Hi Natalie. So, you are running the London marathon. But you’ve done it before, haven’t you? Yes, I’ve run it once – my first marathon – in 2014. I was also going to run New York last November but I had to pull out because my shooting schedule clashed. I’m curious about how different the temperature in New York will feel, especially when the wind runs down those avenues, straight from the river … and I’m also told the gradient, because of the bridges, is much more than London.
Oh yes. There are hills. And they go on … and on … and on … [Friday Flyer has flashbacks].
So how’s training going? It must be hard to fit around travel and filming? Actually, I look back at my schedule in 2014 and wonder how on earth I did all the training, because I was so busy. I was on a long-haul flight nearly every other week and was terrified of circulation issues or blood clots. So if you are flying, get those big compression tights on! But, this time I’m at home. I was in America when I was training for the last London marathon, so I’m enjoying finding different routes around where I live.
What’s your favourite place to run? I am in south-west London, so Bushy Park, Wimbledon Common, Richmond Park or along the river Thames. Of course, you also have to run on proper tarmac to get used to the sensation for the marathon itself, but I do like that greenery and the river. To run along the Thames is wonderful.
Did you run as a child? Yes, I did cross country at school and I was on the team. But I didn’t run outside of school. I was always a longer-distance runner, not track.
And have you more or less kept it up? No, no, I had a knee injury. And I was told about 10 years ago when I went to the doctor – and I’m sure other runners have had this experience – “Oh yeah, then don’t run.” And I went: “No, no, you don’t understand, that’s not a possibility.”
But around the time I was shooting The Tudors, I was in a lot of pain. It was a cruciate injury and I ended up swimming for about three or four years, hoping – believing – that it would go away eventually. I had a lot of acupuncture, which I would highly recommend if people have a really debilitating, problematic injury. I slowly, carefully told my body that I would run again one day. And as long as your thigh muscles are strong, taking the pressure off your knees a bit, that helps. I think I just grew out of the injury. I don’t know if that would have happened anyway without the acupuncture and resting it for a few years, though.
Do people ask you for training tips? Well, some friends who did the marathon last year asked me my advice. Let’s be honest: it takes over your life, certainly towards the last two months before a race. It affects your spouse, your partner, the food you eat, what you do at the weekends, your alcohol intake, and therefore your socialising. It really does. Your support network when you train for a marathon has to be sympathetic. Your friends and family – they are doing it with you. So whenever someone tells you that they are going to do it, give them as much encouragement as possible and then give the people in their life as much encouragement as possible, because I know it’s really hard on the other people in the house as well.
I had to sit down with my fiance and say [puts on very serious tone]: “Darling … I’m going to run the marathon again.” I wasn’t asking him for permission, but I needed him to know and to be on board, because he goes through it himself. You know, like, “Is it pasta again or is it lentil stew?” Or, “Please will you start running the ice bath when you know I’m about two miles from home?”
Do you ever struggle with motivation? Now I’m starting to get towards the 12-mile mark, yes. I know it’s different for different people, but for me that’s hard. When you are pushing towards the two-hour training run on a cold grey January or February morning. But, to be honest, I went into Childline last week – the charity I’m running for – and Esther Rantzen gave me one of her books with case studies. And having heard those stories, I know that I’m not going to have trouble with motivation. Because having seen what I’m running in aid of, what I’m emblazoned with when I run, and seeing that pain up close, I know why I’m running again now. It stops you being egocentric. And that’s what I love about London marathon; everyone is running for a cause, or in eulogy to a person. And that uplifting power and positivity, it shows you the positive side of human nature. If you just rely on that, it gets you out.
Do you listen to music when you run? I do. Anything with a good beat. I have what I call pace tracks, so if I feel like I might have dropped pace or am losing spirit, I’ll put on a pace track to get my beat back up. I’m probably more dependent on music than I should be, but I was a dancer before I was an actress, so music is a natural motivator for me.
How about gadgets? I have an app on my phone – the mapmyrun app – which, if you have headphones on, tells you your splits. I don’t have it on telling me every five minutes, because that would freak me out, but it gives me a rough idea. I find it fascinating how the perception of your speed can differ from reality. Sometimes your feet feel like they are going faster or slower than you actually are. You are often not the most accurate judge of your own pace.
What’s the worse thing about running? [laughs] The worst thing is when it eats into your time. I’m someone who is away a lot for work, so sometimes I feel guilty. I’m only home for so many hours at a weekend and I could be on the phone to my sister, seeing how she is, or checking in on my goddaughter. So to give two, three hours on a Saturday morning sometimes – and I don’t even have kids! – I sometimes feel guilty about that.
And what’s the best thing? Reconnecting with your true self, your inner self. I do a lot of yoga as well; yoga and running, they are my crutches. I spend my life pretending to be someone else and sometimes when you are publicising something, you are pretending to be someone else as well, because you are just playing a heightened, witty and hopefully intelligent version of yourself. I have spent a lot of my time listening to the sound of my own voice, which can be boring. So I like the quietness of running. I like that I’m not verbalising, not talking, just going into my inner self.
What’s your post-race indulgence? Something like a massive carb-heavy Mac and cheese. That’s one thing I love about running – no guilt about what your after-run meal is. Give me more eggs, more pasta, more carbohydrates, please!
What about before, your pre-run breakfast? I don’t really have a big breakfast before a long run; I do it more the night before. I love a lentil stew. A tip I was given before the last marathon was that lentils, or any slow-releasing pulses, have a similar effect to pasta – arguably better. So my pre-London marathon meal was actually a really hearty chorizo and bacon and lentil stew. It really set me up well, so I think I’ll do the same this time.
Do you watch running? Do you like watching Mo or Usain? Yes, I loved it when we had the Olympics, and watching Mo Farah. God, I can’t believe that was four years ago, and we are talking about the next one already. But yes, it’s the feat of human capability. The human body finessed and refined to within an inch of its life. It’s a beautiful thing to watch human bodies operate at that level.
Do you have a running inspiration, a role model or favourite runner? No, not really. But I was only in my first half of the marathon in 2014 and a blind runner with a guide ran past me. I was taken by that, a blind runner, who doesn’t have the visual stimulation. People say running is boring. Well, imagine if you can’t even see your surroundings changing around you. I’m about to play a blind woman in my next movie, so I’m really interested how people cope. That’s on my mind at the moment, so I’m just remembering those blind runners and I just think, “What the hell am I complaining about? This could be 10 times harder if something I’m relying on was taken away.” My producer at the Hunger Games – John Kilik, who’s a really good runner who has done lots of marathons – told me a story. He twisted his ankle as he was walking to the start line of a marathon. And he had to make the decision there and then whether to run or not. So he started with a twisted ankle. So I think, if I can just get to the start line without falling over. Mind over matter, right?
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