It was under the delivery of their first child. The father (Niels Kim Hjorth) tried to encourage his wife and said “remember how you struggled at 35, when you did your marathon. Look at it the same way and get over with it”! As she was a doctor and also an athlete with a marathon experience she just looked at him and asked him to shut up and continue to give her cold things on her forehead.

Anyway one similarity between a marathon and a childbirth could be that in both cases happiness is gained by overcoming great pain. If that is the case with the marathon challenge then it is no wonder that there are more men than women doing it. The marathon discipline will never be considered as challenging to the mothers as it is to the others.

Niels Kim Hjorth

1500m 3.36,01

1 mile 3.58,85

3000m 7.46,30

5000m 13.34,63

10km 28.55

15km 43.49

marathon 2.18,25

Ten times Niels Kim Hjorth represented Denmark at the World Cross-Country Championships. Here he is in his best race when he became no. 14 in New York 1984. Behinde him is John Treacy (Irland), Lema (Ethiopia), Paul Kipkoech (Kenya), Nedi (Ethiopia), Rob de Castella (Australia) and Mohamed Kedir (Ethiopia)

- all with at least one World Champion title!

You could claim that Cross-Country is the mother discipline of long distance running.

Here is an example of Cross-Country training according to Niels Kim Hjorth:

20 min of Fartlek on a “pentagon” course in soft grass with speed up / down every time you come around the bend.