Both Hodgkinson and Hunter Bell are part of the blossoming M11 Track Club, which combines training in Manchester with intense camps in South Africa. These are the secrets of their success.
Not just running – but cycling
Hunter Bell famously returned to running only three years ago after competing in parkruns but less well known is that she was also competing to an international level in duathlons. Cycling, then, had long been a bedrock of her training and Painter has encouraged that to continue even during her meteoric return to athletics.
Cycling has also been introduced into Hodgkinson’s routine, to varying success initially. While Hunter Bell is methodical and organised, Hodgkinson is more of a free spirit, which meant introducing a bike was a calculated decision. Painter knows that it is vital to keep Hodgkinson enjoying her training and, rather than cycle on a static trainer, she has loved getting out on the roads of South Africa during altitude training camps with Hunter Bell.
One problem was that Hodgkinson had not perfected the use of clip-in pedals and so endured the rite of passage for any rookie cyclist: toppling over at traffic lights when her feet got stuck. The cycling has also enabled both Hunter Bell and Hodgkinson to hone their aerobic engines while saving the necessarily higher-impact, higher-intensity sessions for when they run. They had both enjoyed five solid months of injury-free training before arriving in Torun.
“We do as much of the long, slow stuff on bikes, in swimming pools, on cross trainers, ellipticals – that’s up to each individual,” explained Painter. “Then, when we run on the track and we’re doing sessions, we’re feeling quicker, sharper and the sessions are better.”
Meadows added: “Keely is supposed to do an hour some days on the bike and we know she’s done 90 minutes. So we’ve had to rein her back. It’s great though. She finds it so boring in the gym on a static bike or the elliptical. It is nice for her to be stimulated. We have to be flexible and we have to let her enjoy life.”
Coaching brains and salt crystals
Enjoying life extends also to the day-to-day in Meadows and Painter’s 24-strong M11 Track Club group. The athletes describe the atmosphere as being akin to a family.
Painter oversees up to seven types of session at any one time. Meadows adds vast experience from her own elite career as well as a mastery of logistical detail and a different psychological perspective. Another significant change since last year has been the addition of a full-time, track-side physiotherapist in Hannah Martin. Martin has been funded by Nike, who sponsor the group and both Hunter Bell and Hodgkinson.