Anne M. G. Andersen – Danish record in 24-hour race

In this interview with Anne Marie Geisler Andersen you can hear how to break a 20-year-old Danish record in a 24-hour run. Anne Marie ran 219 km in 24 hours and has been on the national ultra-running team since 2010. What does it take to be able to run that far?

Who is Anne Marie Geisler Andersen?

I live on Amager with my husband Morten, am 33 years old and a mother of two little girls, aged almost 1 and almost 3. On a daily basis I sit in the City Council for the Radical Left and work part-time as an advisor in the communications agency Effector, which specializes in health and which sponsored my race. I sat in the Danish Parliament from 2009-11, when I resigned because we were going to have our first child. Last year I became a candidate for the Danish Parliament, and it is my dream to get back into the Danish Parliament. I am particularly passionate about making a difference for people with mental illness and the socially disadvantaged.

I have always done a lot of sports. When I was young, it was mainly competitive gymnastics, and I only started running in 2008. I completed my first marathon in just under four hours. Since then, I have run four marathons, and each time I have taken about 10 minutes off the time. Except for one, where I had to withdraw due to problems with my abdominal muscles. I ran my fastest marathon this year in 3:27:34.

In 2010 I ran my first 24-hour race to raise money for a psychiatric organization. Even though I had not trained any more than before my marathons, I still managed to run 200 km and beat the reigning Danish champion, after which I was offered a place on the national team. In 2012 I then participated in the world championships, where I ran 209 km and together with two other female national team runners broke the Danish team record. In July 2014, as you know, I managed to break the Danish record for women, running 219 km in 24 hours. A cool and very overwhelming experience in many ways. Currently, I am the 3rd best woman in the world in 2014 – but there have also been no World/European Championships this year.

Motivation and drive

I do sports because I love it. I run because it’s easy and flexible in a busy everyday life. And I set a goal to break the Danish record because I’m a competitive person and because I had the opportunity.

It wasn’t a conscious choice that I decided to take up ultra-distance running. As mentioned, I was just running to support a good cause. But it was great at the age of 29 to find a sport where I could mix with the best.

Of course, I have days when I feel more like staying in front of the remote once the kids are in bed. But I’m good at getting going anyway because I know I’ll be glad I did. And the closer it is to a race, the more often it’s necessary to pull yourself together.

When I have the hardest time getting going, my husband makes sure I get out the door. If he can, he runs with me. He’s really good at supporting me.

Your training structure

I run an average of 8 hours a week. At least I did for the last few months leading up to the last 24-hour race, where I ran an average of 70-80 km a week, and had a few weeks of around 100 km. I ran an average of around 4.50 min/km, but often varied the pace and also ran intervals. Only shortly before my big races do I take a few runs where I train my starting pace and therefore run a little slower. I don’t have any training runs that are longer than a marathon. I know that many other ultrarunners run longer runs. But since I managed to run 200 km without ever having run longer than a marathon, I know that it’s not necessary.

I don’t have a specific running program, but I usually set a goal for how far I want to run per week, and I slowly increase it towards the race. I started training towards the Danish record attempt in December. At the beginning I ran 40-50 km a week, for a longer period 60, and in the last few months I increased it to a good 300 km a month.

I don’t have set running days, but run when it fits with work and family, and depending on how my body feels. I try to avoid injuries by listening to my body and varying my running a little in pace and distance. The weeks when I ran around 100 km, some days I had to run only 3 km to work, 3 km down to pick up the kids and then take the girls for a short 5-6 km walk in the baby jogger to get enough running. We often had dinner in the green, and when the kids were in bed, I would run a 10 km. I had to take the long runs on the weekend, or when I had time off from work. Not because it was the best way to train, but because it fit best with my other activities. Some days I run just to get a few kilometers in my legs, and other days the training is a little higher quality. For example, when I run with Sparta on Sundays. However, that was only until the Copenhagen Marathon in May this time.

Choosing running shoes

I don’t have any favorite models of running shoes, but I run in the ones I run best in when I’m tested on a treadmill in a sports store. Often, though, it’s Asics orAdidas, I run best in. But I’ve also had a lot of New Balance. I have artificial ligaments on the outside of both feet, so I usually get the pair of running shoes with the most support possible. I also run with some blue standard soles from Kayser Sport, which are really good for my feet. It’s also part of preventing injuries.

I have several pairs of running shoes, as I change once along the way when I run 24-hour races. That is, except for the first time, when I ran in shoes that were too small and didn’t bring a change of shoes, as I hadn’t thought about the fact that your feet swell when you run that far. During training, I mostly run in the smallest pair(s), preferably ones with good shock absorption. But I also make sure to break in the big pair of shoes before the race. This time I hadn’t done it in time, which is why shortly before the race I was running around with some huge blisters and was afraid of what it would be like during the race. Fortunately, it didn’t get any worse than usual.

I haven’t experienced my running shoes breaking during a race, but I have thrown away some shoes after a 24-hour race because they had been run for a while and became quite clammy.

The future

The rest of 2014, for me, means that I will hopefully have time to get back into running before I get pregnant, and that I will then train as long as I can into the pregnancy. The first time I ran for the first 7 months and the second time for the first 6.

We hope to have child number three in 2015, so I don’t expect to run a 24-hour race again until 2016 at the earliest. If I do run again, it could well be to try to set a Nordic record. But there’s a long way to go, and I’m not as confident that I can do it as I was in connection with the Danish record. But I wonder if I’ll give it a try? ;-)

You can read more about me at motionslob.dk/amgeisler or follow me on www.twitter.com/amgeisler. I have also written the book “Forward into the Light”, which is about my life with mental vulnerability, but which also touches on my first 24-hour race.

Questions from followers on Facebook

Jacob Holk Pedersen: What do you do to prevent injuries and overload when you train as much as you can?

I think I train less than the average 24-hour runner. This year, however, I still had problems with incredibly stiff hamstrings. Yes, in fact, it was all the way from my calves up to the middle of my back that I had problems. My chiropractor has helped me a lot with my back in particular. And then this year I happened to try a form of body-SDS in something called Totum, which was quite lucky. Because I honestly doubt that it would have worked without Marcus, who I go to. He massaged, stretched, manipulated, etc. and got my stiff hamstrings going.

Dorthe Jorgensen: What do you eat before and during the race?

I don’t have a diet plan, but I try to eat a varied diet. Right before the race I avoid alcohol, eat a lot of fish, vegetables and pasta and the good AXA muesli from Fakta :) But otherwise I don’t change much.

During the race I eat gels, energy gummies, energy bars, bread, mashed potatoes, pasta, oatmeal, bananas and other fruits, marshmallows, faxe kondi, cocoa, energy drink, water, non-alcoholic beer, a lot of electrolytes, etc. I don’t always eat exactly the same thing, as it’s a bit about what I can get down. The further we get during the race, the wetter or slushier it has to be for me to get it down. I didn’t really feel like eating the last time during the record attempt, but my husband Morten was good at getting me to eat. That was important!

Mikael Dalby Andersen: How do you maintain motivation throughout 219km? Assuming there will be a crisis or two on the trip, you either have to be extremely strong mentally or well prepared.

This race was one big crisis. I believed that it could be done from about 60-85 km. Before that it was too hot, and afterwards I got an upset stomach. Then I briefly believed in it once after midnight, and then the belief only really came back in the morning, when my closest competitor pushed and got me up to speed. I kept myself going by focusing on plan B and C, which was to run 215 or 200 km respectively and become either the second best Danish woman ever or simply be allowed to continue on the national team.

Lars Ostermann: What shoes do you wear for this kind of record attempt?

This time I ran with Asics and Adidas. But it varies a bit. It’s just important that there is good support in them, since I pronate a lot, and that I can switch to a larger size after 60-70 km.

Dorthe Jørgensen: How many km per week? and how long have you been training for the race. Do you have a personal trainer? And a big congratulations, damn cool

I started slowly in December, as I gave birth in August and had an election campaign in November. The last few months I’ve been running an average of 70-80 km per week and have 2-3 weeks where I run around 100 km (see above). I don’t have a coach, except that my husband supports me a little, and I’ve called the national coach a few times. And thanks ;)

Joakim Korslund: How long was the longest run during training for this particular performance?

It was Copenhagen Marathon in mid-May;o)

Michael Rusbjerg: How much training has been done for this, how and how much has it cost privately? Must require a lot of planning?

See above, I started slowly in December (you can find me on Endomondo, if you’re interested), and it took a lot of planning. But now mostly at the end, when I had to take more evenings, which is why my husband and I got a little less time together. It also took a toll on my kids having to go on the baby jogger every now and then, but they like it now. The last few months leading up to the race, I saw a few fewer friends, and then it took a lot to get to the race. My husband and I were both tired when we got home, so it was a bit hard to make family life work. Fortunately, my in-laws helped with the little ones. Afterwards, there was also a lot of attention from the press, which surprised us, and I could feel that my husband was completely understandably getting tired. He hasn’t really had much summer vacation either, because he’s been there for me, so I’m trying to take a little more of the burden back home now. But all in all, I don’t think it has affected family life that much. It was only towards the end that it was noticeable. On the other hand, it has been a great experience to have together!

You are now at the end of the road. Maybe other runners can inspire you too? Read the latest interviews on this page..

You can read here Anne Marie’s race report from the 24 hour race in PragueSee also The evolution of the world record for 24 hours running or study iloebesko’s graphics above The development of the world record in marathon over time.

If you have any questions for Anne Marie, you can use the comments box below and I will do my best to ensure that she answers your questions.

Thank you so much for participating Anne Marie. I really appreciate it.