Sabastian Sawe's coach discloses training regime that bore marathon world record
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Reading Time: 3min | Sat. 02.05.26. | 11:16
As per the Italian, the Kenyan had to work on his durability to nail a perfect run in London last Sunday
Sabastian Sawe’s coach Claudio Berardelli says the Kenyan’s improved strength and conditioning was the reason behind his record-breaking run at the London Marathon on Sunday, 26 April.
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Berardelli, speaking on Wednesday after Sawe touched down in Nairobi to heroic celebrations, said the 2024 Valencia Marathon champion and his camp took big lessons from his previous go at a marathon world record in Berlin last year, where warm and humid conditions scuppered his plans to breaking the late Kelvin Kiptum’s record of 2:00.35.
“In terms of training, we went a step higher from the previous season,” Berardelli, who is Italian, told Nation Sport. “We took into consideration crucial lessons from Berlin Marathon, and made adjustments to his training programme.”
Among the key areas of improvement for Sawe, was his durability, which meant he had to undergo intense physical training, all while running at high speeds for long distances.
“The aim was to improve Sawe’s durability, especially the second half of the marathon,” Berardelli said, adding that Sawe would cover more than 200 kilometres a week.
“Good strength and conditioning programme is responsible for his improved durability and ability to sustain a high pace for long. Its important for his body to be stronger and supple.”
As fate would have it, Sawe surpassed many people’s expectations as he nailed a perfect run, which saw him clock a jaw-dropping 1:59.30, becoming the first man in history to run an official full marathon in less than two hours.
“Sabastian was amazing in the second half of the race in which he ran 59:01,” Berardelli said. “Nothing can describe this. It is simply unbelievable. He was in good shape, better than when he ran in the Berlin Marathon last year. I knew he was going to push and run fast, which was the strategy with Andrea Kiptoo one of our pacemakers from our camp.”
Drawing back from his training regime, Berardelli noted that Sawe varied his intense training and physiotherapy sessions, with the latter moving from four times a week to three to sessions every seven days between January and February.
“We reduced the intensity of the sessions because his back and calf had been giving him problems,” the Italian, who also coaches other notable Kenyan athletes including: Emmanuel Wanyonyi, Evans Chebet, Benson Kipruto and Amos Kipruto, said.
“Sawe had been training for between 9 to 10 days consecutively, then taking a break. But that depended on how the work-outs went. We would the tweak his programme and give him an extra day of easy run. We combined workouts with recovery, depending how his body responded.”
Having shocked the world with his run, Berardelli said there was still more to come from the 31-year-old.
“Sabastian is like the lava still rumbling inside the mountain,” he said. “What the world saw was just a spit of smoke. He is also discovering himself, and slowly knowing what he is capable of doing in training. We are also learning, and we shall see interesting things from him quite soon.”
On when another record from him would go, he added: “He will do that again, but there is no hurry or pressure. A sub 1:59 is possible, but not lower than that anytime soon.”
