Erin Seils| Reporter
Mr Rosenberg took part in the Rock ‘n’ Roll EDP Lisbon Marathon to raise money for Mary’s Meals. I took the opportunity to interview him about this experience.
Was this your first marathon? What made you choose this marathon?
Yes it was. I’ve got a great affinity with Portugal. My wife is Portuguese. I’ve been there every year for the past ten to fifteen years. Lisbon is my favourite European city. I’m a keen runner, I enjoy running. I don’t run every single day but I do enjoy running and I’ve always said if I’m going to run a marathon it would be the Lisbon Marathon.
When I saw the London Marathon on the TV in April that gave me the impetus. So I checked on the website when the Lisbon Marathon was and it was actually on the first day of the October break. So I could run it and I wouldn’t have to worry about going to work the next day.
Did you have to do a lot of training for the marathon?
Yes, I did. I was always fairly fit anyway. I was always a reasonable runner but I couldn’t really run any more than six miles – that was my maximum. So I went onto the website and I got a marathon training sheet. It was simply a sheet that allowed you to complete a marathon – completing it is quite a big thing. I picked up the training round about July and I ran in Madeira – a Portugese Island. It was very, very humid but I ran about four or five times there. I also ran in Porto, which is a city North of Lisbon. I ran a few miles there. When I got back to Scotland after the holidays. I then picked up the training programme. What you do is, you start off with small milages and you gradually build up. The last one I did was 20 miles in Strathclyde Park 3 weeks before the marathon and after that I tapered it down. So there was a training programme.
Did you find the weather a problem runnning in Lisbon?
To be fair, the weather in Lisbon in October is nice – except this year. It was very, very warm. We started off, it was twenty degrees at eight o’clock in the morning. When I finished at half past twelve, the temperature was about 33 degrees. And they made us run along the promenade for about two miles when we were exposed to the direct sun and people were struggling. When you’re running in Scotland and it’s a nice day you have a wee drink of water here and there. I had to drink 10 litres of water – that’s from eight o’clock until half twelve – and I had to pour another 10 litres over my head. My wife met me a couple of times, she actually gave me extra water to help.
Did you run the marathon by yourself or was there anyone else with you?
Just myself but my wife and daughter were there. I knew exactly where the route was so I could say “get off the train at this point and meet me” so they met me at two diffferent bits round the road. They filmed me with their mobile phones and had the Scottish flags in hand. It’s actually very good because it’s quite a difficult thing but when you know someone is round the corner it gives you that wee bit of impetus.
What was your time for the marathon?
My chip time was 4 hours and 29 mins.
So, do you enjoy running?
I do. It’s a great way to keep fit. Well when I go running, I’m never running to get any sort of time – I never compete. But I do enjoy running because it keeps you fit and it helps to clear the mind.
Do you like to listen to music when you run?
No, I just think my thoughts.
Why did you choose to run for Mary’s Meals in particular? How much did you raise?
I’ve actually raised over £500 which is much, much more than I expected. The staff have been very generous but neighbours have contributed to it, my hairdresser contributed to it, family have contributed to it and I’ve managed to raise much more than I expected.
I chose the charity because I’m an educator and I understand the value of education, I understand the value of global education. And I honestly feel, if the whole world was better educated, the world would become a better place. I honestly believe all our problems will disappear provided educational standards keep on rising. Whether that will actually happen, I don’t know. But I certainly believe, the better educated the world is, the less problems. We know what the problems are: there’s economic problems, there’s terrorist problems, a huge problem with poverty – all of these things. Mary’s Meals is designed to help alleviate them.
