Athlete Through The Lens: Katrin Flikschuh

Athlete Through The Lens is a project by Runlimited that aims to tell the stories of London's elite athletes beyond performances, times and races. Throughout this series, we will continue to dive into the who, what and why of the person behind the athlete.

This edition profiles Katrin Flikschuh, one of the UK's leading athletes in the masters category. In 2024, Katrin was the second-fastest marathon runner in the Women's V60 category, and is now making strides into the track racing world with Victoria Park Harriers and Tower Hamlets AC. Molly chatted with Katrin before she raced her first ever track race at the Mile End Miles.
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Tell us a little about yourself beyond running. What are your interests, work (past or present), family, hobbies, or passions?

My name is Katrin Flikschuh, I am a 65 year old runner. Originally from Germany (with a British mother) I live in Hackney, London, am married (to an avid road cyclist) and have two now grown-up sons. I am Professor of Political Philosophy at the London School of Economics (LSE), and have been a member of the Victoria Park Harriers and Tower Hamlets Athletic Club since 2019.

What first got you into running, and what has kept you running? Has your relationship with running changed over time?

I started running about 44 years ago, when I was a very unhappy undergraduate in Politics at the University of Essex. One of my professors there suggested I take up running. I immediately liked it — possibly for the wrong reasons: I think the physical pain of running provided me with some kind of non-verbal outlet for the mental anguish I felt throughout my twenties and early thirties. But over time I also began to feel the power of running — the sense of strength and freedom it gave me. 

Where do you love to run and spend time? Are there favourite local routes, parks, trails, or cafés you enjoy before or after a run?

Since then, running has probably been the most constant part of my life. Over the years, it waxed and waned a bit — when my kids were small, and when I was 'building my career', running often took a backseat. But I never stopped completely.  I think of myself as a runner foremost and most fundamentally. Running is a very noble activity. It is about endurance and perseverance, and about strength and freedom. One has to give it one's full attention. Living in London, I mainly run on asphalt but I avoid roads. My standard routes take me through the Hackney and Tottenham Marshes. At week-ends I like to go to Epping Forest. The running I like best is trails and across open countryside: this is where I feel fully engaged in the activity and I forget about everything else.

Who or what inspires you? This could be people, books, communities, athletes, or life experiences.

I didn't come to running through an interest in the elite sport; indeed, I didn't join a running club until I was 58. There is no particular elite athlete that inspires me, and for me running is not primarily about racing, although there is something about the marathon that really draws me in. I have spent a lot of time in West African, especially in the Sahel and the Savannah. In my re-club running days, I used to think of running around the Hackney as endurance training for getting back to the Sahel. My ideal runner was the messenger who runs from village to village delivering important messages: a marathoner, really. Now, my most important source of inspiration is my running coach, Steve Hobbs at the Milestone Pursuit. There is no doubt that he has improved and deepened my running. I admire the depth of his knowledge and his skill and seriousness and dedication as a coach.  

What running gear, nutrition, or routines have become your go-to over the years?Anything you wouldn't want to run without?

In the 1980s, when I first started running, 'gear' wasn't a thing among amateur runners. There were no running watches or supershoes. I do now own a running watch and I'd find it hard to go running without it (which annoys me). Also, so far as shoes go, I love Adidas. I remember the first time I tried a pair of Adizero Boston 6. They felt amazing. Since then, I have never ever bought anything but Adidas, shoe-wise. I also love the Adidas stripes - simple but effective.

What's the biggest challenge you face in your running today? Whether it's finding time, staying motivated, managing injuries, or something else, how do you navigate it?

The biggest challenge for me now is age! As you age, your body ages with you — obviously — and you becomes slower and slower and slower. Given that I have said that racing is not a big priority for me, this should not be a problem. But that is not true. For one thing, I have always enjoyed running fast; for another, having come to racing so late, and having started training with a coach so late, I had a very brief period in which my running improved considerably. It would have been nice to have a bit longer in terms of racing and improving. At my age now, not dropping too far off the speed I could muster a year ago constitutes 'improvement' — so the time for Pbs is definitely gone. I regret not having had more of that sort of opportunity. But I also believe that so long as one keeps faith with running then the activity will reveal a new side to the aging runner: the aging runner will get to know a side of running which the younger runner couldn't possibly yet know about. 

What are you looking forward to in your running journey and what’s next? This could be an event, a personal goal, staying active, exploring new places, or simply continuing to enjoy running.

Of all races, I like the marathon best. 'Like' is misleading: I find it the most challenging adn the most rewarding. Unfortunately, I have been struggling with hamstring issues a lot in the past two years. My last two marathons haven't been great — Valencia was a total disaster, and then I missed Manchester. Now I have Berlin coming up. I love the Berlin course. But I am also apprehensive about it because my hamstrings are not very reliable at all. So am I looking forward to it? Well, it depends on what that means. I think that for me 'success' at Berlin would be to run the marathon well without letting my final time trouble me too much: to run it in acknowledgement of my advancing age, my unreliable hamstrings, my knowledgeable supportive coach and the years and years of running I have under my belt and without which I would not be where and who I am today. That would be success: to draw it all together, somehow.  This is an ideal, and ideals are non-realisable. But they are worth aspiring to.