'Just commit' is final thought before Olympic race says LJMU Lecturer and medallist

Kelly Massey LJMU Lecturer and Women's 4x400m Relay Bronze Medallist

Ever wondered what goes on in an Olympic athlete’s mind just before the start of a race? Or what an Olympic athlete's training schedule looks like? We caught up with LJMU Sport and Exercise Sciences Lecturer and Women’s 4x400m Relay Olympic Bronze medallist, Kelly Massey, to find out. 

Kelly started athletics training when she was 11 years old and twenty years later competed at the 2016 Olympics in Rio, Brazil. 

So when did competing at the Olympics become a reality? 

I was 21 years old when I started training properly for the 400 metres, while I was a student at John Moores. I then started to understand a little bit more about where it could lead. I went on to compete at the European Championships and the Commonwealth Games but it wasn’t until 2014 when I felt I stepped up and made the 400 metres final in Glasgow, that I thought the Olympics could be a reality.  

Did you have any Olympic heroes growing up? 

It was different growing up, I don’t think I’d watched the Olympics and didn’t really have any understanding of it. We weren’t as exposed to athlete success as we are now with social media. I do remember the moment in 2004 watching Kelly Holmes win her double gold, when it clicked and I thought “oh wow this is really impressive, this is really cool” but I still didn’t think it was ever something I would find myself doing. In terms of impressive athletes, I have to mention Allyson Felix and on a more local level Katharine Merry, who is just a nice person on and off the track. 

Tell us about your pre-race routine? 

I’d usually work backwards from the race and sort out what I’d be doing in the 24 hours leading up to it, when I’m going to eat, what time I’m going to get up etc. I never really listened to music beforehand as I always wanted to be able to hear my breathing, my body, my heart rate. A weird thing I used to do, and I don’t know where it came from, I’d always have to go to the fourth toilet cubicle, or count in fours, I’d also always get into the blocks the same way too. 

What do you think about when you are racing? 

People often ask this question and you don’t really think about anything, you’re in race mode and it’s almost autonomous. I have different phases during a race so when I start I’d think ‘strong ankles’ driving out, by the back straight I’d be thinking ‘tick tick tick tick’ for my pace and I’d want to feel that my face was floppy, as that means your upper body is relaxed. Then coming halfway round the final bend on the home straight, it’s just like ‘go go go go!’ 

And what about the 10 seconds before as you are waiting to hear the starting gun? 

It’s just ‘commit’, the last thing I would ever say to myself is ‘commit’ as I get in the blocks, as you’ve already done everything else you can do. 

What has life been like after the 2016 Olympics? 

I carried on for another year afterwards but in my mind I’d already decided I was going to retire and move on to the next thing. Alongside being a full-time athlete, I was also a full time PE teacher so when I saw the job role of a Physical Education Lecturer at LJMU, I decided to apply and this is now my sixth year of working at the university.  

Have things changed much when it comes to training and racing in the eight years since Rio? 

Athletes now wear super spikes as their footwear which have a carbon plate in them which I wish were available when I was racing. The tracks have also massively changed. You’ll have noticed over the past year the number of world records that have been broken and it’s not just one or two athletes, it's the whole field, it’s just a lot quicker. There are always advancements when it comes to training and nutrition too.  

What are your students’ reactions like when they realise they are being taught by an Olympian? 

There’s a huge picture of me on the wall in the Sports Building but I don’t think my students realise it’s actually me and I definitely don’t go on about it, so I’m not sure they are too bothered to be honest! 

Ahead of the 4x400m relay finals in Paris, do you have any advice for the athletes or Team GB in general? 

I suppose it is a competition, you do have to be focused and you are there to do a job but remember it’s the whole experience. So if you can, go and see the other events, sit with someone from another country at dinner, go see the things that are going on in the village, and just soak up the experience because potentially you could only be there once! 

Study at LJMU

Kelly Massey teaches Physical Education within the Sport and Exercise Sciences School at LJMU. You can find out more about the course and studying Sport and Exercise Sciences here.

The Women’s 4x400m relay final takes place at the Paris Olympics 2024 on Saturday 10 August.