COACH MONEGHETTI

“I met Mona when I was young and had moved to Ballarat because I wanted to be a marathon runner. I grew up idolising Robert de Castella, and Mona obviously took over the mantle from him. I started training with him and learning from him, and over that period of 13 or 14 years, we’ve become really good friends as well as coach and athlete. I now live in Geelong again, and see Mona once a week or so. I coach several people here, so we’ve got a fairly good group – who will turn up for sessions or the long run – to train with.”

THE BIG DAY

“Before the marathon I go into a carbo loading phase. On the Wednesday or the Thursday before, I have what I call ‘the last supper’, which is usually a steak, chips and vegies; the things I really love. Then for the next three or four days, it’s nothing but carbohydrates. “I’m pretty relaxed before a race. I know the training has been done, there’s nothing I can do. But stressing about the situation can have a detrimental effect, so I keep relaxed. I like to have a joke around, take the mickey out of people I’m with.

“For the marathon the hardest part is mental. Everyone gets tired; it’s the guy who slows down the least that usually wins. Everyone can run to around 20 to 30km, it’s what happens after that which really determines the type of athlete you are. Luckily, I’m mentally tough. I’ve been able to run the Olympics with a torn stomach muscle, and I really thrive on the mental challenge. You look at your opposition during the race and ask the question, ‘Is that guy tougher than me?’”

WHY TROOPY’S THE BEST

“Probably because of my will to succeed, and despite having setbacks, always being able to get back up and say that next time I’ll come back bigger, better and stronger. People know that when I’m up at Falls Creek, I train hard. There are no short cuts. And I’ve never sold myself out; I don’t pick and choose races based on what I’ll be paid. I always choose the best marathons, even though I won’t get paid a lot of money. I pick the races that will help my marathon career. I know that if I want to achieve the things I want, I’ve got to make sacrifices. I’ve never made a lot of money from my sport, but I do the things that I know I have to do to perform well.”

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