Jake Barraclough missed the start of this one… still sat in the sauna after getting caught out by daylight savings kicking in back in the UK but not in Japan 😅

Once we got him on (mid-sweat, still recovering), we got straight into a proper London Calling catch-up with 3 weeks to go.

We unpacked Jake Smith’s recent half marathon block — from Bath to Berlin — including front-running battles, getting “sat on” for 10 miles, and what it’s like when it all blows apart in the final kilometre. Then contrasting that with Berlin, where it was a no-pressure, no-taper effort — racing in sunglasses, chatting mid-race, and running just seconds off peak shape at a much lower heart rate. The takeaway? Fitness is in a very good place at exactly the right time.

Tim Vincent then looks ahead to his upcoming 10km in Lille — a late entry into a seriously stacked field. We get into why it matters, the mindset going into a race like that, and how it fits into a marathon build. There’s a really honest discussion around respecting the level, racing properly vs “fudging it”, and what a performance here could mean heading into London.

Jake Barraclough brings the chaos — from sauna mishaps to a much more serious insight into the last few months. He opens up on dealing with a long-term back issue, running through pain, and ultimately having to step back and rebuild. There’s some really valuable perspective here on injury management, biomechanics, and how quickly things can shift when consistency is taken away.

Elsewhere, we get into:

Marathon month reality — 3 weeks to go and it starting to feel real
Long runs together in London (and why Bushy/Richmond might be the best spots in the city)
The mental shift from racing blocks → full marathon focus
Taper nerves, start line anxiety, and just trying to get there healthy

London is close now… and for all three, the paths there couldn’t look more different.

We'll be back, the week of the race to capture the lads final thoughts and get into the race plans and stratergies!

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