Greetings from Running City USA: Johannes Motschmann
At the PNC Atlanta 10 Miler earlier this month, Johannes Motschmann smashed the course record, set in 2016, by 28 seconds when he crossed the finish line in 49:27. The 30-year-old from Magdeburg, Germany, caught everyone by surprise with his 4:47 average mile splits as he exuberantly broke the tape - despite his status as a professional athlete for adidas who finished 11th this year in the AJC Peachtree Road Race, Motschmann hadn't told anyone he was coming.
Why Atlanta for the race?
Well, I used to go to college in the U.S. at Iona University in New York and my girlfriend [who also ran for Iona] goes to school in Virginia, so I travel there a good bit and figured a six-hour car ride to Atlanta wasn't too bad. The race caught my eye because I ran the Peachtree this past summer and enjoyed the environment.
The main reason I chose this race, though, was because I wanted to kick off training for the Valencia Marathon [on December 1] and I've never run a 10-mile race before, so I thought it would be a great distance to test my fitness.
What were you expecting and how did you feel about it after?
I really enjoyed the race. It was quite hilly, but that kept the race interesting. I knew it would be hilly after running the Peachtree Road Race, though. I mostly wanted to run this distance because I felt a half marathon takes a bit more out of you for a training run. A 10K is too short, so this distance seemed perfect.
An Atlanta Track Club Elite athlete, Aidan Ryan, finished right behind you. Did the two of you run the race together, and if so what was that experience like?
[Aidan and I] talked for a little bit before but of course, we're very different runners - he's a middle-distance guy and I'm a marathoner, so it was quite interesting to race together. We ran together for the first quarter of the race and then I was able to push the pace a little bit, so it was great to run with him. It's always great to be pushed by other runners.
You were a steeplechaser at Iona. When and why did you take on the marathon distance?
I signed a professional contract with adidas in 2019 and tried to continue with steeplechase, but during the [COVID-19] pandemic, I started experimenting with my training and ran my first marathon, a very small one in Austria [in Vienna, December 2020, where he finished as runner-up in 2:14:38]. Since then, I started focusing on that distance, and it quickly became my favorite event.
How was your experience at the BMW Berlin Marathon this year?
It was my second time running and it always means a lot to me because it's basically my home. Leading up to the race, I had just run a new half marathon PB [1:01:33], so I was quite certain I could run a PB in Berlin but I started having some hip issues during it. Luckily it wasn't a bone injury or anything long-term, so I was able to recover quickly, but, of course, the race result wasn't exactly satisfying [2:12:02, about a minute and a half off his 2:10:39 personal best set when he finished ninth at the TCS London Marathon last spring.]
My experience in Berlin was actually one of the reasons why I came out to Atlanta for the 10-Miler - I wanted to gain some confidence again for my next marathon.
Is it safe to say you did?
Yes, I was quite happy. I saw my girlfriend right at the finish line cheering me on, which was nice, and I waited for Aidan afterward and it was a great time. Between that and winning the race, it was a nice boost going into marathon prep.
