When Sara Moreira finished third on her marathon debut in New York in November, it was one of the best performances by a European distance runner this winter.
Now she is ready to make an impression again when she competes in London in less than three weeks.Portugal’s Moreira produced a run packed with promise with her time of 2:26:00 and she has been preparing for her next challenge by taking her training towards 200km each week.
Moreira is no stranger to success, with four European titles to her name from the track and cross country, and now at 29, she is making waves at an altogether longer distance.She has been training in the Portuguese town of Mira for the London Marathon on 26 April and has followed the plan which proved such a success in the USA.
Moreira said: “The preparation has been very similar to that followed for New York and workouts have gone well.”
Speaking to record.xl.pt, she added: “In these last days (I have) turned up the volume, reaching close to 200km per week with various workouts on the road or in the pine forest.
“The important thing was to rest, and so far, I am satisfied. I have no pressure for the London Marathon and want to keep this motto to run in the most relaxed way.”
Moreira finished 53 seconds behind Kenya’s Mary Keitany who won in New York in 2:25:07 by three seconds from her teammate Jemima Sumgong second in 2:25:10.
And Moreira will face them both in London, where Keitany is a double champion.
But it is all about the gradual progress for the Portuguese, who won the 3000m title at the European Athletics Indoor Championships in Gothenburg in 2013 to go with her three team golds from the SPAR European Cross Country Championships in 2008, 2009 and 2010.
See how Moreira dominated the 3000m final in Gothenburg 2013:
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