‘The Best Ever’ – The Training of Hicham El Guerrouj
El Guerrouj did not run huge volumes, but his training involved a lot of quality work, certainly more quality than quantity.
By Runner's Tribe
The Best Ever? – with 2 Olympic golds, 4 World Championship golds and multiple world records; it is hard to argue against Hicham El Guerrouj’s claim to the title of ‘The Best Ever’. Runner’s Tribe takes a look back over the training of the great El Guerrouj of Morocco.
Personal Records
800m: 1:47.18
1500m: 3:26.00, world record (also indoor WR)
Mile: 3:43.13, world record (also indoor WR, later broken in 2019)
3000m: 7:23.09
5000m: 12:50.24
Global gold medal summary
Olympic 1500m gold, Athens 2004
Olympic 5000m gold, Athens 2004
World Championship 1500m gold, Athens 1997
World Championship 1500m gold, Seville 1999
World Championship 1500m gold, Edmonton 2001
World Championship 1500m gold, Paris 2003
World Indoor Championship 1500m gold, Barcelona 1995
World Indoor Championship 1500m gold, Paris 1997
World Indoor Championship 1500m gold, Lisbon 2001
Altitude training
El Guerrouj’s coach did not view altitude training as the most vital element of training. It was all about quality training. However, El Guerrouj did train several times a year at Ifrane, Morocco, at 1650m altitude. El Guerrouj would spend approximately 3 weeks at altitude during each training stint.
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