise have been tempted to withdraw a bit from competitive running. 

This season I realised how much more of a captain I felt when I was hollering from the sidelines, popping up from behind bushes here and there, rather than racing. That way you get to know the race, and how the different athletes are experiencing/tackling it. At Claybury (which I watched rather than raced) I was so pumped up by the spectating that I decided I’d designate a Captain’s pick for every Met League fixture (Elizabeth Beard at Claybury!) but I subsequently realised there was no way I could do that (the way I wanted to) if I was in the race myself. You just don’t know what’s going on elsewhere in the race. 

Downsides: not many, really, although there is a bit of admin that goes with it ...

Do you have any running ambitions over the next few years?

Just get fitter and then take things from there. I do know that I’d like to improve my Cheltenham half-marathon time (that’s not as random as it sounds but the explanation isn’t that interesting so I’ll spare you it). And I’d like to get to a point where my running fitness is improving enough that I have the desire to race. You know, to feel those motivational/competitive juices stirred enough to set targets or goals, even if it’s only to avoid a personal worst. A goal is a goal! 

Who is your running (or athletics) hero/heroine – or the runner you most admire?

Can I just say Michael Jordan please?

What do you see as the main challenge facing London Heathside?

The club is tremendous, and what we achieve is tremendous. Still, there are challenges. One challenge has to do with the management of the track. We don’t have the luxury (which comes at a cost, I’m sure) of being based at a well-resourced leisure centre or anything like that, and have to do the best we can with the arrangement that has been in place since we co-formed the Finsbury Park Sports Partnership.

There’s also a recurring worry that we rely too much on the same people for getting stuff down, and that we should be getting ready for the day that our dear chairman Jerry does decide it’s time to hand over the baton. Heck, we’ll figure it out. 

How has the coronavirus/lockdown affected your running?

In running terms it’s secondary to the Achilles issue, although it may have helped a little in terms of encouraging a bit more routine/structure than I may otherwise have had. My boyfriend and I moved to Dorking, in the Surrey Hills, in mid-March, and it has meant we’ve had beautiful countryside to explore during this strange time It's very hilly though, which I don't think my Achilles likes. I really need to do more of those eccentric calf exercises if I want to run more of the trails here - including with a view to hosting Heathsiders ... :-)