Conducive environment needed for distance athletes to improve- Forde

By Treiston Joseph

Cleveland Forde, Guyana’s top distance athlete, has dominated distance running for the past decade and has been the standard bearer when it comes to distance running in the country.

Forde, who has both the 1500 and 5000 metres national records, has been virtually unstoppable either on the track or road, and the talented athlete shared what needs to be done for distance running to reach another level in Guyana.

In a recent interview with News Room Sport, Forde talked a bit about distance running while shedding some light on his own career.

When it comes to improving athletes in distance running, Forde noted, “In terms of long distance, sending the athletes in the right place in the right conditions and that will mean high altitude training wherever that may be, I don’t know maybe Ethiopia, Kenya, Colorado…these places,” Forde shared.

In addition, Forde also shared some advice to the younger generation of distance athletes. “I think they can learn some more; I guess they just get up and go and run but you know if they put some thought into it and find out some more and do some research it would be good for them, better for them.”

Nevertheless, the Guyana Defence Force athlete highlighted what continues to drive him and his successful career.

“It’s about determination and wanting this and it’s about enjoying what you do as well and I really enjoy this, I love running so I will do whatever I have to do to be where I want to be and it’s also about consistency in training,” Forde pointed out.

Forde has won every conceivable distance title in Guyana and the Caribbean region and is still aiming to contribute more to Guyanese distance running in the future.