Adventure Time Travel (ATT) will undertake our inaugural Chicago Marathon tour this coming October and we are thrilled to have highly experienced elite marathon runner Tom Middleton join the group as ambassador. Tom has ran 14 marathons, half of which have been sub 2 hours 30 mins performances and includes a recent personal best of 2 hours 21 minutes at the 2023 Melbourne Marathon.

Tom’s journey to marathon success is particularly relevant to aspiring recreational runners as he started out in the fun run scene, whereas the majority of elite marathoners have a former life racing on the 400-metre track. Tom knows what it’s like to progress through the field in the City to Bay over many years and to take the step from being a “couple of times a week” jogger to building upon that to incorporate speed work in training with a goal to improve his times on race day.

Tom is a husband to Alli, father to two-year-old Hugh and a Commercial Manager at Wesfarmers. Tom continues to chase his running goals with a busy family and work life and tells us he’s excited by the opportunity to share some insights with the ATT team over the coming months.

Tom is currently in one the world’s great running destinations, St Moritz, Switzerland, for what he tells us is a family holiday but looks an awful lot like a runner’s dream training camp.  And not just for his own running, Tom’s supporting a friend on her Olympic journey.
 
He’s just joined Jessica Stenson for altitude training in the picturesque mountain region, which has twice hosted the Winter Olympics.

It’s the last part of the Commonwealth champion’s preparations for the Paris Olympic Games marathon, to be held on Sunday, August 11.

“Jess is completing the last part of her marathon training block in St Moritz before she heads across to France and I have the unique opportunity to join her for her final week of training at altitude,” Tom Middleton said.

“We’ve been training partners for a long time and race and train at similar paces so our expectation is I’ll join in seamlessly and provide some useful company in the final big marathon sessions.”
 
Tom joined Jess in South Korea in April this year to compete in the Daegu International Marathon.

This was Jess’ make-or-break attempt to run the Olympic Qualifying Standard and put her best foot forward for selection for Paris.

Tom, who is from Adelaide but now lives in Sydney, has been friends with Jess for years and has been part of the mother of two’s support team as she pursues her third Olympics.
 
Jess needed to perform at her best to throw her hat in the ring for selection consideration, despite a relatively short marathon training block due to a gradual return to training following the arrival of her second child, Ellie, less than seven months before race day.
 
Daegu was the event of choice as it appeared to offer a race conducive to fast times and less travel logistics as it’s in the same time zone as Australia.

Tom had raced Daegu in 2018, so he was familiar with the race and logistics and could share this knowledge with Jess as the trip planning came to life.
 
But not everything went to plan. At the last minute, the race organisers changed the course from when Tom ran it. What was a relatively flat three lap 14km course was now one big loop course around Daegu that included undulations and multiple climbs which mostly fell in the gruelling final 7km of the course.

Despite this unplanned challenge, Jess confronted it positively, drawing on her previous success on hilly marathon courses, including at Birmingham and New York in 2022.
 
“It was a great learning for me seeing how Jess confronted potential setbacks with such positivity and highlighted to me the importance of strong mental traits in pursuing success,” Tom Middleton said.

In the end, Jess’ finishing time of 2.24.01, in the circumstances, along with her other credentials was enough to secure a ticket to Paris on the Australian Olympic Team.
 
And now Tom will be supporting Jess again in the final few weeks of her preparation.
 
“Jess seems to be building into some career best marathon form and, combined with her suitability for the Paris conditions and her ability to bring an X factor on race day, I think the sky is the limit in terms of how she will perform,” Tom Middleton said.
 
And for Tom, who has a PB of 2.21 set at the Melbourne Marathon last year, playing a small part in Jess achieving her best in Paris is a goal within a goal.
 
Tom says he is thrilled to join ATT as an ambassador and will run the Chicago Marathon on October 13.
 
The 38-year-old dreams of running a sub 2.20 marathon and thinks Chicago presents the best chance before he and Alli welcome their second child in November.
 
“Marathon training is a time-consuming pursuit and this will be the last time for a while that I’ll be able to commit to the training required to target a PB, so I want to make the most of the opportunity,” Tom Middleton said.

It’s the first time ATT has taken a group to Chicago and Tom will be offering the group special tips about preparing for the marathon and how to perform at your best on race day.
 
ATT founder and owner, Anna Liptak, said she’s excited to have Tom on board as an ambassador.
 
“It’s amazing to have someone of Tom’s calibre and experience join us to share his tips and tricks on marathon running,” Anna said

“Tom will no doubt be a great addition to the team offering mentoring to less experienced runners so they can get the most out of themselves. He’ll also be doing a Zoom session for all of ATT’s runners doing events too.”

Tom has shared just what it takes to run a very, very fast marathon. Below is a summary of what a typical marathon training week looks like for Tom.

As Anna points out, it’s more training than most people will do for a marathon but it shows what work is required to run a 2.21 marathon.

“It’s amazing how much work the body can take, we wish Tom all the best with this marathon training in St Moritz and with his dream of running sub 2.20,” Anna Liptak said,

Monday AM: 1hr recovery run (13km) – Monday PM:  30-38min recovery (6-8km)

Tuesday AM: Speed session #1 (~20km including warm up and cool down) – Tuesday PM: 30-38min recovery (6-8km)

Wednesday: 90-100min medium long run (20-24km)

Thursday AM: 42min recovery (9km) – Thursday PM: 30-38min recovery (6-8km)

Friday: Speed session #2 (~15-20km including warm up and cool down)

Saturday: 42min recovery (9km)

Sunday: 2hrs-2hrs30mins long run (30-36km)

Total distance: 140-155km